ASET Technology Alberta Spring 2016 - 11

What are some common misconceptions about FTPs integrating with their new organizations? Culturally different FTPs don't just look different or speak a different language, they think, communicate and respond differently in the same professional situations. Day-to-day, it is this difference in the way of thinking that makes it challenging and also generates opportunities. The trick is for everyone to learn to manage differences constructively. One challenge I hear when working with organizations is people speaking a language other than English in the workplace. Speaking a second language all day long is exhausting, so many FTPs end up gathering with other people who speak the same first language at lunch time or at break. This behaviour is interpreted as "They don't want to integrate. They speak their first language because they don't want me to understand, because they are talking about me". In most cases, they are just shooting the breeze. Helping everyone deal positively with language differences in the workplace is one of the most commonlymentioned headaches of HR when it comes to integrating FTPs. Another misconception is regarding a lack of initiative. Most FTPs come from countries that are significantly more hierarchical than Canada. As a result, they were brought up in an environment where initiative was not encouraged (and in many cases, was actively discouraged). When they work in Canada and report to the average Canadian manager, they end up being considered as lacking initiative - every time their manager delegates a task to them, they come back with a long list of questions, to which their managers answer "I don't know, you figure it out". Back home, it would be the responsibility of their managers to answer their questions; here, it is their responsibility to find the answer to these questions. What are the current trends/examples of hiring practices revolving around FTP's? There are many best practices related to recruitment and retention that level the playing field and enable FTPs to have a better chance to find employment in Canada that is in line with their experience, education and expertise. FE ATURE Do you have any final tips for employers and FTPs to help smooth their integration? Canadian organizations can take many steps in order to help FTPs integrate. The most important steps they can take are: * Train their Human Resources professionals: Whenever a cross-cultural issue arises within the organization, people often go see their HR business partners in order to figure out what is going on, so the HR business partners need to be able to do a correct diagnosis in order to apply the right remedy. * Train the managers of these FTPs so that they know how to adapt their leadership style to the needs and expectations of their new employees and know how to teach them what they need to know in order to perform and grow within a Canadian organization. * Teach FTPs the importance of soft skills in Canada, which soft skills they need to develop in their particular positions, what good soft skills look like, and how to develop their soft skills.  Looking for more resources on integrating FTPs? Here are two books co-authored by Laroche (both available on amazon.ca or indigo.ca): Recruiting, Retaining and Promoting Culturally Different Employees by Lionel Laroche and Don Rutherford Danger and Opportunity: Bridging Cultural Diversity for Competitive Advantage by Lionel Laroche and Caroline Yang For example, organizations can post on their websites a description of their recruitment process and provide concrete examples of the kind of information they will look for during interviews. They can also train the people who are involved in the recruitment and selection process so that they learn to separate personality from culture during job interviews, and can therefore determine whether a FTP candidate has what it takes to do the job they are being interviewed for. Employers can also hire FTPs with slightly more qualification than the position requires, with the idea that the additional technical skills will compensate for the lower soft skills that FTPs have on average. In regards to training, they can spread the New Employee Orientation Program (NEOP) over a period of time rather than do it all in one day (the NEOP of the average Canadian organization feels like drinking from a fire hydrant for recent immigrants - information is coming at you so quickly that you are completely overwhelmed and only absorb a small percentage). TECHNOLOGY ALBERTA | SPRING 2016 | 11 http://www.amazon.ca http://www.indigo.ca

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASET Technology Alberta Spring 2016