Thursday, July 31, 2025

Solving the Productivity Problem (Part Four)

To improve productivity, employers need to step up their training and integration of new workers.

By Andrew Regnerus, Ontario Construction Coordinator

Despite the increase in migrant, immigrant, and temporary foreign workers (TFWs) in recent years, Canada’s labour productivity continues to decline. In an article in Canadian HR Reporter, Jeff Doucet, CEO of Thrive Career Wellness, advises that these workers are having difficulty utilizing their skills in part because of a lack of training and improper onboarding.

Immigration and TFWs

The recent capping of immigration and the number of TFWs by the federal government has had varied results. The current Trump-era neopatriotism in Canada buttresses the policy, yet many industries claim that more immigrant workers are needed. I won’t make the case for either side but only consider the connections to productivity.

Some work in Canada—usually on the lower end of the skill and pay scales—has been done by migrant, immigrant, or TFWs for a generation or more. I grew up in Ontario’s Niagara fruit belt where this has been obvious since the ’70s.

Other work requires greater skill. For example, in western Canada, the petrochemical industry accessed a global skilled workforce during the oil boom a couple of decades ago. And the number of positions for certain white-collar professionals continues to increase, particularly in technology sectors.

Integrating New Workers

Some employers praise the high productivity and work ethic that new or non-Canadians bring. (Could this productivity stem more from fear than their work habits?) Counterclaims we hear are that cultural differences impede productivity. Let’s talk about that.

Newcomers, having experienced a disruption in social settings moving to a new country, need help acclimatizing to Canadian cultural expectations. However, with careful onboarding, productivity improvements result.

The key is to discover basic transferable skills in newcomers. Doucet argues that by smoothing the rough edges of cultural differences in work style, organizational dynamics, and workplace rules, employers can access more of a foreign worker’s skills.

More deeply skilled workers make the workplace more resilient and provide more meaningful work for them. In fact, diversity that results from global recruitment accesses new insights and new work methods that can enhance productivity.

Train the Workforce

Onboarding is an important part of integrating any new worker, whether foreign born or not, especially young workers. As generation Z and alpha (the demographic cohort succeeding generation Z) enter the workforce, employers may feel that they have recruited from a foreign country.

Employers need to carefully monitor all new workers during their first 30, 60, and 90 days to verify their competencies. They need to equip them with clear expectations and enough training to do their work well, safely, efficiently, and in a way that integrates them with a full work complement. They also need to be on the lookout for hidden talent that they can use.

Investing in upskilling a workforce enhances individual and group productivity. When workers realize their potential and flourish, efficiencies emerge. Training leads to more quickly filling vacancies from within. Further, internal promotion improves morale and retention, both of which improve productivity.

Despite these facts, “Canadian companies, by and large, spend less money on training for their entire employee base than our competitors in other OECD nations,” according to Doucet. We need to reverse this, or Canada’s labour productivity will continue to decline.

Solving the Productivity Problem (Part Four)

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