3 tips for employers to leverage immigrants' innovative capacity
Immigrants can help boost Canada’s innovation performance, which has been lagging behind many other developed countries, according to a Conference Board of Canada report.
Canada ranks 14th out of 17 industrialized countries in the Conference Board’s How Canada Performs innovation report card.
“Immigrants tend to be motivated individuals willing to take risks in search of greater opportunities, which should predispose them to be innovative,” said Diana MacKay, director of education and health at the Conference Board of Canada. “At every level we examined — individual, organizational, national and global — immigrants were associated with increased innovation in Canada.”
Immigrants as Innovators: Boosting Canada’s Global Competitiveness uses a number of measures to show countries benefit from welcoming immigrants. For example, in Canada:
• At least 35 per cent of Canada Research Chairs are foreign-born, even though immigrants are just 20 per cent of the Canadian population.
• Immigrants to Canada win proportionally more prestigious literary and performing arts awards (immigrants comprise 23 per cent of Giller Prize finalists and 29 per cent of winners, while 23 per cent of Governor General's Performing Arts Award recipients are immigrants).
• Immigration rates affect trade levels between Canada and immigrants’ countries of origin. Based on the Conference Board’s model of known factors influencing trade, a one-percentage-point increase in the number of immigrants to Canada can increase the value of imports into Canada by 0.21 per cent and raise the value of exports by 0.11 per cent.
• Immigrants are a source of diverse knowledge and experience that can increase innovation in Canadian businesses.
• Foreign direct investment into Canada is greater from countries that are well represented in Canada through immigration.
Despite the innovation skills that immigrants bring to Canada, they face obstacles that limit their ability to maximize their contribution as innovators. These include inadequate recognition of international experience and qualifications, failure of employers to tap foreign language skills that could be employed in international markets and lack of opportunities for newcomers to fully utilize their skills.
Employers can make hiring, integrating and retaining immigrants effective innovation strategies. Policies and practices available to employers to help immigrants contribute in the labour market include:
• Hiring immigrants at every level of the organization, including in leadership roles: Employees tend to be more dedicated to an organization and motivated in their work if they see the organization is committed to their advancement.
• Matching the organization’s workforce to its clientele: Employers that match the diversity of their staff to that of their markets may be better positioned to meet their client’s needs.
• Providing encouragement for immigrants to share their views: Managers who actively invite feedback from immigrant employees reap the benefits of hearing diverse points of view, which is essential for innovation.
