growing D&I champions by bridging learning and involvement.

Change and learning go hand in hand. As part of our holistic approach to diversity and inclusion, Randstad Canada has been offering a variety of training programs to our employees of all levels. In 2021 alone, we touched approximately 3,226 lives of our internal workforce through live training, self-directed tools and various employee-led initiatives and events, including external articles, panels and round tables. However, as we collectively progressed on our D&I  journey, many members of our staff expressed the desire to do more and to be more for our colleagues, our talent, clients and communities. For example, one of our training participants points out: “Businesses are not hiring people with disabilities - in 71% of the cases due to lack of awareness or stigma/fear of the unknown. We need to do more to change this mindset!” In an effort to bridge learning and action, we created a Diversity and Inclusion certificate/badge program available to all Randstad Canada’s employees.

what is Randstad Canada’s D&I certificate/badge program? 

Through Randstad’s partnership with Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) we gained access to a variety of content that supplemented our own D&I training. This allowed us to cater to different interests and starting points. More specifically, our Level 1 badge leading to the D&I ambassador title, covers D&I fundamentals such as unconscious bias in recruitment and intercultural competence, while offering a variety of elective options to become an active ally for Indigenous peoples, the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, individuals with disabilities to name a few. The goal of Level 2 and 3 badges is to allow participants to advance their learning through involvement. These more advanced levels explore inclusive leadership through webinars and self-reflection exercises while prompting participants to become active allies and advocates by joining Randstad’s business resource groups and contributing to D&I initiatives.  

what is the program’s impact?

The certificate program is not a quick training module - it requires a certain time commitment from participants, including a thorough graduation exam. So far, eleven D&I champions and four D&I ambassadors graduated from the Certificate program, while more than one hundred others started the process. The feedback from participants shows that the Fundamentals level has a significant impact on employee commitment levels to D&I, both internally and externally: 

• If I witness, experience or someone shares with me their experiences of exclusion, I will be an advocate to correct the action, to encourage policy change and also to be an individual someone turns to to lead change and improvement.
• D&I is a topic that interests me a lot, but I am only an expert on my own culture. I need to keep being curious and learn from those around me, those who come from different backgrounds and whose opinions differ from mine. It is also crucial to put all judgment/assumptions and one's personal experiences aside and just keep on learning. 
• I commit to implementing strategies, techniques and plans to improve my recruitment process, such as inclusive job descriptions, learning about the market and specific fields. For example, there are more men than women in the engineering market. What can I do differently? 
• The key is to remove bias from the hiring process. I want to be able to educate my customers. 
• My commitment is to be more conscious of microinequities. How am I showing up? I am now able to watch myself and my reactions/expressions on customer/internal calls and meetings. Small exclusionary acts all result in differential treatment, which we have to be more aware of.

When it comes to the Ambassador level that promotes experiential learning, we have not only seen growth in membership in Randstad Canada’s business resource groups but increased involvement in various company-wide D&I initiatives. 

Regardless of where you are on your D&I journey, we are here to empower and enrich our talent, clients, and people by sharing our D&I journeys and providing leadership and guidance to answer the question “how to build a sustainable and inclusive workforce”. Connect with our D&I team.