Canadian companies are increasingly getting into the spirit of national “Take our Kids to Work” day. The activity enhances their brand image to employees and the general public, and allows them to establish an initial contact with future potential employees at the same time.
Set for the first Wednesday of November, “Take our Kids to Work” day is part of orientation and career week.Created by Ontario-based association “The Learning Partnership” in 1994, the event is getting bigger and bigger. And rightly so, because according to Jacynthe Dallaire, program manager for The Learning Partnership, companies derive numerous benefits: “For employers, it’s an opportunity to support their staff as parents, and to strengthen internal links” This is a point of view shared by Danielle Gagnon, senior human resources advisor for National Bank Financial (NBF), who has put a lot of work into organizing the November 7 event. NBF had 7 children participate in Montreal, 6 in the branches and 16 in Toronto. The program featured the management of a million virtual dollars, McQuaig psychometric testing for orientation, the presentation of various departments (IT, business continuity, and operations), testimonials from two interns, the simulation of hiring interviews, and the management of conflict situations and organizational problems… In short, the kids had a chance to plunge into a typical day of work at the bank.
Danielle and her co-workers had a great deal of fun setting it up, with the added bonus that it also boosted the company’s image. “National Bank Financial comes across as a good corporate citizen. At the same time, we’re planting seeds for the next generation of workers. It’s relatively inexpensive and good public relations. We reinforce employees’ feeling of belonging and also attract other people,” explains Danielle Gagnon. Diane Brunet, a computer applications support assistant for Bell Canada who organized a visit for 28 children, shares this opinion. “Each year, we invite all our employees to get involved in this event. It represents a big investment in terms of time, but maybe the children will take home good memories of their day and some day consider working for BellCanada” she says.
The event has already enabled more than 1.5 million young Canadians to meet with tens of thousands of companies: “Bombardier, General Electric, Air Canada, BMO, Royal Bank of Canada,… They all want to organize the most interesting day,” saysJacynthe Dallaire. In her opinion, it’s also a perfect opportunity to get kids to realize the importance of education and training: “The event represents a first exploration of potential careers. It encourages the efforts of their parents to earn a living and shows them that school is not an end in itself.“
With the looming retirement of the baby boomers, Canadian companies are being more proactive. Projecting a good employerimage to young people has become a crucial issue.