Recruitment and Retention of Talented Staff
Success Story Preparatory Training Programs of Toronto
“We were recruiting three new instructors and we wanted instructors who would bring some ‘other’ qualities and skills to the job because of our focus on workforce literacy. The ad read ‘We’re a little bit different – are you?’ Well – we received over 350 applications. Although it was a lengthy process – we ended up hiring a some very talented staff – one in particular who is still working with us today – a Ph.D. candidate who had been a ‘cook’ at daycare for over 10 years.”
Success Story Lutherwood, Waterloo
“Our organization had developed an extensive recruitment and retention strategy based upon input from front-line staff and management. For us this has become a key component of our strategic plan. We recognize that our staff are our greatest asset and have invested heavily in both recruitment and retention strategies. Our strategy includes a variety of components including a competitive salary and benefit package (reviewed annually), a focus on the culture of our organization, peer mentor programs, incentives for staff who refer an employee to us, staff appreciation strategies, exceptional performance awards which recognize demonstration of our core values, individual and team awards for exceptional customer service, active engagement of staff in planning and a variety of strategies all based upon a management philosophy which incorporates the importance of recruiting and maintaining excellent staff.”
Success Story Pathways Skill Development, London
“One of our staff came to Canada less than 6 years ago. In her former country she was a Labour Judge and lawyer, but none of those credentials carried forward to Canada. Shortly after coming as a client to us, she began volunteering as an administrative staff member. She later was hired on staff full time and we began to assist her in moving forward in a new career in social services. After working on this program for three years and taking many internal opportunities to learn and develop professionally she applied to an internal posting for an employment counsellor and was successful. She continues her studies with Pathways’ financial support and has become one of our most valuable employees. This story is multiplied many times over at Pathways with individuals who begin their employment out of social assistance situations, often lacking high levels of confidence due to recent difficult events in their lives.
We are committed to developing our staff in every area through our culture, staff meetings, interactions and professional development funds. We have observed vast amounts of growth in many of our employees personally and professionally as we focus on the whole person, not just the particular role.”
Success Story John Howard Society, Welland
“We have an extremely detailed behaviour based interview process. This has allowed us to recruit the type of people we are looking for. The interview process is the same for all candidates. This was only revamped during the last year and we have found our quality of candidates has gone up with little room for “bad” hires. We have a Director of HR who oversees all the agencies hiring, reference checks and offers of employment. We have low turnover rates for staff – we feel it is in part due to a publicized competitive salary grid, regular supervision and performance reviews, many opportunities for staff to complete Professional Development and attend conferences, including college and university courses. We have excellent leave and paid sick time, and an excellent relationship through the Labour/Management committee to ensure issues are resolved before potential grievances can occur. Staff are always offered the opportunity to job shadow other positions to encourage cross training and create organizational capacity.”
Success Story Business Education Council of Niagara
“BEC is committed to improving the BEC work environment and helping employees manage the multiple commitments of work, personal, community and family life. We offer a Family Responsibility Benefit designed to accommodate these needs. The FRB provides up to 21 hours of paid time off annually for a variety of family related reasons. To ensure continuous delivery of quality programs, every attempt must be made to schedule appointments outside working hours. Time may be taken in hours or days. Approval must be given by the Project Manager. The FRB cannot be attached to a vacation period.”
