Second Annual HIO Awards

Submit your nomination today!

Nomination Deadline: February 6, 2009

Awards Presentation: April 1st, 2009

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Nomination Criteria & Form

Welcome! We are pleased to accept your nomination for the HIO (Hire Immigrants Ottawa) Awards celebrating local public and private sector employers that excel in recruiting and retaining skilled immigrants.

A total of six awards will be presented at the Hire Immigrants Ottawa Employer Council of Champions Summit in March 2009. This public event will receive considerable media coverage, highlighting recipients of the awards.

Awards will be presented in each of the following three employer categories:

Small Employer (less than 100 employees);

Mid-Size Employer (100 to 500 employees); and,

Large Employer(more than 500 employees)

In the case of multi-regional or multi-national organizations, the number of local
(National Capital Region-based) employees will determine the employer size category.

Within each category, there will be two awards – one for employee recruitment and one for employee retention.

As you proceed with the nomination process, if you have any questions or concerns please contactHenry Akankoat: (613) 683-3881.

General Criteria (applicable to all employer categories)

To be considered for a HIO Award, an employer must be able to demonstrate that:

  • their employees work within the limits of the National Capital Region;
  • immigrants are generally employed in roles that are commensurate with their skills, experience, education and professional training;
  • they adhere to any relevant statutory acts, regulations or by-laws which relate to the application of dignity and respect in the workplace, particularly as it relates to the principles of human rights and equity (e.g. Equal Employment Opportunity, Canadian labour laws).

For the purpose of the HIO Awards, skilled immigrants are defined as individuals who:

  • immigrated to Canada with relevant post-secondary skills training/education, professional credentials and/or work experience;
  • are permanent residents of Canada or New Canadians; and,
  • have lived in Canada for no more than 10 years.

Before you continue your submission, please provide the following information about your organization:

Name of Company/Organization/Government Department:

Address:

Main Product or Services offered:

Name of Contact Person:

Title:

Telephone Number:

Email Address:

By submitting this application to the HIO Awards your Organization grants Hire Immigrants Ottawa (HIO)rights, title and interest to reproduce the work referenced in this submission for media, print and electronic venues.

NameDate

Signature

Please select the appropriate submission category:

A. Employee Recruitment

B. Employee Retention

Employee Recruitment

Employer Category (select one):

Small Employer (less than 100 employees)
Mid-Size Employer (100 to 500 employees)
Large Employer (more than 500 employees)

When completing your employer’s nomination, please be sure to address the following questions:

  • How have your efforts in recruitingskilled immigrants impacted your organization?
  • What indicators did you use to measure your success (e.g. hire rates, recruitment rates, number of placements)?
  • What “best practices” in the recruitment of skilled immigrants have you developed that could be shared with other organizations?

In addition to responding to the general criteria and the above questions, employers must demonstrate innovation and/or positive practices in the following categories below in their submission. Please provide detailed descriptions of programs, policies and practices.

Awareness & Leadership - Describe how the leadership of your organization demonstrates an understanding of the importance of skilled immigrants to the success and growth of the organization (e.g. policies or programs that support the inclusion of skilled immigrants in staffing strategies). Please further describe how they have instilled this awareness among staff members (e.g. staff awareness campaigns, training and/or information provided to hiring/human resources managers/officers).

Planning & Sourcing - Discuss how your organization has taken steps to actively attract qualified skilled immigrants to apply for employment (e.g. by creating relationships with community/immigrant organizations; by advertising job openings using ethnic/directed media sources; by providing appropriate training to hiring managers/officers).

Selecting - Explain how your organization ensures lack of bias when selecting employees (e.g. policies, selection tools and/or processes). Please also describe the methods that your organization uses to ensure that the international experience and credentials of skilled immigrants are appropriately recognized.

Please limit award submissions to a maximum of five typed pages of text (12 point font size).

Awareness & Leadership
Planning & Sourcing
Selecting

Please submit your completed nomination forms to:

We will confirm that your nomination has been received.

Employee Retention

Employer Category (select one):

Small Employer (less than 100 employees)
Mid-Size Employer (100 to 500 employees)
Large Employer (more than 500 employees)

When completing your employer’s nomination, please be sure to address the following questions:

  • How have your efforts in retaining skilled immigrants impacted your organization?
  • What indicators did you use to measure your success (e.g. hire rates, retention rates, number of placements)?
  • What “best practices” in the retention of skilled immigrants have you developed that could be shared with other organizations?

In addition to responding to the general criteria and the above questions, employers must demonstrate innovation and/or positive practices in followingcategories below in their submission. Please provide detailed descriptions of programs, policies and practices.

Awareness & Leadership - Describe how the leadership of your organization demonstrates an understanding of the importance of skilled immigrants to the success and growth of the organization (e.g. policies or programs that support the inclusion of skilled immigrants in staffing strategies). Please further describe how they have instilled this awareness among staff members (e.g. staff awareness campaigns, training and/or information provided to hiring/human resources managers/officers).

Developing - Discuss formal and informal training and development programs designed to assist all employees to develop, with specific focus on how these have been effective for skilled immigrants. This may include processes in place to assess the unique credentials of skilled immigrants, and specific development programs that allow them to reach their full potential and maximize their contributions to the organization.

Creating an Inclusive Climate –Explain how your organization has created an inclusive and supportive work environment for all employees, and specifically skilled immigrants. This may include policies, and/or formal and informal programs, practices and activities.

Please limit award submissions to a maximum of five typed pages of text (12 point font size).

Awareness & Leadership
Developing
Creating an Inclusive Climate

Please submit your completed nomination forms to:

We will confirm that your nomination has been received.

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