Workforce Language Services

The Financial Post reported on a study done by researchers at the University of Calgary about the process of acculturation into a new country.  The article quotes some very interesting data gleaned from the research and ends with two take home points: a diverse workforce supports immigrants’ integration into the new culture and the more interaction immigrants have with other cultures, the more successfully they will integrate into their new country.

The study attempts to answer some of the questions raised at the beginning of the article, such as:

It is well known what management practices are effective in different parts of the world. But how about managing immigrants? What is the optimal approach to an employee who, for example, grew up in China and immigrated to Canada 10 years ago? Should it be assumed that the person still has Chinese cultural values, or should it be expected that the person has been Canadianized? How long does it take for an immigrant employee to acculturate? What are the factors that can speed up or slow down the acculturation pace?

The study’s findings will enable Human Resources professionals to craft management policies that can begin to address the needs of employees, especially in companies which employ a high number of recent immigrants.