Employers need to prioritize cultural sensitivity to tackle retention in northern Ont., says think tank

The Northern Policy Institute says northern Ontario employers need to find new ways to become more sensitive to the diverse cultural needs of their employees. 

The recommendation comes out of new data released from the institute's most recent survey on individual experiences and perspectives of living in northern Ontario. The survey measures and assesses individuals' satisfaction with public and support services and related resources, as well as, their perceptions of the welcoming efforts in their communities.

The survey is part of a series of research on what constitutes a welcoming community, conducted by the northern think tank. The Individual Experiences Survey received responses from 650 people across the region.

'Being flexible with different cultures'

Charles Cirtwill is the president and CEO of the organization.

"A lot of the respondents talked about the importance of their employers being aware of and being flexible with different cultures, being a little more sensitive to ... potential linguistic challenges, issues around being ... culturally aware of, particularly, the First Nations side in terms of the importance of family and the broad definition of family," Cirtwill said. 

He added that there was an overall concern expressed by respondents over how welcoming northern Ontario communities are. 

On the bright side, Cirtwill said, there was a general satisfaction with employment opportunities and housing. However, access to health care and transportation were issues noted by many respondents. 

If we're serious about addressing labour shortage challenges ... maybe those are the kind of programs we need to be taking a serious look at.— Charles Cirtwill, president and CEO of the Northern Policy Institute

Supports and resources for international students were also a concern raised by people who answered the survey, Cirtwill said. He noted that data like this could help to change policies and make a case for expanding employment and internship opportunities for international students in the region as well as the rest of the country. 

"FEDNOR and NOHFC (Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation), have made it much more easy for employers to attract and retain international students to take internships, those 12-month placements post-graduation. But the Canada Summer Jobs program, NPI is a significant user of, and many northern Ontario employers and communities are, still does not allow you to hire international students," he said. 

"If we're serious about addressing labour shortage challenges ... maybe those are the kind of programs we need to be taking a serious look at," he said. 

Exit Survey

The think tank also released findings from its Exit Survey, which focuses on respondents that previously lived in northern Ontario and the factors, which contributed to their decisions to leave.

According to the report, 36 per cent of francophone respondents left the region for better job opportunities. That number rose slightly for northeastern respondents sitting at 38 per cent, and 37 per cent for northwestern respondents.

Rachel Rizzuto is the research manager with the think tank. She said that the results of the exit survey shouldn't be brushed off. 

"It is a bit concerning, considering the fact that northern Ontario needs, in order to help sustain our demographics ... and for helping to ensure sustainable communities we need people, we need thousands of people," she said.

"That includes newcomers as well as the local domestic population is also active in the labour force as well." 

Cirtwill said that while it's true that northern Ontarians are leaving the region — it's not all bad news. 

"Employment was an issue, although, one of the interesting trends we saw, or lets call it a reassuring trend we saw, is that in many cases while these folks had left, they did express a level of satisfaction with the employment opportunities they had here," he said. 

Cirtwill said that many of the region's employers are smaller and have limited opportunity for career advancement, which could be one of the reasons people are leaving for better opportunities elsewhere.