OTTAWA, March 7 /CNW Telbec/ - Despite investing time and resources in

workplace diversity, too few Canadian organizations successfully attract,

develop and promote visible minorities, the fastest-growing segment of

Canada's labour force. To help organizations make the necessary changes, The

Conference Board of Canada today launched Business Critical: Maximizing the

Talents of Visible Minorities-An Employer's Guide.

    "Most organizations have intellectualized issues of diversity-they

believe it and speak it, but most are unable to meet the challenge of turning

words to action," said Prem Benimadhu, Vice-President, Organizational

Performance of the Conference Board. "The stakes are high for Canadian

employers. Organizations that truly build and leverage the talents of visible

minorities-a talent pool that is becoming essential to business success-will

win in today's global marketplace."

    Business Critical: Maximizing the Talents of Visible Minorities is the

culmination of a multi-faceted Conference Board project, championed by Senator

Donald Oliver, involving more than 20 public and private-sector partners.

    "Canada is wasting talent, and will continue to squander it, unless

organizations act now with foresight and vision to create inclusive

workplaces. Canadian leaders need to act quickly, decisively and with personal

resolve on this issue, and organizations need to establish accountability for

the advancement of visible minorities," said Senator Oliver.

    The Employer's Guide compiles successful practices from organizations

that excel in diversity management, including case studies of 12 public and

private-sector organizations in Canada and other countries. These

organizations share three common attributes:

    -    Senior leaders are personally responsible for driving diversity and

         hold managers and others accountable for achieving results;

    -    Organizations invest financial and human resources to create and

         sustain diversity efforts over time; and

    -    Employees are consistently consulted-using methods such as surveys

         and focus groups-and their needs are acted upon to continuously

         improve the work environment.

    These systematic efforts pay off through more engaged employees. Visible

minorities made up between eight per cent and 22 per cent of the workforce in

the Canadian case study organizations, creating a critical mass of employees

that fosters a welcoming work environment. The case study organizations also

ensure that visible minorities are part of organizational succession planning

and all leadership development programs.

    The Canadian case study organizations are: Canada Revenue Agency, Ernst &

Young LLP, Health Canada, IBM Canada Ltd., Pelmorex Inc., RBC Financial Group,

Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal and Statistics Canada. International

case study organizations include American Express, (U.S.), Centrelink

(Australia), Department of Veterans Affairs (U.S.) and SABMiller (South

Africa).

    In addition to the Employer's Guide, the project included a study of the

economic contribution of visible minorities, a series of focus groups and a

Leaders' Summit in May 2004. More than 30 leading public and private-sector

organizations supported the project, Learning from the Best: A Program of

Research and Education on Best Practices in Maximizing the Talents of Visible

Minorities.

    The Employer's Guide will be launched at 1 p.m. today (March 7) with a

    web cast, which can be accessed at:

    English- http://www.newswire.ca/en/webcast/viewEvent.cgi?eventID(equal

sign)1036860

    French- http://www.cnw.ca/fr/webcast/viewEvent.cgi?eventID(equal

sign)1036860 .

    The web cast will be available at this site for 90 days. The guide and

    other findings from this project are available at www.e-Library.ca .