Electricity Human Resources Canada
spoke to Alberta’s electricity employers
to see why diversity, equity and inclusion are critical to them.
Here are some of their perspectives…
I have an open headcount for IT professionals on my team.
Plus, I need to promote some current employees to replace several key people who are retiring soon.
I’d like to consider skilled diverse talent for these roles
as my experience of engaging fresh perspectives has been great so far.
But I feel we are not going about hiring, developing
and retaining diverse talent in the most coordinated way.
How can I step up my game?
Our CEO regularly champions the benefits of increasing diversity of thought throughout our workforce,
but I’m finding that our usual people practices are not helping us achieve this.
For instance, our job postings attract fewer women applicants than we expect.
Indigenous employees apply to internal job opportunities less often than other employees.
And, we’ve heard from some men that they don’t feel it’s ok to use our flexible working options.
What is going on?
Questioning how effective your practices are is a great start to optimizing them.
Like our current electricity grid,
many of our people practices were designed long ago
when our needs were less diverse.
While on the surface they appear fair,
they can contain hidden barriers or be implemented inequitably.
This can hamper our ability to attract and engage diverse talent.
For example…
Non-inclusive language in job postings and not advertising widely
an result in failing to connect with the diverse talent you want to attract.
Sticking to traditional notions of what a “high potential” employee looks like
can affect who receives more informal coaching,
risking that diversity doesn’t move beyond entry-level positions in your organization.
Equally important is your organizational culture.
The impact of flexible work options will be reduced
if people feel they are not supported by their managers or leaders to use them.
Ok, we get it!
Optimizing our infrastructure with smart technologies goes hand in hand with…
…fine-tuning our recruitment, development and engagement practices.
But where do we start?
Simple adjustments to how you word your practices,
and a more flexible, fair approach to implementing them
can help open the door to a wider diversity of talent.
For example:
In hiring, broaden job requirements and consider a candidate’s competencies
or how they can contribute to corporate values, instead of looking for a “good fit”.
When developing new employees, be aware of who you provide most feedback to, and question why.
Make sure all team members have equal opportunities to grow.
To retain those great new hires, rethink possibilities when it comes to benefits,
such as flexible working options.
Encourage leaders to shift from focusing on employees’ presence to their performance
to ensure that using those programs will not obstruct their career progression.
Equity is the second element for illuminating opportunity in Alberta’s Electricity Sector.
Electricity Human Resources Canada has developed a guide
that features quick reference tools and other materials
to help you with the “how”.
To get started, go to: electricityhr.ca
