Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER May 2, 2016 NEWS 9 Employers' focus on employment equity recognized by government awards Award-winning employers include Cogeco, Port of Vancouver, Cargill BY SARAH DOBSON IN APRIL, the federal govern- ment recognized 32 employers for outstanding achievement in em- ployment equity in the workplace. While the federally regulated employers are required to engage in proactive employment prac- tices to increase the representa- tion of four designated groups — women, people with disabilities, Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities — employment eq- uity is also good for business, said MaryAnn Mihychuk, minister of employment, workforce develop- ment and labour. "In a competitive global mar- ket, workplace diversity and in- clusion provide opportunities to capitalize on the unique talents and contributions that diverse communities offer. Reflecting the rich diversity of our society in our federal workplaces is essential to growing our country's economy." Cogeco focuses on communities Among the 32 winners was IT communications company Coge- co Connexion, whose vision goes well beyond compliance with the Employment Equity Act, accord- ing to Liette Vigneault, vice-pres- ident of HR and communications in Montreal. "It represents who we are as a company that is close to the com- munities it serves, and a compa- ny which is very attentive to the needs and concerns of its custom- ers. It's also important because they are entirely consistent with the values of the company, which are teamwork, respect, trust, ded- ication to serve and innovation." Integrating diversity into over- all management practices brings many advantages, she said. "First, it improves the delivery of our customer service, who themselves are becoming more diverse. We believe that the more our workforce represents the pop- ulation, we serve better in our ca- pacity to reach their expectations. It applies also on the product de- velopment access, our capacity to access new markets and innova- tion," said Vigneault. "We also really believe that if we create a respectful working envi- ronment where everybody feels they are appreciated, even if they are different, at some point it will increase our productivity. We'll have more innovative solutions, of course, greater collaboration and partnership, I would say, and more effective change manage- ment. At the end of the day… the overall employee engagement will increase." With a focus on equity, employ- ees feel more included, she said. "ey feel that they are an add- ed value and their differences are considered an added value." To improve diversity, Cogeco has rolled out several initiatives, including a diversity week at loca- tions in Quebec and Ontario. "It's an entire week of various activities such as potlucks, speak- ers, we invite external resources that represent our four designated groups, and we aim to promote our value, our culture, our differ- ences, our diversity positioning to our employees," said Vigneault. "e idea here is to break down silos between departments and encourage collaboration amongst employees and to provide also for the exchange of creative ideas." e 2,550-employee company also created three committees, one for each of its main facilities, with managers, employees and employees representing the four designated groups, focused on employment equity and the im- plementation of initiatives. ese include training for HR on diver- sity and recruitment to eliminate barriers right from the beginning of the lifecycle of employees, she said. "It also includes mandatory online training for all of our managers and also other kinds of co-development discussion and initiatives. Mainly, it's all about awareness and education." e development of partner- ships with organizations that rep- resent the four designated groups in the community is also part of the plan, said Vigneault. And there are elements around gover- nance and accountability. "As an example, this year will be the first year where all of the senior management (are) going to have in their own personal objec- tives something around diversity, which is very well appreciated, and then… the HR department will develop some scorecards for them to really understand what's going on and where they are, DIVERSITY > pg. 12

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