Archived - Step 2 – Workforce Analysis

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Introduction

In Step 1, data was gathered on the representation of designated group members within your workforce through the workforce survey. Your organization is now prepared to conduct a workforce analysis. The purpose of the workforce analysis is to determine whether or not the representation of the four designated groups working in specific occupational groups within your workforce is consistent with their availability in the larger Canadian labour force. Full or under-representation is determined by comparing your internal representation data (the number of designated group members in each occupational group within your workforce) to external availability data (the expected number of designated group members in each specific occupational group in the appropriate Canadian workforce).

Where your internal representation data does not match the appropriate external availability data, gaps in representation exist. The results of this analysis will become the basis for the review of your employment systems to determine why gaps exist. Your organization may find areas where designated group members are well represented (i.e., the number of designated groups in a specific occupational group is consistent with their expected availability, as determined by Census and the Participation and Activities Limitation Survey (PALS) data). In these cases, you may be able to identify which positive practices have resulted in good representation; these practices may be transferable to other areas where representation is lacking.

By following the instructions provided in this section of Step 2: Workforce Analysis, your organization will be able to conduct a comprehensive workforce analysis that meets the Federal Contractors Program Requirements. To assist you further in this task, a number of tools are provided and may be found in the appendix at the end of this guide.

This introductory section provides background and summary information on the workforce analysis, including:

  • a summary of the legislative framework, including requirements under the Act, the Regulations and the Federal Contractors Program;
  • a series of key points to remember;
  • a list of tools; and
  • a summary of the methodology to be used to conduct a workforce analysis, further detailed in the three tasks listed for this section of Step 2.

Legislative Framework

As an organization implementing employment equity in your workplace, you are required to conduct a workforce analysis under the Employment Equity Act, the Employment Equity Regulations and the Federal Contractors Program Requirements.

The Employment Equity Act

Subsection 9(1) of the Employment Equity Act requires your organization to collect information and conduct an analysis of its workforce to determine the degree of under-representation of designated groups in each occupational group in your workplace.

Employment Equity Regulations

Sections 6 and 7 of the Regulations provide details on the requirements of the workforce analysis. These sections specify that the purpose of the workforce analysis is to determine:

  • the number of designated group members in your organization; and
  • the representation of designated group members in each occupational group in your organization’s workforce as compared to their representation in the Canadian workforce as a whole, or to the segments of the Canadian workforce from which your organization is expected to recruit.

Federal Contractors Program Requirements

Under Requirement 5, your organization must conduct a workforce analysis. To fulfil this requirement, you must:

  • analyze internal representation data retrieved through the workforce survey by comparing this data with appropriate external availability data;
  • analyze the concentration of the four designated groups in occupational groups by comparing their distribution with employees who are not members of designated groups.
  • analyze the salary levels of the four designated groups by comparing them with those of all employees who are not members of designated groups at the same Employment Equity Occupational Group (EEOG) level;
  • analyze the shares of hires, promotions and terminations received by designated group members in comparison to employees who are not members of designated groups; and
  • prepare a narrative summary of the results of all analyses.

Key Points to Remember

While conducting a workforce analysis and throughout the employment equity process, your organization must communicate regularly about your employment equity initiatives; consult with employees, management, bargaining agents and employee representatives; and maintain appropriate records.

Communication

By communicating with employees, management, bargaining agents and employee representatives, a climate of understanding, commitment and support is created that will contribute to your organization’s ability to implement employment equity. It is important that all individuals within the organization be made aware of how your organization is conducting its workforce analysis.

Consultation

Employees, management, bargaining agents and employee representatives must be invited to discuss issues related to the workforce analysis at all points in the process. Sharing the results of the workforce analysis with them as soon as these results are available can help in getting initial feedback on possible causes of gaps identified prior to the employment systems review.

Record Keeping

It is important to keep good records of the steps your organization has taken in conducting a workforce analysis. Electronic or hard-copy records of the process are needed to review for potential errors and also as proof that correct procedures were followed, especially when the organization undergoes a compliance review.

Workforce Analysis Tools

Step 2 provides a number of tools that will help your organization complete its workforce analysis.

Tools

  • Workplace Equity Information Management System (WEIMS) (www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/labour/index.shtml)
  • Workforce Analysis Table (Appendix 2A)
  • Employment Equity Data Report (EEDR) (www.labour.gc.ca)
  • Clustering Analysis Table (Excel spreadsheet, Appendix 2B)
  • Flow Data Analysis Table (Excel spreadsheet, Appendix 2C)

Summary of Methodology

Choose one of the following two options to conduct your organization’s workforce analysis:

  1. The Workplace Equity Information Management System (WEIMS)
    WEIMS, Which has replaced the Employment Equity Computerized Reporting System (EECRS), is an online application intended for use by employers falling under both the Legislated Employment Equity Program (LEEP) and the Federal Contractors Program (FCP). The system provides analytical tools and templates that assist employers with meeting their obligations under the Employment Equity Act. Your organization is strongly encouraged to choose this option because it eliminates time-consuming calculations and provides you with the required detailed tables quickly.
  2. The Workforce Analysis Table Your organization may also conduct a workforce analysis using the Workforce Analysis Table provided in Appendix 2A. To use this table, you must use the Employment Equity Data Report to locate the appropriate external availability data.

Where the data is available, you will further assess the representation of designated group members in the workplace through a clustering analysis if appropriate and a flow data analysis. Finally, you must develop a summary report of the results of the workforce analysis.

Upon completion of Step 2: Workforce Analysis, you will have:

  • compared the representation of the four designated groups by occupational group in your organization with their availability in the appropriate labour market;
  • identified significant gaps in the representation of designated group members within your workforce;
  • completed a clustering analysis (if appropriate) to determine if designated group members are concentrated in specific occupations;
  • completed a flow data analysis (if three years of data is available) to identify the shares of hires, promotions and terminations of the designated group members in your workforce;
  • written a summary report detailing the results of your workforce analysis and the methodology involved; and
  • videntified areas of significant under-representation upon which the employment systems review will be focussed.

Workforce Analysis: A–C Task Outline

Task A - Retrieve relevant workforce data and determine gaps in representation

Decide whether to use the Workplace Equity Information Management System (WEIMS) or the Workforce Analysis Table to process and analyze data retrieved from your workforce survey. Detailed instructions on how to complete a workforce analysis using either of these options are provided.

Task B - Apply additional analysis tools

To further assess the representation of designated group members in the workplace, two additional types of analyses may be performed. Your organization must conduct a clustering analysis if there are 20 or more members of a designated group in a particular Employment Equity Occupational Group (EEOG). A flow data analysis must be conducted if the required data is available, or prior to a follow-up review. Detailed instructions on how to conduct both types of analyses are provided.

Task C - Prepare a summary report of results

Prepare a summary report explaining the results of your workforce analysis, including a description of the methodology involved in the process and in the identification of EEOGs where gaps in representation were found for each designated group.

Task A: Retrieve Relevant Workforce Data and Determine Gaps in Representation

The first task in the workforce analysis process is to use the information collected during your workforce survey to compare the number of designated group members in your organization’s workforce to that of the larger Canadian workforce. You must compare internal representation (number of designated group members in occupational groups in your workforce) to external availability (the expected number of designated group members in each occupational group determined by Census data or PALS data). Once this comparison is made, your organization will assess the results for gaps. A gap is a negative difference between the actual number of designated group members in the internal workforce and the expected number, based on external availability. The gaps that you identify in your workforce analysis will become the focus of your employment systems review.

Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) is a national survey designed to collect information on adults and children with a disability—that is, individuals whose everyday activities are limited because of a condition or health problem. PALS provides essential information on the prevalence of various disabilities and on supports for persons with disabilities, their employment profile, their income and their participation in society.

Upon completion of Task A, you will have:

  • used the Workplace Equity Information Management System (WEIMS) or the Workforce Analysis Table to compare your organization’s internal workforce data to external availability data;
  • identified gaps in the representation of designated group members in specific occupational groups; and
  • analyzed the identified gaps using the three filter test to determine if they are significant enough to require further investigation in your employment systems review.

To proceed, your organization must choose between Option 1 (WEIMS) or Option 2 (Workforce Analysis Table). A brief description of each option is provided. More detailed steps follow.

Option 1: Your organization may use the WEIMS to generate the comparison between internal representation and external availability of designated group members in specific occupational groups.

This online application is highly recommended. It was developed explicitly for the workforce analysis process in order to meet the Federal Contractors Program Requirements.

You can access WEIMS online at the Labour Program wesbite.

OPTION 2: Your organization may choose to conduct its workforce analysis using its own human resource system and completing the Workforce Analysis Table available in Appendix 2A.

Choose only one option and follow the detailed steps listed:

Option 1 – Using the Workforce Equity Information Management System (WEIMS)

To gain access to WEIMS you must have an employer number, user name and password which can be retrieved by contacting the WEIMS administrator.

For additional information, please consult the WEIMS User Guide. Questions relating to WEIMS can be answered by calling the helpline: 819-953-7510.

Once you have gained access to WEIMS, you will be asked to complete the following steps:

Step 1 Create an Organizational Profile

Once successfully logged in, your organization must input general information pertaining to its operations (i.e., company name, region, division, address and employment equity contact).

Step 2 Input Employee Data

The next step is to input detailed information on each employee in your organization (input information for each individual employee, even those who did not respond or return the self-identification questionnaire); this information will later be compared to external workforce data. This process is to be completed under the "Employees for (your organization's name)" section on the Main Menu.

The following information is required for each employee:

  • employee number/identifier;
  • hire, promotion, and/or termination date where applicable;
  • gender
  • designated group membership (if any);
  • employment status;
  • salary;
  • Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) and province where employed;
  • your organization's National American Industrial Classification System (NAICS);
  • National Occupational Classification (NOC) code.

WEIMS lets you enter employee information in two ways:

A: Import data: You can import your employee data in text file format from your larger human resources system. This data must be saved as a ‘txt’ file and be formatted in a particular order. For instructions on how to import the data properly, please refer to your WEIMS User Guide.

B: Data entry: You can input employee information manually if your organization does not have an existing database that contains the required information. For instructions on how to manually add employees, please refer to your WEIMS User Guide.

Step 3 Generate Workforce Analysis Data

After entering all relevant data related to your organization’s workforce, the next step is to compare internal representation to external availability.

WEIMS was developed to make this comparison quite simple. Instead of having to consult the Employment Equity Data Report and make countless calculations, you only need to use the Workforce Analysis Analytical Tool found on the Main Menu.

The Workforce Analysis Analitical Tool is divided into two sections, 'set workforce analysis defaults' and 'workforce analysis reports'.

The Employment Equity Data Report (EEDR) is a collection of data taken from PALS. It provides information about the make up of the Canadian labour force. The data is compiled in a series of tables and is broken down into geographic areas and designated groups.

Setting Defaults

Prior to running any workforce analysis reports, your organization needs to verify whether the default values set up for reports are reflective of the its recruitment area. If not, you may set up your own default values by selecting the <> and <<span ID='ektct9231' class='Safe Tag' contenteditable='false' ctagnomen='Persons' ctagend='empty' ctagattrs='with=@zzquote;with@zzquote; Disabilities=@zzquote;Disabilities@zzquote;' ctagtype='0'> > links under the “Set Workforce Analysis Defaults” heading. WEIMS was programmed to compare internal representation data to external availability data automatically in specific geographic locations related to recruitment. These settings are defaulted, but can be changed with an acceptable written explanation. For example, if your organization is located in Ontario and cannot recruit any French-speaking employees, it may wish to expand its recruitment activities for specific positions to include applicants in Quebec. Changing a default adjusts the external availability data to which your internal availability data is compared; this makes the results more accurate.

The following table clarifies the point of comparison for each EEOG by occupational level of comparison and geographic level of comparison. The following five occupational groups: Professionals, Semi-Professionals and Technicians, Supervisors: Crafts and Trades, Skilled Sales and Service Personnel and Skilled Crafts and Trades Workers are compared with external availability data at the NOC unit group level; all others are compared with data at the appropriate EEOG level.

EEOG Occupational Comparison and Geographic Level Comparison
Employment Equity Occupational Group (EEOG) Occupational Level of Comparison Geographic Level of Comparison
Senior Managers EEOG National (Table 4*)
Middle and Other Managers EEOG National (Table 4*)
Professionals NOC Unit Group National (Table 4*)
Semi-Professionals and Technicians NOC Unit Group Provincial (Table 5*)
Supervisors EEOG CMA (Table 4*)
Supervisors: Crafts and Trades NOC Unit Group Provincial (Table 5*)
Administrative and Senior Clerical Personnel EEOG CMA (Table 4*)
Skilled Sales and Service Personnel NOC Unit Group Provincial (Table 5*)
Skilled Crafts and Trades Workers
Clerical Personnel    
Intermediate Sales and Service Personnel EEOG CMA (Table 4*)
Semi-Skilled Manual Workers Other Sales and Service Personnel Other Manual Workers
* Table 4 and Table 5 refer to the 4th and 5th data tables in the EEDR.

Note: Data is not always available at the provincial or CMA level for persons with disabilities. Where data at these levels is available and it is appropriate to use it, you are encouraged to do so. If data is not available at these levels, use the national data and make note of changes made to the defaults.

Note that in the previous table, each EEOG corresponds to a specific geographic level of analysis. For your convenience, the corresponding tables have already been identified (i.e., Table 4, Table 5). The following brief explanation of each geographic level is also presented.

Geographic Levels of Analysis

Geographic levels of analysis are meant to take into consideration the areas in which an organization is reasonably expected to recruit to fill vacancies in particular EEOGs or NOC unit groups.

National

Use the national level for occupations that require a high level of skill and education. This generally refers to the recruitment of Senior Managers, Middle and Other Managers and Professionals. Often, the number of candidates qualified to fill these positions at the provincial and CMA levels is limited.

Provincial or territorial

Use the provincial or territorial level when comparing occupations that have specific skills or educational requirements.

Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Use the CMA level when comparing positions with similar skill levels and with limited or no education requirements. It is expected that CMAs have a large selection of qualified candidates to fill these positions and so there is no need to recruit using the larger provincial or territorial level.

Please note that if your organization is not located within one of the 33 CMAs or surrounding areas, you are not expected to use the CMA level of comparison for occupations that require this. In this case, you have the option of using the provincial/territorial level of analysis or the province minus CMA level of analysis instead, if justified.

Workforce Analysis Reports

Once your organization has decided to either accept the default values or create its own profile you are now ready to run the Workforce Analysis Detailed Report and the Workforce Analysis Summary Report. For further instructions please consult the WEIMS User Guide.

Once these reports have been run, you will now be able to identify gaps in the representation of the designated groups.

Identifying Gaps in Representation

A gap is the difference between the actual number of designated group members within your organization’s workforce and the expected number, based on the appropriate external workforce data that was extracted from the EEDR. Note that if you use WEIMS, it calculates the gaps in representation for you in your summary tables automatically.

Although all gaps must be addressed and closed through numerical goal setting (which is addressed in Step 3: Creating an Employment Equity Plan), you must review the gaps revealed by WEIMS to determine whether or not they are significant enough to require further investigation through an employment systems review. Use the three filter test to assess the significance of a gap.

Note that the workforce analysis tables produced by WEIMS provide you with the percent gap, as opposed to the percent representation. As you review the tables to find the significant gaps, remember that all areas that have a percent gap of 20 percent or more are, in fact, areas where representation is 80 percent or less; these gaps are significant and require further analysis in your employment systems review.

Three filter test

You can identify if a gap in representation is significant by applying filters 1 and 2 (in combination), and filter 3. Gaps that are identified as significant will become the focus of your employment systems review.

First filter: If the number gap is -3 or greater (note that while the gap is referred to as -3 or greater, the actual numerical value is -3 or less, i.e., -3, -4, -5, etc.), the gap may be significant and must be recorded; the second filter must be applied.

Second filter: If the percentage representation is 80 percent or less, your organization must investigate the under-representation further.

For example, if your organization has 7 accountants who are women, but the expected availability indicates that you should have 10, then your organization has only 70 percent of what is expected, and thus a significant gap exists.

Calculating the percentage representation:

internal representation X 100 = percentage representation
external availability

Third filter: If there are gaps of -3 or less (note that while the gap is referred to as -3 or less, the actual numerical value is -3 up to and including -1, i.e., -3, -2, -1) for a particular designated group in several EEOGs, and/or for all designated groups in one EEOG, the gaps are considered significant and must be addressed in your employment systems review.

Interpreting the Third Filter

50% Rule for Women: If there is a gap for women in an EEOG where women are represented at 50% or more, this gap is not to be considered significant. Your organization is not required to conduct an Employment Systems Review or establish goals for recruitment in its employment equity plan for gaps in EEOGs where women are represented at 50% regardless of availability.

Interpreting Results where Availability is Low: Where the availability for a designated group is low, the workforce analysis results are not a true indicator of areas with potential employment barriers for the particular designated group. Your organization must therefore consider overall representation and percentage gap. Where the percentage gap is 80% or less, your organization must address the gap, at minimum, through goal setting in your employment equity plan.

Note: If a gap seems very large or unexplainable, first ensure that the correct NOC coding was used and that the geographic and occupational levels of comparison are appropriate. If no errors have been made, the defaults should also be reviewed to determine if they were used appropriately. Subsequently, if the defaults are changed, you must provide an explanation that justifies the change (e.g., changing the default on the basis of where the employer has traditionally recruited is not necessarily acceptable, unless it can be shown to be a bona fide or valid adjustment).

Also note that if the percentage representation calculation equals 100 percent, the designated group in question is fully represented and monitoring is all that is needed.

Instances of Over-Representation

Your organization may uncover areas where designated group members are fully represented, or even over-represented in a given occupation. If this is the case, the number gap calculated will be a positive number instead of a negative number. This circumstance may be helpful for the employment systems review and the eventual creation of an employment equity plan, because areas with full or over-representation may be used to help correct areas with under-representation.

Conversely, over-representation may indicate a problem; for example, designated group members may be clustered in an EEOG and may not be given the opportunity for promotion. For this reason, areas of over-representation must be reviewed carefully.

Common Issue: Multiple Geographic Locations

If your organization operates in more than one location, there may be differences in the selection of external workforce data in occupations that require comparison at the provincial and CMA levels. If this is the case, the data for each CMA is entered separately in order to compare each region with its respective external availability. The following table is an example of how to incorporate various internal geographic locations into a single table.

Women

Workforce Analysis: Women
EEOG and NOC Unit Groups Company’s Internal Workforce External Availability Gap Location of Hiring
Total Women
# # % % # #
Professionals             National
2132 Mechanical Engineers 250 25 10.0 6.8 17 8
2147 Computer Engineers 30 10 33.3 14.8 4 6
2171 Information Systems Analysts 50 25 50.0 31.4 16 9
Sub-total 330 60 18.2 11.3 37 23
Administrative and Senior Clerical Personnel              
Internal workforce in CMA 125 75 60.0 82.1 103 -28 Vancouver
Internal workforce in CMA 250 175 70.0 82.7 207 -32 Toronto
Internal workforce in CMA 75 35 46.7 85.3 64 -29 Montreal
Internal workforce in CMA 100 65 65.0 83.6 84 -19 Halifax
Sub-total 550 350 63.6 83.3 458 -108  

Combining external geographic locations

If appropriate, your organization can broaden its hiring pool by combining external geographic locations. For example, an organization located in Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) can choose P.E.I. as its regional level (instead of a CMA) and the Maritimes (i.e., P.E.I., Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) as its provincial level (instead of P.E.I.)

Workforce Population Showing Representation by EEOG for Women

table

You can combine regions manually using data from the 2006 EEDR. See the previous table and the following steps for an example of how to combine external geographic locations looking at women in the Maritimes:

  • Go to Table 4 of the 2006 EEDR to retrieve external workforce numbers for women for each geographic location (note: within Table 4 there are separate tables for the national availability and the availability for each province and territory).
  • Use Table 4 to retrieve the external workforce numbers for P.E.I.. from the “Total #” column for a chosen EEOG or Table 5 for a NOC unit group. The sample table section above used Table 4 for P.E.I. for Supervisors: Crafts and Trades: 3150.
  • Retrieve the external workforce numbers for women from the “Females No.” column (see previous table, P.E.I.. – Women Supervisors: Crafts and Trades: 465).
  • Retrieve the external workforce percentage for women from the “Females %” column (see previous table, P.E.I. – Women Supervisors: Crafts and Trades: 14.8%).
  • Repeat the previous two steps for the other two provinces (i.e., Nova Scotia and New Brunswick).
  • Add up the “Total #” and the “Women #” columns for the three provinces (see previous table, Combined Total – Total #: 22 945 and Women #: 3070).
  • Calculate new external availability for the Maritimes by dividing the total number of women by the total workforce population in that EEOG and multiplying by 100.
    Formula: 3070 / 22 945 x 100 = 13.4%
  • The new external availability for Supervisors: Crafts and Trades in the Maritimes is 13.4%.

Other geographic combinations

Maritimes (P.E.I., Nova Scotia and New Brunswick)

Atlantic (Newfoundland and Labrador, P.E.I., Nova Scotia and New Brunswick)

Central (Quebec and Ontario)

Prairies (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta)

Western (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia)

Territories (Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut)

In addition to the 33 CMAs, you may wish to use data for smaller geographic areas called Human Resource Districts (HRDs). This data is available for women, Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities only, and is typically used by employers who are recruiting for lower level jobs, such as janitors. More information on HRDs can be found at the following Web site:

http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/labour/index.shtml

Before completing a workforce analysis summary report, you are required to conduct other analyses, such as a clustering analysis and/or a flow data analysis if appropriate. These additional analyses will help prepare your organization for the employment systems review and the creation of your employment equity plan.

Next Actions Required

Your organization has just identified gaps in the representation of designated group members in your workforce. Uncovering information of this nature is the first step in correcting the barriers that led to under-representation. Task B will provide further information on the potential causes of these gaps.

Note: If you selected and completed Option 1, go on to Task B. Otherwise, complete Option 2.

Option 2 – Using the Workforce Analysis Table

Note: Remember, either complete Option 1 or Option 2 to conduct your workforce analysis, not both.

Conducting a workforce analysis using the Workforce Analysis Table involves gathering a variety of information about the make up of your workforce and performing a number of calculations to determine how representative your workplace is. The Excel file of the Workforce Analysis Table is available in Appendix 2A. To complete this table, you will need key information gathered in Step 1, such as designated group status, EEOG and NOC coding, as well as information from the Employment Equity Data Report.

The Employment Equity Data Report (EEDR) is a collection of data taken from the Census and the Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS). It provides information about the make up of the Canadian labour force. The data is compiled in a series of tables and is broken down into geographic areas and designated groups.

The following information is required to complete the workforce analysis using the Workforce Analysis Table:

  • the number of employees in each National Occupation Classification (NOC) unit group, grouped into the appropriate Employment Equity Occupational Group (EEOG);
  • the number of designated group members in each NOC unit group, grouped into each EEOG;
  • the percentage of designated group members in each EEOG;
  • the external availability percentage, as indicated in the EEDR, of designated group members in each EEOG and NOC unit group by geographic area (the percentage of designated group members in each occupational group in the larger Canadian workforce);
  • the number of designated group members in each EEOG that your organization is expected to have in its workforce as determined by external availability and internal workforce size; and
  • the gap in representation (the difference between the internal representation of designated group members in each EEOG and the external availability percentage as indicated in the EEDR).

The Workforce Analysis Table

The Workforce Analysis Table comprises five worksheets in one Microsoft Excel file: the first four worksheets cover each of the designated groups, while the fifth worksheet summarizes the data. The Excel file for these worksheets is available in Appendix 2A. The following table is an example of a workforce analysis table.

Workforce Analysis Table
Occupational Group
& Occupational Level
All Employees # Designated Group Geographic Location of Recruitment
Representation Availability Gap
# % % # #
  Occupational title      
1. Senior Managers             National
2. Middle & Other Managers               National
3. Professionals
NOC 2143
NOC 2146
NOC 2131
Mining Engineers
Aerospace Engineers
Civil Engineers
            National

The next section provides detailed instructions on how to fill out each column of the Workforce Analysis Table. Note that a separate but identical spreadsheet is required for each of the four designated groups. Each column is referred to by its title on the actual Workforce Analysis Table, as seen in the previous table. The heading “Designated Group” in the worksheet indicates the designated group for which representation is being determined.

Occupational Group and Occupational Level

In this column, list of each of the occupational groups (EEOGs) within your organization. Relevant occupational levels (NOC groups) are to be written below their respective EEOG. For example, under the EEOG “Professionals,” you may have the NOCs Mining Engineers, Aerospace Engineers and Civil Engineers. You will already have a listing of these groups and their respective coding from work completed in Step 1.

All Employees #

In this column, enter the exact number of employees within your workforce in each of the EEOGs and NOC groups.

Representation #

In this column, enter the number of employees who identified as being part of the given designated group (note that data for women can be taken from pay records).

In the first half of this column, enter the total number of designated group members in each occupational group and occupational level. For example, if six of your senior managers are women, you should enter “6” on your “WOMEN” table in the “Representation #” column.

Repeat this step for each designated group in each occupational group and occupational level in your organization, using the respective tables.

Representation %

In this column, enter the percentage of each designated group in each occupational group and occupational level within your workforce. The Excel file of the Workforce Analysis Table is formatted to make these calculations automatically when you enter the total number of employees in each occupational group and the number of employees in each designated group in each occupational group. The actual calculation for this percentage representation is as follows:

# of designated group members in occupational group X 100 = % internal representation total # of employees in occupational group

Once you have compiled your organization’s internal workforce data for the total number of employees in each occupational group and the number of designated group members working in those occupations, you can begin entering the data on external availability.

Availability %

In this column, enter the percentage of designated group members available in the Canadian labour market for each occupational group. This external availability data must be extracted from the EEDR Tables, as described in the following section.

Determining Availability

The EEDR Workforce Tables are available in pdf format at the following Web address:

www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/labour/index.shtml

External availability data is available in theEEDR for each designated group in each occupational group (each EEOG) and each occupational level (each NOC). Only Tables 4 and 5 of the EEDR are relevant. The following is a brief description of the contents and purpose of each table.

Table 4: Workforce Population Showing Representation by Employment Equity Occupational Groups (2006 NOC) for the four designated groups.

  • Use this table to extract information for all four designated groups in occupations that must be compared at the national and EEOG levels.

Table 5: Workforce Population Showing Representation by Employment Equity Occupational Groups and Unit Groups (2006 NOC) for Women, Aboriginal Peoples and Visible Minorities for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and the Census Metropolitan Areas.

  • Use this table to extract information on three of the four designated groups (women, Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities) that must be compared at the EEOG or NOC levels, and/or at the provincial or CMA levels.

Note that when you gather external workforce data for persons with disabilities, refer to Table 4 only. Data on this group is only available at the EEOG, national and some provincial levels. Where data is suppressed at the provincial level, national availability estimates must be used instead.

Two Levels of Comparison

To complete a workforce analysis, data on certain occupations within your workforce must be compared with external data at a specific occupational level ( EEOGs or NOC unit groups) and geographic level (national, provincial/territorial or CMA).

In this table you will find the recommended occupational and geographic levels of comparison for each EEOG. In certain circumstances, it is possible to choose different levels of comparison to reflect a particular workforce situation. However, an appropriate justification must be documented and will be reviewed by a workplace equity officer in the event of a compliance review.

Levels of Comparison
Employment Equity Occupational Group( EEOG) Occupational Level of Comparison Geographic Level of Comparison
Senior Managers EEOG National (Table 4*)
Middle and Other Managers    
Professionals NOC Unit Group
Semi-Professionals and Technicians NOC Unit Group Provincial (Table 5*)
Supervisors EEOG CMA (Table 4*)
Supervisors: Crafts and Trades NOC Unit Group Provincial (Table 5*)
Administrative and Senior Clerical Personnel EEOG CMA (Table 4*)
Skilled Sales and Service Personnel NOC Unit Group Provincial (Table 5*)
Skilled Crafts and Trades Workers    
Clerical Personnel    
Intermediate Sales and Service Personnel EEOG CMA (Table 4*)
Semi-Skilled Manual Workers Other Sales and Service Personnel Other Manual Workers
* Table 4 and Table 5 refer to the 4th and 5th data tables in the EEDR

Note that in the previous table, each EEOG corresponds to a specific geographic level of analysis. For your convenience, the corresponding tables have already been identified (i.e., Table 4, Table 5). The following brief explanation of each geographic level is also presented.

Geographic Levels of Analysis

Geographic levels of analysis are meant to take into consideration the areas in which an organization is reasonably expected to recruit to fill vacancies in particular EEOGs or NOC unit groups.

National

Use the national level for occupations that require a high level of skill and education. This generally refers to the recruitment of Senior Managers, Middle and Other Managers and Professionals. Often, the number of candidates qualified to fill these positions at the provincial and CMA levels is limited.

Provincial or territorial

Use the provincial or territorial level when comparing occupations that have specific skills or educational requirements. Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Use the CMA level when comparing positions with similar skill levels and with limited or no education requirements. It is expected that CMAs have a large selection of qualified candidates to fill these positions and so there is no need to recruit using the larger provincial or territorial level.

Please note that if your organization is not located within one of the 33 CMAs or surrounding areas, you are not expected to use the CMA level of comparison for occupations that require this. In this case, you have the option of using the provincial/territorial level of analysis or the province minus CMA level of analysis instead, if justified.

Once you have chosen the appropriate external availability data for each designated group and corresponding occupational group or NOC unit group, enter the appropriate information from the EEDR into the % side of the “Availability” column.

Availability #

In this column, enter a number figure of the external availability for each designated group in each occupational group. The Excel spreadsheet used in the Workforce Analysis Table is formatted to compute this calculation automatically, provided all the previous data has been entered. If you wish to do this calculation manually, the equation is as follows:

All employees # X External availability % = Availability #
Gap #

In this column, enter the gap, which is the difference between the actual number of designated group members within your organization’s workforce and the expected number, based on the appropriate external availability data that was extracted from the EEDR.

Note that if you use the Workforce Analysis Table provided in Appendix 2A, the gap is calculated automatically for you. If you wish to do this calculation manually, the equation is as follows:

Internal Representation # – External Availability # = GAP #

If this calculation reveals a negative number, then there is under-representation in that particular EEOG and designated group.

If this calculation produces a zero or positive number, then there is no under-representation.

Identifying Gaps in Representation

While all gaps must be addressed and closed through numerical goal setting (which will be addressed in Step 3: Creating an Employment Equity Plan) you must review the gaps revealed by your workforce analysis to determine whether or not the gap is significant enough to require further investigation. To assess the significance of a gap, you must use the three filter test.

Three filter test

You can identify if a gap in representation is significant by applying filters 1 and 2 (in combination), and filter 3. Gaps that are identified as significant will become the focus of your employment systems review.

First filter: If the number gap is -3 or greater (note that, while the gap is referred to as -3 or greater, the actual numerical value is -3 or less, i.e., -3, -4, -5, etc.), the gap may be significant and must be recorded; the second filter must be applied.

Second filter: If the percentage representation is 80 percent or less, your organization must investigate the under-representation further.

For example, if your organization has 7 accountants who are women, but the expected availability indicates that you should have 10, then your organization has only 70 percent of what is expected, and thus a significant gap exists.

Calculating the percentage representation:

internal representation X 100 = percentage representation
external availability

Third filter: If there are gaps of -3 or less (again, while the gap is referred to as -3 or less, the actual numerical value is -3 up to and including -1, i.e., -3, -2, -1) for a particular designated group in several EEOGs, and/or for all designated groups in one EEOG, the gaps are considered significant and must be addressed in your employment systems review.

Interpreting the Third Filter

50% Rule for Women: If there is a gap for women in an EEOG where women are represented at 50% or more, this gap is not to be considered significant. Your organization is not required to conduct an Employment Systems Review or establish goals for recruitment in its employment equity plan for gaps in EEOGs where women are represented at 50% regardless of availability.

Interpreting Results where Availability is Low: Where the availability for a designated group is low, the workforce analysis results are not a true indicator of areas with potential employment barriers for the particular designated group. Your organization must therefore consider overall representation and percentage gap. Where the percentage gap is 80% or less, your organization must address the gap, at minimum, through goal setting in your employment equity plan.

Note: If a gap seems very large or unexplainable, first ensure that the correct NOC coding was used and that the geographic and occupational levels of comparison are appropriate. If no errors have been made, the defaults should also be reviewed to determine if they were used appropriately. Subsequently, if the defaults are changed, you must provide an explanation that justifies the change (e.g., changing the default on the basis of where the employer has traditionally recruited is not necessarily acceptable, unless it can be shown to be a bona fide or valid adjustment).

Instances of Over-Representation

Your organization may uncover areas where designated group members are fully represented, or even over-represented in a given occupation. If this is the case, the number gap calculated will be a positive number instead of a negative number. This circumstance may be helpful for the employment systems review and the eventual creation of an employment equity plan, because areas with full or over-representation may be used to help correct areas with under-representation.

Conversely, over-representation may indicate a problem; for example, designated group members may be clustered in an EEOG and may not be given the opportunity for promotion. For this reason, areas of over-representation must be reviewed carefully.

Common Issue: Multiple Geographic Locations

If your organization operates in more than one location, there may be differences in the selection of external workforce data in occupations that require comparison at the provincial and CMA levels. If this is the case, the data for each CMA is entered separately in order to compare each region with its respective external availability. The following table is an example of how to incorporate various internal geographic locations into a single table.

Women

Workforce Analysis: Women
EEOG and NOC Unit Groups Company’s Internal Workforce External Availability Gap Location of Hiring
Total Women
# # % % # #
Professionals             National
2132 Mechanical Engineers 250 25 10.0 6.8 17 8
2147 Computer Engineers 30 10 33.3 14.8 4 6
2171 Information Systems Analysts 50 25 50.0 31.4 16 9
Sub-total 330 60 18.2 11.3 37 23
Administrative and Senior Clerical Personnel              
Internal workforce in CMA 125 75 60.0 82.1 103 -28 Vancouver
Internal workforce in CMA 250 175 70.0 82.7 207 -32 Toronto
Internal workforce in CMA 75 35 46.7 85.3 64 -29 Montréal
Internal workforce in CMA 100 65 65.0 83.6 84 -19 Halifax
Sub-total 550 350 63.6 83.3 458 -108  
Source: 2001 Census of Canada

Combining external geographic locations

If appropriate, your organization can broaden its hiring pool by combining external geographic locations. For example, an organization located in Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) can choose P.E.I. as its regional level (instead of a CMA) and the Maritimes (i.e., P.E.I., Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) as its provincial level (instead of P.E.I.).

Workforce Population Showing Representation by EEOG for Women
  External Workforce
EEOG Total Women Geographic Location
# # %
Supervisors:
Crafts and Trades
3150 465 14.8 P.E.I.
9885 1450 14.7 Nova Scotia
9910 1155 11.7 New Brunswick
Combined Total 22 945 3070 13.4 Maritimes
Source: 2001 Census of Canada

You can combine regions manually using data from the 2006 EEDR. See the previous table and the following steps for an example of how to combine external geographic locations looking at women in P.E.I. and the Maritimes:

  • Go to Table 4 of the 2006 EEDR to retrieve external workforce numbers for women for each geographic location.
  • Use Table 4 to retrieve the external workforce numbers for P.E.I. from the “Total #” column for a chosen EEOG or Table 5 for an NOC unit group (see previous table, P.E.I. – Supervisors: Crafts and Trades: 3150).
  • Retrieve the external workforce numbers for women from the “Females No.” column (see previous table, P.E.I. – Women Supervisors: Crafts and Trades: 465).
  • Retrieve the external workforce percentage for women from the “Females %” column (see previous table, P.E.I. – Women Supervisors: Crafts and Trades: 14.8%).
  • Repeat the previous two steps for the other two provinces (i.e., Nova Scotia and New Brunswick).
  • Add up the “Total #” and the “Women #” columns for the three provinces (see previous table, Combined Total – Total #: 22 945 and Women #: 3070).
  • Calculate new external availability for the Maritimes by dividing the total number of women by the total workforce population in that EEOG and multiplying by 100.
    Formula: 3070 / 22 945 x 100 = 13.4% 
  • The new external availability for Supervisors: Crafts and Trades in the Maritimes is 13.4%.

Other geographic combinations

Maritimes (P.E.I., Nova Scotia and New Brunswick)

Atlantic (Newfoundland and Labrador, P.E.I., Nova Scotia and New Brunswick)

Central (Quebec and Ontario)

Prairies (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta)

Western (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia)

Territories (Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut)

In addition to the 33 CMAs, you may wish to use data for smaller geographic areas called Human Resource Districts (HRDs). This data is available for women, Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities only, and is typically used by employers who are recruiting for lower level jobs, such as janitors. More information on HRDs can be found on the Labour Program Web site.

If appropriate, before completing a workforce analysis summary report, you may have to conduct other analyses, such as a clustering analysis and/or a flow data analysis. These additional analyses will help prepare your organization for the employment systems review and the creation of your employment equity plan.

Next Actions Required

Your organization has just identified gaps in the representation of designated group members in your workforce. Uncovering information of this nature is the first step in correcting the barriers that led to under-representation. Task B will provide further information on the potential causes of these gaps.

Task B: Apply Additional Analysis Tools

In certain circumstances, your organization is required to conduct a clustering analysis or a flow data analysis. A clustering analysis must be conducted when 20 or more members of a particular designated group are clustered within the same Employment Equity Occupational Group (EEOG); this can be done using representation data. A flow data analysis requires three years of recruitment, promotion and termination data. Although data may not currently be available, organizations are expected to conduct a flow data analysis by the time they are subject to follow up review. Clustering analysis and flow data analysis are discussed at length in this task.

Upon completion of Task B, you will have:

  • completed a clustering analysis, if required, that provides information on the concentration of designated group members in your organization’s workforce; and
  • completed a flow data analysis, if sufficient data is available, that provides information on the shares of hires, promotions and terminations belonging to designated group members in your organization’s workforce.

Clustering Analysis

Clustering analysis is used to provide a focus for the employment systems review and to establish goals. Clustering, also called “concentration,” is defined as a disproportionately high ratio of designated group members (20 or more) compared to their counterpart employees who are not members of designated groups (e.g., women versus men, Aboriginal peoples versus non-Aboriginal peoples, etc.) in the following areas:

  • lower level EEOGs (e.g., Clerical Personnel, Other Manual Workers)
  • lower salary quarters (quarters 1 and 2) within an EEOG 

Where 20 or more designated group members are found in these areas compared to employees who are not members of designated groups, an employment systems review must focus on these areas to determine if clustering is the result of systemic and attitudinal barriers, or if there are other causes.

Note that a concentration of designated group members at lower level EEOGs and/or salary quarters is not always the result of barriers. These employees may have been appointed recently to the occupational group or may be new to the organization itself; as a result, they may have been appointed at entry levels. Only an employment systems review can determine if clustering is the result of employment barriers.

Results of the clustering analysis, if required, will be analyzed during the employment systems review process.

About the Clustering Analysis Table

The Clustering Analysis Table in Appendix 2B is composed of the following eight worksheets in one Microsoft Excel file:

  1. The PFT (Permanent Full-Time) worksheet assists in conducting the clustering analysis of permanent full-time employees at the EEOG level.
  2. The PPT (Permanent Part-Time) worksheet assists in conducting the clustering analysis of permanent part-time employees at the EEOG level.
  3. The Temp (Temporary) worksheet assists in conducting the clustering analysis of temporary employees at the EEOG level.
  4. The All worksheet combines the numbers of all employees (permanent full-time, permanent part-time and temporary) at the EEOG level.
  5. The PFT Distribution worksheet provides the overall distribution of permanent full-time employees.
  6. The PPT Distribution worksheet provides the overall distribution of permanent part-time employees.
  7. The Temp Distribution worksheet provides the overall distribution of temporary employees.
  8. The All Distribution worksheet provides the overall distribution of all employees (permanent full-time, permanent part-time and temporary).

Enter data in the yellow fields in the first three worksheets only. The data in the last five worksheets is generated automatically as the first three worksheets are being filled in. The distribution worksheets are only useful if all of the EEOG data in the first three worksheets was entered.

Note: The column entitled “Quarter” in the Clustering Analysis Table refers to the four salary levels in an EEOG.

Option 1 Using form 2 from WEIMS

To conduct a Clustering Analysis using WEIMS simply click on "Form 2 - Occupational Groups" from the Forms section of the Main Menu.

Since your workforce analysis data has already been added, WEIMS will automatically tabulate the total number of all employees by EEOG and salary quarters. For further information please see the User Guide.

The results of the clustering analysis if required will be analyzed during the employment systems review process.

Option 2 Using Your Own Human Resource System

Instead of using Form 2 from WEIMS to conduct a clustering analysis, you may use a combination of information contained within your own human resource system and the information that was entered into your Workforce Analysis Table.

To complete the Clustering Analysis Table using your own human resource system, follow these steps:

First step

In the yellow fields of the first worksheet (Permanent Full-Time Employees), enter the number of individuals who are permanent full-time employees from the categories listed in the headings (men, women; Aboriginal peoples, non-Aboriginal peoples; persons with disabilities, persons without disabilities; visible minorities and people who are not members of visible minorities) in the corresponding EEOG and salary quarter. The percentage will be calculated automatically.

Second step

In the yellow fields of the second worksheet (Permanent Part-Time Employees), enter the number of individuals who are permanent part-time employees from the categories listed in the headings (men, women; Aboriginal peoples, non-Aboriginal peoples; persons with disabilities, persons without disabilities; visible minorities and people who are not members of visible minorities) in the corresponding EEOG and salary quarter. The percentage will be calculated automatically.

Third step

In the yellow fields of the third worksheet (Temporary), enter the number of individuals who are temporary employees from the categories listed in the headings (men, women; Aboriginal peoples, non-Aboriginal peoples; persons with disabilities, persons without disabilities; visible minorities and people who are not members of visible minorities) in the corresponding EEOG and salary quarter. The percentage will be calculated automatically.

By completing the first three worksheets related to permanent full-time, permanent part-time and temporary employees, Excel will calculate the distribution of the designated groups across occupational groups and salary quarters automatically.

The results of the clustering analysis if required will be analyzed during the employment systems review process.

Flow Data Analysis

The purpose of flow data analysis is to identify the shares of hires, promotions and terminations belonging to designated group members in your workplace. This type of analysis is only required when your organization has at least three years of historical data.

Flow data analysis requires information regarding each employee’s recruitment, promotion and termination dates over a period of three years. This information can be used to determine if your organization’s recruitment, promotion and termination policies may or may not be leading to the under-representation of designated group members.

For example, determining that persons with disabilities are under-represented in the workforce is valuable information, but it is more useful to know whether the under-representation is the result of recruitment below availability. Failure to promote persons with disabilities at the rate of internal availability, or terminating persons with disabilities at a rate higher than representation in your workforce, will also signal a problem. Flow data analysis identifies specific areas on which to focus the employment systems review.

If your organization is large, it is recommended that your analysis be done for each occupational group where a gap is identified. If your organization is smaller and the volume of hires, promotions or terminations is small, you may wish to conduct a flow data analysis at the overall workforce level.

Flow Data Analysis Table

Tables were developed to assist organizations in conducting a flow data analysis. You will find these tables in the form of an Excel spreadsheet in Appendix 2C. For each designated group you must complete three separate tables related to:

  • Hires
  • Promotions
  • Terminations

The following information is needed to complete the Flow Data Analysis Table:

Data related to hires:

  • Total number of hires in each EEOG in the past three years.
  • Total number of hires for each designated group in each EEOG in the past three years.
  • The overall percentage representation of designated group members in each EEOG within your organization for the year preceding the three years of the analysis (e.g., if the analysis uses 2004–07, the percentage representation must be taken from 2003). This data can be taken from the results of your workforce analysis, whether your organization used WEIMS or the Workforce Analysis Table (i.e., from the “availability %” column for each designated group in each occupational group examined).

Data related to promotions:

  • Total number of promotions in each EEOG in the past three years.
  • Total number of promotions for each designated group in each EEOG in the past three years.
  • The overall percentage representation of designated group members in each EEOG within your organization for the year preceding the three years of the analysis (e.g., if the analysis uses 2004–07, the percentage representation must be taken from 2003).

Data related to terminations:

  • Total number of terminations in each EEOG in the past three years.
  • Total number of terminations for each designated group in each EEOG in the past three years.
  • The overall percentage representation of designated group members in each EEOG within your organization for the year preceding the three years of the analysis (e.g., if the analysis uses 2004–07, the percentage representation must be taken from 2003).

The remaining data is calculated automatically using the Excel spreadsheet that you will find in Appendix 2C. The following detailed instructions explain how to complete a flow data analysis.

How to Complete the Flow Data Analysis Table

To complete the Flow Data Analysis Table, follow these eight steps:

  1. Using the results of your workforce analysis, identify the under-represented designated group(s) for which you are required to conduct a flow data analysis.
  2. Determine the total number of employees hired, promoted and terminated in each of the 14 EEOGs in the previous three years. Enter these totals into Column B of your Flow Data Analysis Template.
  3. Determine the total number of designated group members hired, promoted and terminated for each designated group in the past three years. Enter these totals into Column C.
  4. The Excel worksheet will calculate the percentage of hires, promotions and terminations (Column D) in the three year period automatically.

The manual calculation is the # of hires/promotions/terminations for each designated group ÷ the total number of hires/promotions/terminations.

  • For hires, enter the expected external availability for the designated group into Column E. This data is available from your latest workforce analysis.
  • For promotions and terminations, use internal representation data. Enter the overall representation of the designated group members for the year preceding the three years of the analysis into Column E (e.g., if the analysis uses 2004–07, the representation is taken from 2003).
  • The Excel worksheet will calculate the expected # (Column F) and the difference # (Column G) automatically.

The manual calculation for the expected # is the total number of hires/promotions/terminations X the percentage representation.
The manual calculation for the difference # is the number of hires/promotions/terminations for each designated group – the expected #.

  • Evaluate the gap/difference # (Column G)

A negative number in the hires and promotions “gap #” column is an indication that designated group members are being hired and promoted less often than would be expected. The employment systems review must look at whether there are systemic or attitudinal barriers in the way it recruits, selects or promotes employees.

A positive number in the terminations “gap #” column indicates that designated group members leave the employer more often than expected. The employment systems review must look at whether this retention problem is caused by attitudinal problems or working conditions that affect the designated group members negatively.

Next Actions Required

The results of your clustering analysis and flow data analysis, if they were conducted, will be analyzed during the employment systems review process, which will be addressed in the second part of Step 2. For now, go on to Task C.

Task C: Prepare a Summary Report of Results

The final step in completing the workforce analysis is to create a summary report identifying areas where under-representation of designated group members was found. The summary report will also describe the methodology your organization undertook to conduct the workforce analysis and the results of flow data analysis and clustering analysis.

Upon completion of Task C, you will have:

  • created a workforce analysis summary report; and
  • completed all tasks related to the workforce analysis and be prepared to conduct an employment systems review in the next section of Step 2.

Writing a Workforce Analysis Summary Report

A workforce analysis summary report must include:

  • an introductory section on the profile of your organization;
  • a description of the methodology employed in conducting the workforce analysis (this includes the justification provided to the workplace equity officer if the recommended default levels of analysis were not used);
  • summary tables of representation by occupational group and designated group, identifying all gaps (this can be in the form of your two WEIMS tables—detailed report and summary report—if you chose Option 1; or your five workforce analysis tables if you chose Option 2);
  • a description of the results including identification of gaps;
  • a list of the significant gaps, which will be the focus of the employment systems review;
  • methodology and results of your clustering analysis and flow data analysis, if they were conducted; and
  • a conclusion.

Moving Forward

Having determined the representation of designated group members in comparison to employees who are not members of designated groups in your workforce, you may proceed to conduct an employment systems review.

The purpose of the employment systems review is to examine formal and informal policies, practices, attitudes and corporate culture to identify barriers that may account for gaps in representation and to make recommendations for removal of these barriers.

You will find all the necessary instructions and tools to conduct an employment systems review in the next section of Step 2: Employment Systems Review.

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Date Modified:
2012-02-27