Maytree Conversations

What is this research about?

This report (funded by ALLIES, a joint project of Maytree and the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation) provides support for the development of a “one-stop” HR Support Centre for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in four regions across northeastern Ontario. This proposed support centre is the second component of the ongoing HR North project. The first component, an online database and matching tool, is currently being developed in partnership with Skills International with funding from Industry Canada.

Download HR North: An Analysis of HR Practices of SMEs in Northeastern Ontario (PDF).

Why is this research needed?

Previous research suggests that SMEs in northeastern Ontario are not reaching their full potential compared to similarly situated businesses in southern Ontario. Local SMEs face difficulties meeting their labour force needs. At the same time, many SMEs are unaware of the increasing business opportunity in hiring skilled immigrants and are not tapping into this talent pool.

The economic future of northeastern Ontario relies on the growth and development of small and medium-sized enterprises. More than 98% of employers in the region have fewer than 100 employees, making SMEs absolutely vital to the overall development and prosperity of the local economy. Previous research indicates that 60% of surveyed employers in the North Bay area expect the size of their workforce to increase in the next three years. Employee retention is a concern.

Identifying an HR support model that is tailored to SMEs can increase these employers’ capacity to hire and retain the skilled talent they need.

What did the researchers do?

This study looks at SMEs in the districts of Parry Sound, Nipissing, Timiskaming, and Cochrane, and limits its definition of SME to those employers with fewer than 100 employees. A researcher consulted with and surveyed local SMEs about their current human resource practices and requirements.

What did the researchers find?

SMEs in northern Ontario do not have formal internal or external human resource supports.

• More than 90% of local SMEs do not have dedicated on-site HR support.
• Many SMEs use online websites to source HR-related information.
• Few external sources of comprehensive human resource support are available to SMEs.
• Very few SMEs use external HR services.
• In order to successfully hire and integrate newcomers, employers need several key HR services: recruitment tools, candidate screening, mentorship or internship programs, language training, workplace diversity training, funding and support for skills upgrading, retention tools, succession planning and community integration support.

Recommendations:

The report supports the continued development of the online database and matching tool. It also recommends the development of a single source (“one-stop”) support centre for SMEs across the region that provides resources, tools, and live assistance with HR management issues. This support centre would provide:

1. Recruitment tools
2. Candidate selection and hiring tools
3. Language and communication training
4. Retention tools, including succession planning resources
5. Workplace diversity training
6. Licensing and skills upgrading, including funding for training
7. Community integration support
8. Mentorship or internship programs

How can you use this research?

The combination of attracting, recruiting and retaining skilled immigrant talent is of interest to all employers, but especially to SMEs. Previous ALLIES research outlined the business case for SMEs making better use of skilled immigrant talent. We also identified some of the same HR challenges and solutions outlined in this report. The model proposed here may be of interest to policy-makers and service providing organizations in both smaller and larger centres.

Related links:

• Global Talent for SMEs: Building Bridges and Making Connections
• Attracting, Retaining and Integrating Skilled Immigrants: An Analysis of Canada’s Leading Employers
• Hireimmigrants.ca - Supporting the recruitment, retention and promotion of skilled immigrants
• Immigrant Employment Councils (IECs) across Canada

ALLIES (Assisting Local Leaders with Immigrant Employment Strategies) has just released a report that looks at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and how to connect them with the skilled immigrant workforce.

The report is the result of the first stages of a research project exploring existing policies, programs and initiatives that engage and influence the human resource practices of SMEs.

The potential impact of a focused approach is threefold:

1. Skilled immigrants will benefit from being employed in roles commensurate with their education and experience;
2. SMEs will benefit from the skills, experience, and diverse ways of thinking that skilled immigrants bring to their organization; and
3. Canada will benefit from the fuller integration of skilled immigrants into Canadian society.

Read the executive summary (PDF)

Read the full report – Global Talent for SMEs: Practical Ideas to Connect Small and Medium Businesses with the Skilled Immigrant Workforce:

• Report without fact sheets (PDF, 1 MB)
• Report with fact sheets (PDF, 5 MB)

Key findings of the report include:

• A tailored strategy for SMEs is needed because SMEs are concentrated in different sectors than their larger counterparts.
• Recent immigrants are a large part of the workforce, and, overall, they have the skills, education and experience to contribute to Canada’s economy.
• Current programming does not focus on assisting SMEs to hire new workers.
• SMEs are motivated by immediate need and financial incentive. They want to mitigate the risk of hiring decisions, particularly when hiring outside of their personal networks.
• Because SMEs tend not to have formalized structures in place, they can easily and quickly adopt new practices.
• To be effective, programs for SMEs must be simple, straightforward, and available on demand.
• Hiring programs for SMEs should be targeted by sector or industry, or for growing businesses.
• SME programs need strong communications and marketing support to be successful.

Drawing on an examination of programs, policies and organizational efforts aimed at SMEs in ten provinces and 20 cities, and more than 50 interviews with key informants, this paper proposes eight practical ideas for cities, governments and service providers to connect SMEs with skilled immigrant talent. Ideas include setting up a one-stop shop for recruiting and hiring support services; creating an online database of pre-screened candidates; and setting up a website with general HR info and tools.

The proposed ideas will form the basis of consultations with SMEs in five Canadian cities. Through these consultations, ALLIES, in partnership with local immigrant employment councils, will further refine the ideas, explore how they can be adapted to local contexts and identify the most promising for implementation in 2012.

For the report and more detailed description of the eight ideas, visit the ALLIES website.

Global Talent for SMEs is funded in part by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

The Conference Board of Canada is conducting a survey of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to find out about hiring practices and to better understand the types of programs, services and informational products that help hire and retain the right employees.

We strongly encourage Canadian nonprofits and charities to also complete this survey, as you are predominantly small or medium sized enterprises. Your input will be valuable for the Conference Board. At the same time, we encourage you to share this survey widely with businesses and other enterprises you work with.

While the entire survey focuses on hiring practices and general HR practices, a portion near the end asks specific questions about hiring skilled immigrants, to get a sense of how receptive SMEs would be to particular HR interventions and services. There is much value in finding out this information from SMEs, as it can help tailor services and policies to encourage and facilitate their hiring and retention of skilled immigrants.

The survey

Please identify the best person in your organization to complete the survey. This would be someone responsible for making human resources planning decisions and who is familiar with your current HR practices. This could be, for example, the business owner, president, vice president, managing director or HR professional.

Please also share the survey with such people in organizations you work and partner with.

The survey will take ten minutes to complete.

Take the survey.

Please complete the survey before September 30, 2011.

To thank you for completing this survey, you can choose to enter a draw. The winner will receive a free registration to Workforce One-Stop 2012. Workforce One-Stop is the Conference Board of Canada’s national conference on career and talent development, which takes place April 23-25, 2012 in Toronto (a value of $625). Please note that this complimentary registration does not include travel or accommodations.

Privacy: All answers shared will remain strictly confidential. Please note that if you provide your name for the Workforce One-Stop draw, contact information will be used only for the purpose of notifying the winner and will not be cross referenced with your response.

If you have any questions, or if you encounter technical difficulties while filling out this survey, please email Sleiman@conferenceboard.ca.