Custodial Services expands applicant pool
April 05, 2023
Submitted on behalf of Custodial Services, Facilitaties Management.
Recently, as part of a greater strategy to improve applicant numbers in a challenging labour market, Custodial Services expanded their applicant pool by including those with limited English language skills, specifically Ukrainian newcomers fleeing war.
Increasing the applicant pool
Custodial Services recently attended a Ukrainian-newcomer focussed job fair, hosted by the Construction Association of BC, despite not knowing what to expect in terms of attendee language proficiency. At the fair, staff from Facilities Management and Human Resources spoke with interested applicants sometimes with the support of their friends or family who helped with translation. They were able to have some quick screening conversations and schedule interviews that were conducted later on-campus.The next challenge was to ensure effective communication methods for the interviews. As Lawrence Lu, Custodial Services Manager remarked “This was definitely new territory for us. Even with a department as culturally diverse as ours, and the experience we have gained throughout our careers at UVic and before, we had not navigated this type of situation before, one where basic communication was our largest barrier.” Luckily with the help of Human Resources and The Ukrainian Cultural Centre, an interpreter Daria, a Career Catalyst for the Construction Foundation of BC was found to assist during interviews.
Developing new skills
In addition to having an interpreter attend initial training sessions and translating orientation materials, Custodial Services needed to develop skills in a very short time for ongoing communication. During the training week, the team transitioned from relying on the interpreter to using tools such as phone translation apps, communicating with body language and gestures, and physical demonstration to accelerate information exchange. “It was very slow and difficult at first, but our team learned to adapt to other methods of communication and our new Ukrainian team members began to pick up language skills through this full immersion. By the end of the week, we were ready to be on our own without the interpreter,” remarked Lawrence Lu.
A team effort
While the long-term success of this effort has yet to be determined, Custodial Services is very optimistic and excited about the doors that this initiative has opened for rising to similar challenges in the future. Training supervisors reflected on how despite initial apprehension, witnessing slow progress accelerate to success after success was a gratifying accomplishment.
Lawrence Lu commented that “this strategy not only allows our department to increase the applicant pool, it also works to reduce systemic recruiting barriers.” He encourages others at UVic to be creative as there are often solutions to problems that may ‘seem’ insurmountable.
These efforts would not have been possible without
- the collaborative work of the Custodial Services team including Peter Cassar, Brian Gauthier, James Mason and other supervisors;
- support from Human Resources staff including Rebecca Lumley and Boriana Tzatcheva;
- Facilitaties Management leadership support from Leigh Andersen and Melissa Donaldson; and
- the wonderful new employees that have been thriving in their immersed environment thus far.