Document Profile
Title:
Retaining Aboriginal Employees: A practical Guide for Managers*
Author/Information:
Official Languages and Employment Equity Branch Treasury Board Secretariat
Telephone: (613) 952-2907
Last Revision: June 1995
For Print Copy:
Treasury Board Distribution Centre
Telephone: (613) 995-2855
For information on other electronic versions, contact:
Electronic Dissemination Unit Planning and Communications Directorate Treasury Board of
Canada Secretariat
Telephone: (613) 957-2421
Fax: (613) 952-9998
Alternative Formats:
This publication is available in alternative formats on request.
* This document is protected by Crown copyright. Permission is granted to copy and
distribute it freely within the Canadian federal government and other levels of government
in Canada.
* * * * *
Retaining Aboriginal Employees:
A Practical Guide for Managers
Published by
Planning and Communications Directorate
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Introduction
This guide has been prepared to address concerns about the rate at which Aboriginal
employees are leaving the federal Public Service. While significant numbers of Aboriginal
employees have been hired in recent years, many have left the Public Service in the same
period.
The purpose of this guide is to help you and other managers retain Aboriginal
employees. It focuses on your role and your actions regarding retention, and emphasizes
steps to take now.
Material is organized in a question-and-answer format that covers the following topics:
- the importance of retention;
- the importance of retaining Aboriginal employees;
- your role in retention;
and - steps you can take to retain Aboriginal employees.
Why is retention important?
Recruitment and retention are crucial elements of the federal Public Service's
Employment Equity Program. Through this program, introduced in 1986, the federal Public
Service seeks to build a workforce that represents and works for all Canadians.
Programs and initiatives associated with employment equity have helped make the Public
Service significantly more representative than it was a decade ago. All four designated
groups are present in greater force than they were before the introduction of employment
equity, and the importance of employment equity is more widely acknowledged and accepted
than it was 10 years ago.
These changes notwithstanding, there is a growing realization that low retention rates
may, in and of themselves, be barriers to achieving a representative workforce. Retention
rates are lower for some of the designated groups than for other employees in the Public
Service. Recruitment is not enough - especially in a period of downsizing. Appropriate
representation can be achieved only if enough members of designated groups stay in the
Public Service after being hired.
Why is the retention of Aboriginal employees important?
Aboriginal peoples account for about three per cent of all persons leaving the federal
Public Service. The separation rate for all Aboriginal employees is 13 per cent, so that
their retention rate is approximately 87 per cent.
This rate is lower than that for the Public Service as a whole and lower than the
retention rates for the other designated groups. For instance, the retention rate of
persons with disabilities is almost 91 per cent, and that of members of a visible minority
is over 92 per cent.
The low retention rate of Aboriginal employees is cause for serious concern. The
turnover associated with low retention is costly, requiring both adjustment to departures
and the training of new staff. In addition, since Aboriginal peoples are underrepresented
in today's Public Service, a low retention rate could potentially worsen their
representation immediately. Over time, the low retention rate could cause the Public
Service to become significantly less representative of Aboriginal peoples.
Your role in retention
When the Employment Equity Program was first introduced, it tended to be centrally
driven and primarily based on numbers. Individual managers and departments carried out
specific programs and initiatives but there was little room for managerial discretion or
innovation.
This is no longer the case. The need now is to tailor employment programs and policies
to the requirements of individual departments. Since managers are in the best position to
identify and act on these requirements, responsibility for developing and implementing
employment equity initiatives has shifted to them.
This change is significant for you and every other manager in the federal Public
Service. It brings both increased freedom and greater responsibility. You can now
determine how to value diversity and accommodate differences in your workplace. Similarly,
you can now tailor employment equity programs and initiatives to departmental
circumstances and needs. On the other hand, you and other managers are also accountable
for progress toward employment equity.
The rest of this guide suggests specific steps you and other managers can take to
retain Aboriginal employees.
What can you do to retain Aboriginal employees?
There are a number of things you can do to retain Aboriginal employees. They can be
grouped into three categories:
- understanding;
- networking;
- career development.
Understanding
This section encompasses activities designed to increase understanding of and respect
for cultural differences. While differences between cultures can be significant,
acknowledging and respecting them is an essential step in creating a work environment
conducive to diversity. Moreover, such understanding is a two-way street, with Aboriginal
and non-Aboriginal employees seeking a better understanding of each another.
- Learn and understand more about Aboriginal peoples. This includes such activities as
taking part in Aboriginal awareness training and encouraging Aboriginal employees to share
their culture and traditions with non-Aboriginal employees. It also means being sensitive
to Aboriginal values, for example, by ensuring that Aboriginal employees are given the
opportunity to take annual leave to participate in traditional activities.
- Recognize and respect the diversity of Aboriginal employees. Respect their heritage
and cultures, but don't view Aboriginal employees solely in those terms. Don't assume, for
example, that every Aboriginal employee wants to be a spokesperson on Aboriginal issues.
In addition, recognize that the needs of Aboriginal employees differ, depending on their
backgrounds, and take steps to ensure that the workplace supports those needs.
- Encourage buddy systems for new Aboriginal employees. Buddy systems are essentially
extensions of the orientation process for new employees. In most cases, longer-term
Aboriginal employees are paired with newer employees to help them adjust to the new work
environment.
- Ensure that Aboriginal employees have access to support systems and services provided
by Aboriginal people. Employee assistance programs notwithstanding, Aboriginal employees
may benefit from dealing with Aboriginal professionals. For instance, there are Aboriginal
personnel agencies and counselling services that specialize in assisting Aboriginal
employees and their employers.
Networking
This category covers all aspects of networking - within and across departments or
agencies, among Aboriginal employees and between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal employees.
It also refers to your networking - you and your department being visible to Aboriginal
organizations and maintaining that visibility.
- Promote Aboriginal networking. Some departments and agencies have established
Aboriginal Employee Circles or Aboriginal Employee Committees. In cases where there are
too few Aboriginal employees to form a distinct group, the networking system expands to
include employees from several organizations.
- Establish formal links between Aboriginal employee committees and senior executives.
This allows both employees and executives to raise concerns about the employment and
retention of Aboriginal people. These committees can also advise managers on Aboriginal
issues. In some cases, such as DIAND's Committee for the Advancement of Native Employees
(CANE), an Aboriginal employee committee ensures that Aboriginal issues are addressed at
all levels of the organization.
- Broaden your department's contacts with Aboriginal organizations, communities and
businesses. This will enhance both your department's relationship with the Aboriginal
community and your candidate pool. Seek diversity in Aboriginal organizations to increase
the range of skills and abilities to which you have access. In particular, try to
establish contacts in both isolated and urban communities.
Career development
This third category refers to all the activities associated with developing and
implementing career plans. Career development is a joint undertaking to be shared by the
manager and individual employees. Your focus in career-development activities should
therefore be on sharing responsibility, being open and approachable, and encouraging
initiatives.
- Establishing a mentoring program for Aboriginal employees. Mentoring programs are
more formal than buddy systems. They usually involve a senior officer - who need not be an
Aboriginal - helping a junior employee to plan, develop and realize career aspirations.
- Ensure that Aboriginal employees have access to developmental opportunities and
receive career-planning advice. This is especially important in today's environment of
restructuring and downsizing. Encourage Aboriginal employees to take advantage of relevant
training opportunities, and make sure that employees have opportunities to apply such
training.
Conclusion
Aboriginal peoples are underrepresented in the federal Public Service, and their
retention rate is lower than that for other employees. The retention rate is cause for
serious concern, and the challenge for you and other managers is to take effective,
innovative steps to retain Aboriginal employees.
This guide suggests steps you can take now. It describes actions to increase
understanding, improve networking, and enhance career development. Moreover, you can
initiate all these activities immediately. By taking some or all of the steps suggested in
this guide, you and other managers can contribute further to the development of a fully
representative and more productive Public Service.
Recommended Reading
Thomas, R. Roosevelt, Jr.,
Beyond Race and Gender, New York: AMACOM, 1991.
Treasury Board of Canada, Employment Equity in the Public Service of Canada, Ottawa:
Minister of Supply and Services Canada, 1994.
Treasury Board of Canada, The Special Measures Initiatives Program, Ottawa: Minister of
Supply and Services Canada, 1995.
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