When Employer Perceptions of Immigrants Influence their Diversity Management Practices
In Quebec, as elsewhere around the world, some groups remain under-represented in employment. Recent immigrants (RIs) are one of these groups. Indeed, their participation in the labour market is impeded by a number of obstacles and they have much higher unemployment rates than non-immigrants. This article examines the link between employer perceptions of RIs and the diversity management practices implemented to retain them. The methodology used was a mixed exploratory research design wherein 2,376 employers filled out a questionnaire and 87 employers participated in focus group discussions. These employers included business owners, leaders, managers, and human resource management directors or professionals from various industry sectors and firms of various sizes. The results showed a significant positive relationship between hiring experiences involving RIs and employers’ perceptions of RIs (r = 0.532, p< 0.01). Focus group participants mentioned that their perceptions had evolved depending on the negative or positive nature of these hiring experiences. The results also showed significant positive relationships between employer perceptions and employee retention practices, presenting correlation coefficients between 0.185 and 0.390 (p< 0.01). The qualitative phase of the study revealed that when employers perceived RIs as contributing to organizational performance, they were more likely to implement diversity management practices. The anticipated benefits of hiring RIs, as perceived by the employers, modulated the latter’s willingness to implement various employee retention measures. Diversity management practices were thus found to be reactive, although some employers were considering moving toward proactivity.