Friday, August 13, 2010

Beat the Talent Shortage through Hiring Diversity

My column in this week's Financial Post looks at why small business owners should be looking to hire more immigrants to solve their talent-shortage problems – and how they can start getting better connected to ethnic communities.

My source: Deepak Chopra, president of Pitney Bowes Canada, an immigrant hmself who has led several initiatives in which PB works hard to attract, develop retain and encourage multicultural talent. As he says, "In the boardroom, diverse talent tends to hold back."

Excerpt:
Leveraging immigrants' skills would also help companies tap fast-growing consumer markets, such as the Chinese populations in cities such as Richmond Hill, Ont., and Burnaby, B.C., says Chopra. Family businesses especially would benefit from hiring skilled newcomers to complement the family's skill set and help them identify and serve new markets.

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