London/Middlesex Employer Leadership Strategy First Cycle Evaluation Report (July-Dec, 2008)

1. London/Middlesex Employer Leadership StrategyFirst Cycle Evaluation Report(July-Dec, 2008) Rich Janzen, Yasir Dildar and Alida Abbott December 18, 2008

2. Structure of the Presentation/Report Overview of the Evaluation Project Implementation Project Outcomes Suggestions for the Future

3. Purpose of the Evaluation Twofold purpose: To measure the impact of the Employer Leadership Strategy in achieving equitable labour market outcomes for internationally trained individuals To strategically inform the ongoing development of the strategy as it continues to evolve and unfold

4. Main Research Questions How is the Employer Leadership Strategy being implemented, what are its intended outcomes, and how have these activities and outcomes changed over time (describing an evolving intervention)? To what extent is the Employer Leadership Strategy achieving its intended outcomes (assessing impact)? What can be done to adapt and improve the Employer Leadership Strategy to better meet its objectives (shaping the intervention)?

5. First Cycle Evaluation Methods

6. Employer Leadership Strategy (ELS): Main Components and Outcomes Main ELS Components Marketing the Business Case Marketing Recruitment and Retention Resources Marketing Local Labour Market Opportunities Increased awareness and use of recruitment and retention resources already available in the region Increased networking opportunities for employers, internationally trained individuals/students Increased number of employer leaders partnering with LMIEC and multi-stakeholder task groups Developed new marketing vehicles for the business case (regionally-based fact sheet, etc Engaged employers in identifying current and projected regional labour market demands Developed new recruitment and retention toolkit/roadmaps Main Outcomes Employer Leaders exchanged experiences and shared promising practices (e.g. through events) Developed advocacy initiatives/pieces on regional level workforce needs Increased communication between employer leaders and educational institutions and immigrant serving organizations Developed well-crafted messages Increased use of marketing vehicles by the employer leaders with other employers/businesses Increased sharing of toolkits/roadmaps with other employers (especially SMEs) Increased use of toolkit/resources by the employers including SMEs Developed new partnership among stakeholders Increased support for employers to recruit and retain internationally trained individuals Attracted newcomers to meet local labour market demands Increased number of newcomers recruited and retained Facilitated newcomer integration into the local labour market

7. Project Implementation Summary of the project implementation The project strategy and infrastructure is well established Project meetings are well organized and well received The challenge lies in strategically mobilizing and engaging employers, especially SMEs

8. Project Implementation: Project Management Established organizational/governance structure of the Council Finalized name (LMIEC), logo and Terms of Reference Developed and implemented evaluation process Developed participant tracking tool Identified future funding streams to ensure sustainability (London Economic Development Corporation, City of London, CIC, MCI, ALLIES funding, etc)

9. Project Implementation: Governance Council Meeting Nine members attended the meeting (seven of them completed evaluation forms) Majority of the participants (5 out of 7) represented big companies (more than 200 employees) Meeting was very well facilitated and opinions of all the participants were respected. Participants discussed the agenda with everyone contributing to the discussion Open dialogue was exceptional (Meeting Participant) Good participants (Meeting Participant) Rush out at the end (Meeting Participant)

10. Project Implementation: Chamber of Commerce BIZ Expo 2 LMIEC Employer Leaders presented one (Diversity and the Customer Experience) of the three Hot Topic Sessions at the Expo Approximately 25 people attended the session (majority of them employers) Session helped engage regional business network (Chamber of Commerce) in the Employer Leadership Strategy Session supported the ELS’s effort to market the business case LMIEC developed a fact sheet for the session to support the marketing message E-blast sent out to the LMIEC database (approx 250 employers)

11. Project Implementation: Business-to-Business Breakfast Event 39 participants + 13 others 29 Employers 3 Business related networks 3 Consultants 3 Regional resource contacts 1 Funder 13 (WIL, LMIEC, ACCESS Centre, CCBR, ESCLM representatives/staff) 31 completed the evaluation forms 3 new employer contacts indicated they are interested in getting involved with the LMIEC

12. Project Implementation: Business-to-Business Breakfast Event The event was very well organized and well attended Overwhelming majority of the participants wanted the LMIEC to hold similar events in future Many participants noted that there was not enough time for roundtable discussions. Roundtables-not enough time and the role of leader was not clear (Event Participant) Speaker was very knowledgeable but for an interested employer, I could not understand the connection for me to get involved (Event Participant) A balance would be better—if the keynote was more condensed and there was more opportunity to network (Event Participant)

13. Project Implementation: Business-to-Business Breakfast Event No construction and transportation sectors representation N=31 N=31

14. Project Implementation: Business-to-Business Breakfast Event N=31

15. Project Implementation: Business-to-Business Breakfast Event N=31

16. Project Implementation: Business-to-Business Breakfast Event N=31

17. Project Implementation: Business-to-Business Breakfast Event N=31

18. Events: Business-to-Business Breakfast N=31

19. Project Implementation: Business-to-Business Breakfast Event I think the last event we had in November, some people in the room did have their eyes open and I was quite surprised in the second part when we broke down into focus groups and the feedback was that people said that they didn’t have enough time to really sit and go to all the tables and they wanted to have a longer discussion about all the issues. (Focus Group Participant) I attended the November event and the dialogue was fabulous. Very productive conversations were happening that day. (Focus Group Participant)

20. Project Implementation: Challenges How to communicate the message about impending labour shortage Just in our organization alone, probably in the next 5-7 years we are going to lose more than 50 % of the staff. We have the same situation at other workplaces and people don’t realize that how serious this impending labour shortage will be. I don’t know how do you get that message out. People have to gauge to all possibilities. (Focus Group Participant) It’s going to be our big challenge in communicating the economic growth argument for internationally trained individuals as opposed to the social justice argument. (Focus Group Participant)

21. Project Implementation: Challenges How to create ownership among the business community I think the frustrating part (as a non profit organization) is that I see London being very proactive from our end of things. It seems that employers community is dragging behind, trying to say come on catch up with us. (Focus Group Participant)

22. Project Implementation: Challenges How to deal with the suspicions of employers about newcomers’ credentials I believe there is probably a suspicion about the efficacy of some of immigrants’ credentials. Despite the WES and others who validate the credentials, I believe there is still challenges. So, how do we get employers to be more open to and accepting of those credentials and experiences and try to make them relevant. It’s sometimes a tough sell. (Focus Group Participant)

23. Project Implementation: Challenges How to involve small businesses (SMEs) Large employers here have a strategy and they have the resources to be able to undertake diversity training in their workplaces and so on, but it is the mom and pop shops and the small businesses who really don’t have the resources. (Focus Group Participant) They aren’t as connected, their interest is making payroll on Friday, not looking 5 years out at their workforce needs, so the more immediate needs take over those long range planning strategies, but how do you get the message out to those folks, I think is the real challenge. (Focus Group Participant)

24. Project Implementation: Challenges Whether to target CEOs of companies or the HR managers One of the things that the task force has had to do is struggle with a bit is who are we actually targeting to be the focus and come out and get engaged with? (Focus Group Participant) It started off with the thought that you need to go after the presidents and CEO’s , because if you get that person engaged then it will trickle down through an organization. And in some organizations that is true but in other organizations it is the HR people that you need to target. (Focus Group Participant) It has been a little bit of a struggle in terms of do you want to mix presidents, CEO’s with HR people in the same room for the same kinds of conversations and will they be as open as a result of the dialogue? It is one of the challenges. (Focus Group Participant)

25. Project Outcomes Summary of outcomes The project has adopted a good approach to address the issues (business-to-business) with a lot of potential to succeed Most of the outcomes are related to ‘marketing the business case’ component of the strategy No evidence yet for the ‘marketing local labor market opportunities’ component of the ELS

26. Project Outcomes It is too early to talk about results It is [ELS] still at its formative stage. I think if you would look at this one year from now then we could see some results. We are still at early stages. (Focus Group Participant) The project has a great potential to benefit employers, immigrants and the economy as a whole The strategy has the potential to help immigrants and employers in a way that has not really been happening at this moment. (Focus Group Participant)

27. Project Outcomes The nature of the ELS (business-to-business approach) has a great potential for success Just to draw a parallel, in Britain where they have been trying to make some dents in hiring persons with disabilities, the only real success has happened within the last 5-7 years where it has been employer discussions. That is who they [employers] believe. It [ELS] is trying to develop that dialogue and getting champions. (Focus Group Participant)

28. Project Outcomes: Marketing the Business Case Mobilised employers (34) to serve as Employer Leaders I think the success that we have so far is that the task force has been very successful in bringing people into the room. (Focus Group Participant)

29. Project Outcomes: Marketing the Business Case

30. Project Outcomes: Marketing the Business Case But employer engagement and ownership was considered very low I know the project manager has been very conscious of making sure that it’s perceived as an employer-led council, which I think is great. But I don’t think anyone of us is under the false illusion when it comes to holding events that this has been solely organized by the employers for the employers. (Focus Group Participant) I don’t think that LMIEC has a profile among the business community. It just doesn’t. (Focus Group Participant)

31. Project Outcomes: Marketing the Business Case Vehicles utilized to market the business case: Global Talent Employer Guide Skills International Marketing Materials ESCLM & Member Agencies Marketing Materials Updated Chart on London Region Recruitment and Retention Initiatives Emerging Trends in Canadian Immigration: Planning for the Future (Naomi’s presentation)

32. Project Outcomes: Marketing the Business Case However, no tracking mechanism whether the employers find these resources/information useful, share with others and actually use them

33. Project Outcomes: Marketing the Business Case Developed new partnerships LMIEC strengthened partnership with Access Centre for Regulated Employment, Skills International and ESCLM member agencies LMIEC strengthened working relationships with 4 organizations (i.e. London Economic Development Corporation, TechAlliance, Human Resources Professionals London and District, London Chamber of Commerce)

34. Project Outcomes: Marketing the Business Case However, still many organizations are not engaged or have not partnered with LMIEC I think there are many professional organizations which have not yet been engaged so far. We could engage these professional organizations, they are listed on the business directory and can easily be accessed. (Focus Group Participant) It’s [partnership] coming through, not particularly through the planned doors that we want to connect with this group or that group. It’s been leveraging off the connections either through the ESCLM or through the WIL or other members of the group. (Focus Group Participant)

35. Project Outcomes: Marketing Recruitment and Retention Resources Not many people are aware of the availability of resources (newly developed or already available) and no evidence to prove whether the employers who are aware of these resources actually use (or share) them I guess the communication strategy is an issue. I belong to a couple of local HR organizations and even if I wanted to say to them, let me make a 5 minute presentation, is there a communication kit or package that I can use or a handout that says here are the resources you can use or go to. (Focus Group Participant)

36. Project Outcomes: Marketing Recruitment and Retention Resources Organized one event and partnered in network-driven event and provided opportunities to Employer Leaders to exchange experiences and share promising practices I think the strength is that they [events] are employer driven, led by the employers and it is the employers that are having the conversations with other employers. (Focus Group Participant) However, there was not enough sharing of resources with the SMEs

37. Outcomes: Marketing Local Labour Market Opportunities Not enough evidence at this point

38. Summary of Suggestions for the Future Continue organizing events and provide more opportunities/time for employers to network and discuss issues Continue to engage employers and focus more on involvement of SMEs Develop detailed activity plans/strategies for each main components of the ELS Develop further tools/ tracking mechanism for the use of LMIEC resources/information Develop partnerships with professional organizations, regulatory bodies, etc

39. Suggestions for the Future Continue to engage more employers. Bring more employers on the table. We need their perspective. (Focus Group Participant) Engage employers from all sectors and of different sizes It’s really important to have employer champions from all the different sectors. (Focus Group Participant) Not only simply employers but diversity of employers is also important--from the very large to very small businesses. (Focus Group Participant)

40. Suggestions for the Future Engage employers not represented on the events (e.g. transportation, construction) It is a worry to me, in London it is always the same players who seem to show up at all the events and just don’t have the depth in the community. (Focus Group Participant)

41. Suggestions for the Future Target both the CEOs and HR mangers of big companies You have to have both—the CEOs and the HR managers on board (Focus Group Participant) Get a better idea of what the employers’ needs are (e.g. through survey, site visits) I think we need to hear from employers [what are their needs?] (Focus Group Participant)

42. Suggestions for the Future Focus on SMEs engagement, outreach to them I think we need to look at the places that have 10-15 employees who really don’t have HR departments, they don’t have the resources. (Focus Group Participant) Engage Employer Champions with a focus on SMEs (Project Description Document) Going door to door [to these businesses]. Or where do they go? What is the meeting then where they go? Knowing, what are some of those common touch points?(Focus Group Participant)

43. Suggestions for the Future Provide networking opportunities for international students and newcomers and the employers Provide networking opportunities for international students and newcomers and businesses . We need to connect with them [ITIs]. They need to see what the community is doing for them. Right now it’s very disconnected. (Focus Group Participant) We really have to show international students how exciting we as a community are to have them [international students] here in London and what are the job prospects for them if they live here, etc. So they remain here after their studies. It requires a lot of work. (Focus Group Participant)

44. Suggestions for the Future Organize an event specifically focusing on international students I think we should be doing an event more specifically focused on International Students, because I think that a lot of the work to date and a lot of the way people are thinking is focused on newcomers and immigrants who come here with their families and whatnot as opposed to focussing on connecting people who have been trained in Canada. We should take advantage of the changes in the immigration system to be able to keep locally trained talent in London. (Focus Group Participant)

45. Suggestions for the Future Develop an effective communication strategy and tracking tools for use of resources I think we have done a good job of connecting and getting those resources out to employers, but the problem is employers don’t really pay attention to it unless advertised repetitively and effectively. (Focus Group Participant) Develop a detailed activity plan for each main component of the ELS

46. Questions/Clarifications