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Archived - STEP 2 – Employment Systems Review

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Introduction

The results of your organization’s workforce analysis provide a detailed breakdown of the representation of the four designated groups in your workplace. If under-representation was found, the next step in the employment equity process is to complete an employment systems review to identify the barriers that contribute to these gaps.

The results of your employment systems review will provide your organization with a solid foundation on which to develop an employment equity action plan that, if implemented with reasonable efforts, will result in reasonable progress toward full representation.

The purpose of an employment systems review is five fold:

1. to identify all your human resources systems policies and practices;
2. to analyze these policies and practices to determine how they may have a different impact on designated group members compared to those who are not members of a designated group;
3. to identify which of these policies and practices create barriers;
4. to provide a basis for corrective action to remove barriers; and
5. to assess the potential for reasonable accommodation to overcome valid barriers (i.e., barriers that exist because of a bona fide occupational requirement and are consistent with human rights legislation).

The data retrieved from your workforce analysis (i.e., gaps in representation) is used to focus your review of all formal and informal human resource systems, policies and practices that may be causing under-representation. If your workforce analysis reveals areas of over-representation of specific designated groups, use this information to improve representation in areas where gaps exist.

In this section, you will use data collected in your flow data analysis and clustering analysis if they were conducted to focus your review on specific problem areas and particular employment systems. For example, if your flow data analysis reveals that hiring is low for a particular designated group but the number of terminations does not pose a problem, then recruitment and selection might be the area requiring the most detailed analysis.

By following the instructions provided in Step 2: Employment Systems Review, your organization will conduct an employment systems review that meets the Federal Contractors Program Requirements. To assist you further in this task, a number of tools and templates are provided in appendices 2D through 2H at the end of this guide.

The next section provides background and summary information on the employment systems review. This includes:

• a summary of the legislative framework, including requirements under the Employment Equity Act, the Employment Equity Regulations and the Federal Contractors Program Requirements;
• a series of key points to remember;
• a list of tools and templates included in this document; and
• a summary of the basic methodology for conducting an employment systems review.

Legislative Framework

As an organization implementing employment equity in its workplace, you are required to conduct an employment systems review under the Employment Equity Act, the Employment Equity Regulations and the Federal Contractors Program Requirements.

The Employment Equity Act

Subsection 9(1)(b) of the Employment Equity Act requires your organization to conduct a review of its employment systems, policies and practices in order to identify employment barriers against the designated groups that result from these systems, policies and practices.

Employment Equity Regulations

Section 8 of the Regulations states that employers must conduct a review of their employment systems, policies and practices to determine whether any of these constitutes a barrier for designated group members.

Subsection 9(1) states that employers must review the impact of their employment systems with respect to:

1. recruitment, selection and hiring;
2. training and development;
3. promotion;
4. retention and termination; and
5. reasonable accommodation of the special needs of designated group members.

Subsection 9(2) requires your organization to review periodically any new employment systems, policies and practices that are implemented after the initial employment systems review.

Federal Contractors Program Requirements

Requirement 5 outlines the requirements for an employment systems review, which your organization must fulfil by:

• conducting an extensive review of all formal and informal employment policies and practices, to eliminate systemic, actual or potential barriers to employment that may exist in the ways your organization recruits, selects, hires, develops, trains, promotes, retains, terminates and accommodates employees;
• modifying any policies and practices that might discourage designated group members from applying for employment or participating fully in your organization’s opportunities and benefits; and
• demonstrating that all policies and practices used at all levels of your organization where human resource decisions are made are bias-free toward designated group members.

Now that you have an understanding of your organization’s obligations under the relevant legislation, please review the following three key points to keep in mind while conducting your employment systems review.

Key Points to Remember

As in previous steps of the implementation process, a continued focus on communication, consultation and record keeping is crucial to a successful employment systems review. These elements reinforce your organization’s commitments and provide for greater transparency and accountability.

Communication

Regularly communicating with employees, managers, bargaining agents and employee representatives fosters an environment of understanding, commitment and support that will contribute to the success of your organization’s employment systems review.

At a minimum, a communication is required at the beginning of the review to announce its initiation and at the end to announce its results.

Consultation

Consulting with employees, managers, bargaining agents and employee representatives during your employment systems review is of particular importance. Information provided in these consultations may contribute to the identification of policies, practices and attitudes. The result will be a thorough and accurate identification of barriers and their impact on applicants and employees who are members of a designated group.

Your organization is encouraged to conduct informal interviews, surveys or focus groups to improve your understanding of how workplace policies and practices have an impact on those involved in your workforce.

Record Keeping

Appropriate record keeping of the steps your organization has taken to conduct an employment systems review is also important. Keeping electronic or hard-copy records of the process will allow your organization to revisit its employment systems review for potential errors and may be used as evidence of correct procedure during a compliance review. Your organization will find a number of templates and tables that will assist in record keeping in the appendix.

Tools and Templates

Step 2 provides your organization with a number of tools and templates to help you complete your employment systems review.

Summary of Methodology

When conducting your employment systems review, you must examine all formal and informal policies and practices related to the following employment systems:

• recruitment, selection and hiring;
• training and development;
• promotion;
• retention and termination;
• reasonable accommodation; and
• attitudes and corporate culture.

Appendix 2G provides a diagnostic tool that may be used to review your organization’s formal and informal policies and practices and assess their potential adverse impact, legality, consistency, validity and accommodative nature.

You must also consider how attitudes and your organization’s corporate culture could potentially create barriers to employment or an environment of discrimination. To complete these tasks, you must consult a number of individuals who are involved in or affected by your organization’s policies and practices, including employees who are members of a designated group and employees who are not, management/supervisory staff, bargaining agents, employee representatives, and human resources staff.

Recording Employment Systems Review Findings

As you conduct your organization’s employment systems review, you must record your findings in the employment systems review results table, which you will find in Appendix 2E.

The following information is required to complete this table:

• the number of the Employment Equity Occupational Group where significant gaps were identified;
• the policies and practices identified for review;
• the barriers identified as resulting from each policy or practice (if there are no barriers, this should be indicated); and
• recommendations for the removal of each identified barrier (recommendations are not required, but are strongly encouraged).

The employment systems review results table is to be included in your organization’s employment systems review summary report at the end of this step.

Detailed instructions on completing the report are provided in Tasks C through G.

Employment Systems Review: A–G Task Outline

Task A: Establish employment systems review methodology

Decide who will play a role in your organization’s employment systems review. There are a number of choices available to your organization; however, it must be stressed that for most organizations, the task cannot be completed by one individual.

Create a communication strategy to inform employees, management, bargaining agents and employee representatives of the employment systems review and to seek their co-operation and input.

Task B: Review the results of your workforce analysis, flow data analysis and clustering analysis

Review the results of your workforce analysis and give particular attention to significant gaps in the representation of designated groups, to provide the focus for your employment systems review. You will also review the results of your flow data analysis and clustering analysis, if one was conducted, at this time.

Task C: Identify all relevant systems, policies and practices

Identify all formal and informal policies and practices for human resources functions in general and for those functions that are specific to each occupational group where under-representation exists. This means you first need to determine and document how these functions are actually carried out. You will also identify attitudes and elements of corporate culture that may have an impact on the designated groups.

All formal and informal policies, practices, attitudes and corporate culture elements identified are to be recorded in your employment systems review results table and in your summary report.

Task D: Review policies, practices, attitudes and corporate culture to identify adverse impact

Assess whether or not each relevant formal or informal system, policy or practice has an adverse impact on the designated groups. If the policy or practice results in an adverse impact, it must be assessed against the following factors to identify barriers:

• legality;
• consistency;
• validity;
• accommodative nature.

At the end of this task, record identified barriers in your employment systems review results table and describe why you have determined that the policy or practice in question constitutes a barrier.

Task E: Develop recommendations to respond to barriers

Your organization is encouraged to develop and record recommendations for the removal of each barrier. Attach time lines and the name of a manager responsible to each recommendation. Record this information in your employment systems review results table.

Task F: Design a process for reviewing new policies and practices

Design a process for reviewing new or future policies and practices to ensure that they will not have an adverse impact on the designated groups.

Task G: Prepare an employment systems review summary report and communicate results

Prepare an employment systems review summary report. This report will be similar to your workforce analysis summary report and will include an introduction, a description of your methodology, your results, and any recommendations that were made and conclusions. Communicate the results of your employment systems review to all employees, managers, employee representatives and bargaining agents.

Task A: Establish Employment Systems Review Methodology

A number of options for organizing your employment systems review are available, depending on the size and scope of your organization. It is vital to note that this process cannot be completed by one person alone. It is important to have a number of individuals involved so that the views, opinions and insights of those directly affected by informal and formal policies and practices, attitudes and corporate culture are acknowledged and incorporated throughout the process. However, one person should be held accountable for ensuring that your employment systems review is completed according to the requirements and timelines.

Select an Official to Lead Your Employment Systems Review

The employment systems review must be led by a human resources official with extensive knowledge of your employment systems. This official could be supported by:

• an employment equity committee or subcommittee;
• an employment systems review task force;
• a private consultant; or
• another configuration of your choice.

However your organization chooses to proceed in conducting its employment systems review, it is extremely important to ensure that employees, managers, bargaining agents and employee representatives always have ample opportunity to be involved in the process. People who work in different areas within your workforce may be able to alert you to differences in the way informal and formal policies, practices and attitudes have an adverse impact on the four designated groups.

If you decide to hire an outside consultant, be sure that this individual or firm is knowledgeable about the requirements that will be assessed during a compliance review.

Establish a Communication Strategy

Communicating with employees, management, bargaining agents and employee representatives contributes to their understanding and their participation in the employment systems review process. Keeping people informed of the status and results of the review can lessen concerns and reduce misconceptions related to employment equity. Good communication will also benefit your organization by improving the overall functioning of your human resources in the long term.

Again, the way your organization proceeds in establishing communication depends on its size and nature. For example, you may wish to distribute your communication using internal mail, letters, posters, e-mail or your intranet site.

Whatever format you choose, your communication must:

• explain what an employment systems review is;
• explain how it will benefit the organization and its employees;
• describe employment systems review methodology;
• name the individuals involved in the process and describe how others may participate;
• describe how information is collected and how it will be used;
• give assurance of confidentiality for all information collected;
• express the commitment of senior managers and union(s);
• specify when the results of the employment systems review may be expected and how they will be used in the employment equity plan; and
• give assurance that existing and new policies and practices will be continuously monitored and evaluated.

Distribute Your First Employment Systems Review Communication

Your first employment systems review communication will lay the groundwork for the employment systems review process. This communication must be distributed to all employees, managers, bargaining agents and employee representatives. Be sure to include the information listed in the previous section in a format that is appropriate for your organization, and ensure that each individual receives a copy.

You will find an example of an effective communication in Appendix 2D.

Task B: Review the Results of Your Workforce Analysis, Flow Data Analysis and Clustering Analysis

To focus your employment systems review, start by revisiting the results of your workforce analysis, flow data analysis and clustering analysis if they were conducted.

Reviewing Workforce Analysis Data

Look at the results table in your workforce analysis summary report to review identified gaps in representation.

Your employment systems review must focus on significant gaps – that is, on those that were previously identified using the three filter test. (For a review of the three filter test, consult Task A in Step 2: Workforce Analysis.)

You must also consult the results of your organization’s flow data analysis and clustering analysis if they were conducted. The data retrieved from these analyses will be used in the employment systems review process.

Using a Flow Data Analysis

Flow data analysis investigates shares of recruitment, promotion and termination received by designated group members in your workforce.

Flow data will help your organization focus its employment equity efforts on areas that appear to present barriers. For example, if recruitment or selection is not a problem but termination rates are high, it is important to focus on the reasons why designated group members are leaving at higher rates than employees who are not members of a designated group.

When analyzing your flow data if one was conducted, you must pay attention to instances of low hiring shares, low promotion shares or high termination rates among designated groups. If you find that your data reveals these types of problems, you must examine how your organization’s formal and informal policies and practices, attitudes and corporate culture may be causing employment barriers.

If you find that designated groups have low hiring shares, examine your organization’s formal and informal policies and practices related to:

• recruitment;
• selection;
• attitudes and corporate culture; and
• accommodation.

If you find that designated groups have low promotion shares, examine your organization’s formal and informal policies and practices related to:

• development assignments;
• training;
• promotion procedures;
• attitudes and corporate culture;
• accommodation; and
• performance evaluation.

And finally, if you find that designated groups have high termination rates, examine your organization’s formal and informal policies and practices related to:

• attitudes and corporate culture;
• evaluations; and
• accommodation.

Using a Clustering Analysis

If 20 or more members of a designated group are found in a particular Employment Equity Occupational Group, your organization is required to conduct a clustering analysis; use the results of this analysis to direct your employment systems review.

s discussed in the workforce analysis, a clustering analysis provides detailed information about employee salary levels. Discrepancies in salary level (e.g., if members of a designated group are clustered in the lower quarters) may help alert you to promotion problems and pay equity issues. The results of this analysis may also reveal attitude problems toward certain designated groups in specific occupational groups or explain high termination rates for the affected designated groups.

Task C: Identify All Relevant Systems, Policies and Practices

In this task, your organization will identify all systems, policies and practices, both formal and informal, that may relate to the gaps in representation uncovered in your workforce analysis. Creating a list of systems, policies and practices lays the foundation for further review in subsequent tasks. Be sure to record each policy and practice and its related Employment Equity Occupational Group (EEOG) number in the employment systems review results table.

Identifying Formal Policies and Practices

Compile a list of formal, written human resources policies as they relate to recruitment, training and development, promotion, retention, termination, corporate culture, and accommodation. This should be supplemented with any informal policies that are well understood and accepted.

The following formal policies and practices checklist can assist your organization in identifying policies and practices to be reviewed.

Policies and Practices Checklist

General Human Resources Policies

• human resource manuals
• contract forms
• Web site material
• advertising
• promotional materials
• public relations material
• internal communication tools
• collective agreements
• union grievances procedures
• human rights complaints procedures
• other relevant documents

Recruitment

• initial screening
• application forms
• job advertisements
• agency referrals
• outreach with agencies
• targeted recruitment efforts
• word-of-mouth referrals
• job fairs
• walk-in recruiting
• post-secondary recruitment
• Internet posting
• internal posting
• interview techniques
• networking

Selection

• work experience requirements
• job requirements
• testing
• written job descriptions/ statements of required qualifications
• co-op placements
• staffing policies
• orientation packages (provided to interested job seekers)
• procedures for hiring temporary workers
• seniority rights
• managerial accountability
• mergers and acquisition

Training and Development

• treatment of acting positions
• career development programs
• job rotation
• lateral transfers
• mentorship programs
• tuition reimbursement
• assignments
• available training materials and programs
• on-the-job training

Promotion

• career bridging
• dissemination of promotion opportunity information
• formal and informal promotion policies
• seniority and union restrictions to promotions
• succession planning
• internal recruitment

Retention and Termination

• benefits
• bonuses
• consultations with employee representatives
• disciplinary measures and appeal processes
• dress code
• employee assistance program
• exit interview documents
• family-related leave
• work-life balance
• harassment policies and procedures
• health and safety
• retention of temporary workers
• “last hired, first fired” practices
• paid leave
• performance evaluation
• unpaid leave/sabbaticals
• violence prevention
• wellness
• work sharing
• attitudes and corporate culture
• employee surveys

Accommodation

• accessibility
• accommodation polices and procedures
• bereavement leave
• court day leave
• daycare services
• employment equity policy
• modified facilities
• modified job functions
• modified worksite
• modified workstation
• maternity and parental leave
• religious observance
• technical aids
• telework

Identifying Informal Policies and Practices

It is crucial to identify the informal policies and practices within your organization that may create barriers leading to gaps in representation. It is often the informal practices rather than the formal policies that have the greatest impact on employment opportunities for designated group members. Most employers find that at least some practices differ significantly from their organization’s formal or written policies.

Individuals outside of your committee or working group must be consulted; they are invaluable to identifying relevant systems and practices that are affecting a particular EEOG or geographic location. You may choose to conduct interviews with staff, review records of past human resource actions, engage in expert brainstorming or use a combination of these options.

• Interview or survey staff, including managers

  Soliciting the input, concerns and ideas of staff and managers can be the most effective means of determining actual practices. Both staff and managers are directly affected by your organization’s policies and practices and see barriers first-hand. These individuals are able to relay information on how things are actually done and how policies and practices are carried out in day-to-day business. Simple questions such as, “How did you get your position?” will provide a clear indication of the most common practices.

• Review records of past human resource actions (i.e., hiring and terminations)

  Review your organization’s human resource records relating to hiring and terminations. Such a review may indicate, for example, that most staff in the sales area were hired through employment agencies; that few formal interviews were conducted when hiring semi-skilled workers; or that most professionals hired came through referrals by existing staff (networking) rather than through a formal post-secondary recruitment policy.

• Gather experts for a brainstorming session

  Your organization may wish to use the opinions and advice of experts in areas such as human resources or employment equity to focus its identification of informal policies and practices. It is often useful, after formal policies have been identified, to bring together a representative group of internal experts. This includes more than human resource professionals or specialists: it may also include experienced middle and/or senior managers, union representatives, and selected representatives from the designated groups. This brainstorming group reviews each area with significant gaps and answers questions such as: “How do we recruit? promote, etc.?”

Recording Policies and Practices

The formal and informal policies and practices that your organization intends to review in order to identify barriers must be listed in your employment systems review results table along with their related EEOG. This table is found in Appendix 2E.

In the table:

• list the number of the EEOG where gaps were identified in the first column; and
• describe the policy or practice in detail in the second column (as indicated by the arrow in the following sample table).

Employment Systems Review Table

EEOG #(s)	Policy/Practice (formal/informal)	Barrier Identified	Recommendation
Recruitment, Selection and Hiring
Training and Development

Note: There may be different practices operating for different specific occupational groups within an EEOG (e.g., professionals – engineers may use networking; accountants may use post-secondary recruitment). These practices need to be reported and assessed.

Task D: Review Policies, Practices, Attitudes and Corporate Culture to Identify Adverse Impact

In this task, your organization will analyze the identified systems, policies and practices to determine their impact on all applicants and employees, both those who are and those who are not members of a designated group. The purpose of this exercise is to determine if these policies, practices and attitudes create barriers to the employment of designated group members. A barrier exists when a policy or practice has a more adverse impact on those who are members of one or more of the designated groups than on those who are not.

As you review your organization’s formal and informal policies and practices, you must pay close attention to how these policies and practices may lead to employment barriers, discrimination and negative attitudes. If you are able to identify these issues as the cause of designated group under-representation in an Employment Equity Occupational Group (EEOG), it is your organization’s responsibility to make the necessary changes to reverse any negative impact.

At the end of this task, identified barriers must be recorded in your employment systems review results table. If a policy or practice has not created a barrier, you must record this (i.e., “no barrier found”).

For clarity, Task D is broken down into four sections:

1. Barriers, Discrimination and Attitudes: An Overview – A review of the implications of barriers, discrimination, attitudes and corporate culture.
2. Gathering Further Information – Advice on soliciting helpful information from various individuals.
3. Reviewing Formal and Informal Policies and Practices for Barriers – A five-part process to determine the adverse impact, legality, consistency, validity and accommodative nature of each identified policy and practice.
4. Recording Barriers – Instructions for recording barriers in the employment systems review results table.

1) Barriers, Discrimination and Attitudes: An Overview

Barriers

Employment barriers arise both intentionally and unintentionally from policies, practices, attitudes and corporate culture that are neither job-related nor required for the safe and efficient operation of an organization. A policy or practice is a barrier when it has a greater negative impact on designated group members than on those who are not members of a designated group. These barriers contribute to hiring and promotion rates that are lower than expected for designated group members in comparison to those who are not members of a designated group. They also manifest themselves in the under-utilization of designated group members and in the concentration of designated group members at the lower levels of an organization and in non-decision making positions. Barriers can be subtle and hard to detect. They frequently result from a lack of awareness of their impact on designated group members.

The following short list of barriers that may exist in a workplace is not exhaustive; it is meant to provide your organization with a foundation on the basis of which to begin the process of identifying barriers in your workplace.

Examples of barriers include:

• prejudice or ill-will reflected in deliberately discriminatory actions against individuals who are members of designated groups;
• unequal treatment (e.g., asking different questions of women and men applying for the same job);
• systemic barriers that discourage or block members of designated groups from employment opportunities (e.g., arbitrary height and weight requirements; unnecessary experience requirements);
• maintenance of a working environment that is hostile or abusive toward members of designated groups or that is simply a non-supportive work culture and environment for designated group members;
• inadequate facilities that present physical barriers to persons with disabilities;
• use of recruitment sources that do not provide an appropriate pool of candidates (e.g., advertising, word of mouth, networking, employment agencies);
• lack of objective, structured staffing, particularly when coupled with attitude problems;
• unequal access for designated group members to non-advertised promotion, training and development systems, networks, and assignments; and
• lack of reasonable accommodation.

You will find a more extensive list of frequently found barriers in Appendix 2F.

Again, it is important to remember that, for a good employment systems review, it is better to begin with the question, “How do we do X?” rather than “Do we do X?”

Discrimination

A review of your organization’s formal and informal policies and practices may reveal discrimination-related issues acting as barriers to employment for designated group members. Discrimination can be either intentional or systemic; both types must be eliminated to ensure an equitable workplace.

Attitudes and Corporate Culture

In addition to reviewing your organization’s formal written policies and practices, you are required to conduct an in-depth review of attitudes and corporate culture to identify potential barriers. Negative attitudes can form a part of your organization’s corporate culture and lead to a negative work environment or to stereotypes, which may have an impact on the recruitment, promotion and retention of designated group members.

The best way for your organization to assess attitudes and corporate culture is to solicit the input of employees, bargaining agents and employee representatives to gain a better understanding of how they are affecting designated groups.

Attitudes

In this context, attitudes refer to the beliefs individuals hold that influence both their behaviour and their perceptions of designated group members. Attitudes can, of course, be both positive and negative, and it is the latter that is most likely to create barriers.

Negative attitudes usually lead to a hostile work environment for designated group members or to stereotypes that may have an impact on their recruitment and promotion. Barriers will continue to exist despite excellent written policies if individuals (managers or employees) do not apply them.

• Negative attitudes may have a direct impact on selection and hiring. Such attitudes may include: “this is not a woman’s job; Aboriginal people are unreliable; members of visible minorities make poor managers; persons with disabilities cannot perform in a fast-paced operation.”
• Wrong attitudes or “information” may also influence recruitment efforts. Such attitudes may include: “visible minorities are less educated; I know women are not interested in this job because they do not apply; Aboriginal people prefer seasonal employment.”

Corporate Culture

Attitudes are certainly part of an organization’s corporate culture, particularly if they are widespread. For our purposes, however, corporate culture refers to the shared “culture” of how things should be done in your organization, what its core values are and what is “valued” in its employees.

In increasingly diverse workplaces, once well-understood and accepted cultures may no longer be appropriate and may even have a negative impact on the organization’s human resource management and economic performance.

Examples of outdated corporate culture include:

• accepting long hours, unplanned overtime and quick-response travel as signs of commitment to the company;
• expecting involvement in activities such as after-hours sports or social outings;
• valuing aggressive internal competition over more co-operative management and collaboration; and
• tolerating a highly “macho” work environment.

It can be difficult to isolate the key aspects of an organization’s corporate culture that may present barriers, as they may be deeply ingrained and supported by a belief that they are “the reality” of the industry or business. Designated group members can often help identify the elements that may be causing problems.

As you review your organization’s formal and informal policies and practices, you will need to ask yourself continually, “How do we do this?” It is possible that your organization’s formal policies differ greatly from actual practices; although your policies may not appear to have a negative impact on designated groups, your informal practices may be quite detrimental.

Gathering Insight to Assess Attitudes and Corporate Culture

When conducting interviews, focus groups or brainstorming sessions to identify and gain insight into attitudes and corporate culture in your workplace or to assess the existence and impact of these, you may wish to ask the following questions:

• Have you ever experienced or witnessed harassment or discrimination in the workplace? If so, please provide examples.
• Do you believe that acting opportunities, assignments, mentoring, promotions, training and so on are freely communicated and offered? If not, does this have an impact on designated group members?
• Do you have any ideas or suggestions regarding what our organization could do to increase its representation or to make the workplace environment more positive for designated group members?
• What do you believe are the key components of our organization’s working culture?
• What does our organization value most in its employees?
• Outside of specific work duties, what does our organization value in a good employee?

The responses you receive from individuals you interview should be followed up and incorporated into the recommendations for the removal of barriers that you will make in Task E.

As mentioned, consulting with those directly affected by your organization’s policies and practices is crucial for a successful employment systems review.

2) Gathering Further Information

As emphasized previously, when conducting a review of your organization’s policies and practices, it is important to focus not only on formal policies and practices but also on how these policies and practices are actually carried out and what their impact is on employees. It is everyday practices rather than formal policies that are likely to have the greatest impact on employment opportunities available to designated group members. Conducting interviews, focus groups and employee surveys will provide evidence of your organization’s culture, attitudes, values, group norms and informal practices.

Additional information can be gathered from:

• designated group members;
• employees who are not members of a designated group;
• management or supervisory staff;
• employee representatives; and
• human resources staff.

Consulting with these individuals is essential to the thoroughness of your employment systems review.

Interviews, focus groups and surveys will help to identify:

• whether formal employment policies are adhered to;
• what informal employment practices exist; and
• how employees are affected by formal and informal systems.

In addition, they can identify:

• instances of discrimination perceived by employees;
• the impact of attitudes and corporate culture;
• priorities for the elimination of barriers; and
• possible actions to eliminate barriers.

Your organization must determine the type of questions that would be most helpful in conducting this part of the employment systems review. Essentially, you are looking to shed light on how policies and practices are actually implemented in everyday work situations and what impact they have on designated group members. The following list of potential questions can help guide you in this process.

Potential questions to ask employees:

• How were you recruited into this organization? What was the selection process when you were hired/promoted?
• What informal practices that operate in your area affect recruitment, promotion, training and assignments, if any?
• Why do you think there is an under-representation of designated group members?
• Do you believe discrimination is present and, if so, can you give some examples?
• Can you identify any areas that you are aware of where things are done in ways that do not follow written policies?

A note on focus groups: Focus groups often provide a cross-section of views about how the organization operates, what its corporate culture is, etc. It is important to respond to what is said by seeking to validate both positive and negative input. If the report from the focus group states that some participants felt a certain way, it is necessary to determine whether or not such a position is supported by other evidence gathered.

3) Reviewing Formal and Informal Policies and Practices for Barriers

As you review your organization’s formal and informal policies and practices, it is crucial to continue asking yourself and others, “How are things actually done?” As stressed numerous times throughout this process, when written policies cannot reasonably explain under-representation for a given group, it is likely that an explanation will be found when looking at the informal policies and practices that exist off record.

Once you have identified all relevant systems, policies and practices, assess whether or not each one has an adverse impact on the designated group. If so, then each one must also be assessed against the following factors to identify barriers:

• legality
• consistency
• validity
• accommodative nature

The Employment Systems Review Policies and Practices Diagnostic Tool (Appendix 2G) will assist your organization in analyzing policies and practices.

Adverse Impact

Does this policy or practice have an adverse impact on designated group members?

The first step is to assess whether or not the policy or practice in question has a disproportionately negative impact on designated group members. Consider the examples below.

Recruitment

1. Use of employment agencies to recruit semi-skilled or clerical workers: Do the agencies used refer qualified candidates from the under-represented designated group at the same percentage as the group’s availability?
2. Networking to recruit professionals or middle managers: Is the profile of candidates that result from networking similar to the profile indicated by availability data?

Selection

1. Strength Tests: Does a requirement to meet a strength test at a specific level result in a higher percentage of designated group applicants failing to meet the standard?
2. Use of years of experience as a selection standard: Are one or more of the designated groups less likely to have the years of experience?

   If you find that the particular policy or practice you are assessing does not have an adverse impact in the given situation, then no barrier exists. Enter “no adverse impact” in your employment systems review results table, explain how or why this was the conclusion and proceed to analyze the next policy or practice.

   If you do find that there is evidence of a disproportionately adverse impact on those who are members of a designated group compared to those who are not, proceed to assess its legality.

Legality

Does this policy or practice conform to existing human rights and employment standards legislation?

Check to see if the policy or practice clearly contradicts existing human rights and employment standards legislation in your province or territory.

A non-conforming policy or practice may include an overt exclusion of designated group members for certain jobs. You should also apply the legality factor to requirements that may be deliberate, covert attempts to exclude certain groups, as in the following examples of selection criteria:

• “active, energetic candidates attractive to our discerning clients”
• “Canadian experience”

Using different selection standards – e.g., different questions based on gender, race or disability status – is also clearly illegal.

If questions remain, contact your province or territory’s Human Rights Commission or your local Labour Affairs Office.

If you find that the particular policy or practice you are reviewing clearly does not conform to human rights or employment standards, then it must be removed, changed or validated as a bona fide occupational requirement.

For example, restricting gender may be a bona fide occupational requirement if it relates to a job involving modesty issues, such as an attendant for a change room. If it is changed, it must be reassessed starting with the first factor: adverse impact. If it is a bone fide occupational requirement, proceed to assess its consistency.

If you find that the policy or practice is not illegal, as far as you can tell, proceed to assess its consistency.

Consistency

Is this policy or practice applied consistently?

Ensure that the policy or practice in question is applied in an equitable and consistent manner.

Lack of consistency can take several forms, for example:

1. the use of a test or any standard with an adverse impact for some competitions but not for others; or
2. the use of a physical test with an adverse impact to screen out candidates where no efforts are made to ensure that employees, once hired, continue to meet this standard. This is particularly important where there is evidence that many existing employees doing the job could not meet the standard.

   If you find that the particular policy or practice you are reviewing is not applied consistently, then it must be changed or removed. If it is changed, it must be reassessed starting with the first factor: adverse impact.

   If you find that the policy or practice is applied consistently, proceed to assess its validity.

Validity

Is this policy or practice valid, that is, necessary for the safe and efficient operation of your organization?

The policy or practice in question must accomplish its proposed predictive or evaluative function in order to be a business necessity and a bona fide occupational requirement. In addition, the policy or practice is considered valid only if there is no reasonable alternative that has no or a less adverse impact.

Validity questions often revolve around the issue of tests used to select candidates: Do people who score high actually perform better on the job than those who do not? Other examples include whether or not experience requirements indicate performance and whether or not job tasks and their attendant requirements actually reflect the work being done.

The practice must also be objective. Older tests, for example, may still contain a gender or cultural bias. Ensure that tests are administered in such a way as to provide a positive atmosphere for the test takers and to eliminate any bias that could affect their performance.

f you find that the particular policy or practice you are reviewing is not valid, it must be changed or removed. If it is changed, it must be reassessed starting with the first factor: adverse impact.

If you find that the policy or practice is valid, proceed to assess its accommodative nature.

Accommodative Nature

Where a policy or practice is determined to be a valid (bona fide) job requirement but excludes one or more designated groups in a disproportionate way, your organization must determine whether or not it is possible to use accommodation to remove or decrease the negative impact.

Question: Is accommodation possible? If the policy or practice is a valid job requirement but tends to exclude designated group members, can an accommodation be made to reduce or eliminate the adverse impact?

Example:

Skilled Workers – Workers must sometimes work in areas that are inaccessible for certain employees with disabilities, but given the number of workers in this group, work assignments can be arranged to accommodate persons with disabilities without imposing undue hardship on the organization.

Accommodation must be considered for all valid (bone fide) job requirements (and related policies, practices, etc.) that have a disproportionately adverse impact on one or more of the designated groups, unless the accommodation would result in undue hardship.

Note: The Supreme Court has ruled that accommodation is required in response to a valid requirement; if a requirement with an adverse impact is not valid, there is an obligation to remove the policy or practice.

4) Recording Barriers

You must now record your findings. In the third column of your organization’s employment systems review results table (as indicated by the arrow in the following sample table), enter the barrier your organization has identified in relation to the formal or informal policy or practice in question. Be sure to explain exactly how the policy or practice constitutes a barrier.

If no barrier exists, indicate why and explain (for example, there is no adverse impact or it is a bona fide occupational requirement). If further long-term assessment work is required to determine the impact of the policy or practice, indicate this.

Employment Systems Review Table

EEOG #(s)	Policy/Practice (formal/informal)	Barrier Identified	Recommendation
Recruitment, Selection and Hiring
Training and Development

EEOG #(s) Policy/Practice (formal/informal) Barrier Identified Recommendation Recruitment, Selection and Hiring Training and Development

Note: A policy or practice may be a barrier for one or more of the designated groups but not for all; when identifying a barrier, it must be clear to which group(s) and in which EEOG it applies.

Task E: Develop Recommendations to Respond to Barriers

To begin the process of removing barriers, your organization is strongly encouraged to develop a series of recommendations addressing each individual issue. You will seek to change or remove those policies and practices that have an adverse impact on one or more of the designated groups and are illegal, not valid, inconsistently applied or non-accommodative. The changes you propose should be those that are most appropriate and attainable for your organization.

The following examples and those in Appendix 2F were developed to help guide your organization through this process. These lists are not exhaustive and do not account for your organization’s unique circumstances.

Examples of Barriers and Recommendations

Sometimes two practices combine to create barriers, as in the following example:

An extensive list of examples of commonly found barriers, along with recommendations, can be found in Appendix 2F.

Recording Recommendations

If your organization decides to make recommendations for the removal of barriers, you are encouraged to record them in the fourth column of your employment systems review table (as indicated by the arrow in the following sample table). Note that the recommended action must be sufficient to remove the barrier and contribute to making reasonable progress toward closing the identified gap.

Employment Systems Review Table

EEOG #(s)	Policy/Practice (formal/informal)	Barrier Identified	Recommendation
Recruitment, Selection and Hiring
Training and Development

Note: The employment systems review is a report on findings with recommendations for changes. The final, approved employment equity plan may not contain all of these recommendations.

Task F: Design a Process for Reviewing New Policies and Practices

Under Section 9(2) of the Employment Equity Regulations, your organization must review all new policies and practices implemented after the employment systems review is completed to ensure they will not constitute a barrier for one or more designated groups.

You must design your own process for ensuring that your organization meets this requirement. The human resources staff or the employment equity committee are best suited to perform these assessments.

To ensure that new policies and practices do not constitute barriers to one or more designated groups, either:

• Have your human resources staff assess new policies and practices prior to their implementation. For example, your human resources staff might conduct a pretest with a focus group of designated group members each time your organization wishes to create a new policy or practice. Doing this will assist you in gauging the impact of a policy or practice on the designated groups before it is implemented.
• Have your organization’s employment equity committee and/or employment equity staffing specialist conduct a review similar to the one conducted using this guide, prior to the implementation of new policies or practices.

Once a new policy or practice has been initiated, monitor its impact for potential barriers closely.

Task G: Prepare an Employment Systems Review Summary Report and Communicate Results

Just as your organization prepared a summary report of your workforce analysis, you must also prepare a summary report of your employment systems review. Drafting a report will help you prepare for the next step in the process, the development of your employment equity plan, and will complement your organization’s efforts to document its progress. The format you choose for this report is up to your organization, as long as it follows the basic outline presented.

Employment Systems Review Summary Report

A summary report must include:

• an introduction;
• a description of the methodology used to conduct the employment systems review;
• the results of your review (i.e., the employment systems review results table);
• a description of your organization’s process for reviewing new policies and practices; and
• a conclusion.

Details on the content of each component of the employment systems review summary report follow.

Introduction

The introduction of your report is an overview of your larger employment systems review. It should include:

• the identified gaps in representation that became the focus of your employment systems review;
• a list of previous employment systems reviews completed by your organization and how they are reflected in this report;
• any challenges that your organization encountered while completing your employment systems review; and
• the status of recommended measures (if they were made) for removing barriers in your organization’s policies and practices.

Methodology

The methodology section of the summary report outlines the resources and processes that your organization used to conduct its employment systems review. This is meant to be an overview and must include:

• information on the individuals who managed and conducted the employment systems review;
• a list of those who participated in employment systems review consultations;
• the steps taken to identify and assess the systems, as well as the methods used to collect the required information; and
• a list of all employment systems, policies and practices that were reviewed.

Results

You may simply attach the employment systems review results table that you completed in Tasks C, D and E.

Note: This component of the summary report is considered complete when you are confident that if the barriers are removed, your organization will be able to recruit, hire, promote and retain designated group members at levels consistent with their availability in the relevant labour market.

Process for Reviewing New Policies and Practices

Describe in detail the process that your organization developed in Task F for reviewing all new policies and practices to ensure that, when implemented, they will not constitute a barrier for the designated groups.

Conclusion

The final step in completing your employment systems review summary report is to write a conclusion summarizing your overall findings and the steps your organization intends to take to develop an action plan for removing identified barriers and ensuring that new policies and practices do not reintroduce barriers.

Communication

Finally, in keeping with the communication requirements, you must communicate the results of your employment systems review to employees, management, bargaining agents and employee representatives.

To view a sample memorandum that may be used for this purpose, see Appendix 2H.

Moving Forward…

Now that you have identified barriers, made recommendations (if applicable) for their removal and established a process for monitoring and reviewing future policies and practices, you are ready to create your employment equity plan.

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Date Modified:

2012-02-27