| When Assiniboine Credit Union was chosen as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers for 2009, President and CEO Al Morin thanked all the employees who were “committed and dedicated to making ACU’s diversity and inclusion initiatives so successful.”
Lisa Anderson, Assiniboine’s employment and diversity manager, echoes Morin’s sentiments in recognizing that the credit union’s success has been a team effort.
“We all come with many, many different skills and experiences,” she says. “And generally if you take the time to get to know someone and understand what they’re coming with, that will bring more to the team than you ever would imagine.”
Assiniboine has gotten that buy-in in a number of ways—primarily by asking managers to become mentors. It all started with the immigrant integration program—asking newcomers to dinner, helping them with their shopping, for instance.
“Once they see the value of doing that, they actually become the greatest ambassadors for the programs because they’ve taken the time to get to know the person,” Anderson explains. “It’s more about this person is an amazing person and they bring a lot to the job.”
The payback for ACU has been phenomenal, not just in terms of recruiting and retaining skilled immigrants but also in attracting an ethnically diverse customer base.
“Often we get referred as a great place to come and do your banking because we have a diverse workforce,” Anderson says. “So when they come into the bank and they see other individuals from their country or other countries…they want to work there.”
As a result, ACU can boast that a total of 42 languages are spoken throughout its branches in and around Winnipeg and northern Manitoba.
So successful has its Immigrant Integration Program been, Assiniboine is now doing a similar program for aboriginals who are re-entering the workforce or have been traditionally underemployed. Participants complete a five-week training program, followed by a three-month, fulltime paid work placement. Candidates are then offered permanent positions once the placement is over.
If Assiniboine did nothing more than these two programs, it would deserve its place on the list of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers, but it doesn’t stop there. ACU has been proactive about hiring employees with disabilities. It attends career fairs hosted by disability organizations, posts job openings with Connect Employment Services, an agency that provides employment assistance to adults with intellectual disabilities, and then places candidates in entry level positions such as statement administrators.
Assiniboine Credit Union and its 593 employees—78% of whom are women—is the ninth largest credit union in Canada. Despite its size, it has succeeded in getting its managers and employees to recognize and believe in the value of investing time to work with different organizations and ultimately with some simply “amazing” people. And to ACU that is the real definition of diversity. |
