How to tap First Nations talent

Sherry Lawson (left), director of corporate affairs and public relations for Casino Rama hotel near Orillia, ON spoke on hiring aboriginal staff

WINNIPEG—About 180 educators, human resources professionals, consultants and other persons with connections to tourism-related business registered for the CTHRC conference held late last year at the Fairmont Winnipeg hotel.

Topics covered at the conference were finding and keeping great people, hiring seasonal employees, a coaching approach to leadership, hiring foreign workers and attracting aboriginal staff.

Nick Bontis, director of the Institute for Intellectual Capital Research spoke on how human resources people can improve their leadership qualities, and discussed the results of new research into HR methodology.

Warren Erhart, president and CEO of White Spot Hospitality spoke about his company’s culture, and how the restaurant chain treats customers and staff.

Deri Latimer, a professional speaker, trainer, consultant and author, urged her audience to move out of old ways of thinking and to “move into a new groove.”

The conference closed with consultant, author and speaker Olivia McIvor discussing the different ethics of a variety of generations all employed together in the same workplace, and suggested leadership strategies for such an environment.

Untapped labour pool

The CTHRC says that in the next 12 years, 400,000 young aboriginal people will enter the Canadian workforce, adding to the 652,000 who are already of working age.

Cheryl Lavallee, a training coordinator for Employment Manitoba, and Sherry Lawson, director of corporate affairs and public relations for Casino Rama, near Orillia in Ontario, spoke about attracting aboriginal workers.

Casino Rama is a gambling, hotel and entertainment complex which grossed $500 million last year.

It has 600 First Nations employees, said Lawson. Although it is on Canadian aboriginal land, its owners are in the United States. She said these owners had to be taught to adapt to aboriginal ways.

Lavallee described the First Nations labour pool as “under-utilized and under-represented.”
She emphasized the importance of potential employers getting across the idea that working for them offers benefits to the employee as well as the employer. Employers must be willing to negotiate and be willing to make concessions, she said.

Lawson pointed out that the standard policy for the company that owns Casino Rama is to allow three days bereavement leave when a loved one dies.
 
However, First Nations people take three days to lead up to the funeral, and 365 days later hold a special memorial feast. So the casino gives a paid day off for the memorial day, and travel time as well for those who need it.

The most difficult thing for employers is adapting and being flexible enough to change, said Lavallee.

There should also be open communication between employers and the aboriginal community, she said. “Nothing is immune from review and discussion.” This is the way to clear the air and work out differences, she said.

First Nations people will be more disposed to work for a company that shows it has made a genuine effort to understand their culture, said Lavallee.

Casino Rama serves First Nations food in its staff eating facility. Management also allows time off for special events such as First Nations Day.

It has a First Nations Affairs Department which will do things such as helping an employee find a babysitter so they can come to work, and giving employees who need it a ride to the casino.

When hiring for a position of manager or higher, a representative from the First Nations department sits in on job interviews to represent native interests.

The community and staff were consulted on the design of the casino which has copper wall sconces and beaded carpets reflecting native culture.

To find aboriginal help, advertising in The Globe and Mail and National Post doesn’t work, pointed out Lawson.

Drum Magazine and the Powwow newsletter, as well as little underground newspapers, are the media that reach this part of society.

The casino also puts up booths at native gatherings and send recruiters to cities with large aboriginal populations.

Summing up her message, Lawson said that to recruit aboriginals go where they are, and to keep them on the job, respect their culture.