Engaged Employees 
July 26, 2022
Engage our team members and be the employer of choice everywhere we operate.
Accomplishments
- Launched Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) strategy: engaged with Ashanti Leadership for guidance and launched Inclusive Action Committee
- Responded to staffing shortages by implementing a program to earn while learning, increased international recruitment and created the Buddy Referral Program
- New recruiting software was implemented to help attract candidates and provide an enhanced applicant experience
- Shannex Excellence Awards were restarted
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Commitment
We are on a learning journey to become a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace, and we want to elevate the voices of our community to support us in this work. That’s why we recently brought together an Inclusive Action Committee, an idea that emerged from an internal Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Survey. The Committee is a working group of team members who are actively engaged in strengthening DEIB in our communities. They are working alongside our external partner and educator, Ashanti Leadership, who has provided education for our leadership and management teams and continues to support us in this ongoing work toward leading the way to inclusive communities.
Working to Well
Our Abilities Management Program, “Working to Well”, was designed to facilitate meaningful and appropriate plans in supporting an employee to Stay-At-Work, Return-To-Work or Remain-At-Work following an injury or illness either inside or outside of the workplace. Our program is individualized based on physical and cognitive abilities to maximize integration and participation. Earlier this year we launched a new educational poster campaign reiterating the philosophy of Working to Well, whereby upon receiving applicable medical assessment and treatment, we will help identify what a team member can do and seek to accommodate what they can’t do as a result of medical limitations. We know that work is an important part of feeling well and staying connected to the workplace through recovery provides a sense of purpose and improves confidence as relationships with colleagues is proven to be beneficial through rehabilitation. Since implementation, we continue to receive feedback that employees feel supported in their healthy return to work options.
Supporting Recruitment
Our Great People are the foundation of our success, and we are committed to providing them with the resources needed to be successful. Like others in our sector, though, our greatest challenge is recruitment. One of many ways we are working to address this issue is through an in-house training program that offers education and on-site work placement to existing or new employees who want to become licensed Continuing Care Assistants, supporting employees on a journey to certification through the Recognition of Prior Learning program. Last year, Shannex trained 42 people through the program who are now working in eight communities.
Immigration Services
In 2018, we added a specialized immigration group within our talent acquisition team to enhance our recruitment efforts. Since then, our team of Immigration Specialists, who are Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants and Immigration Assistants, have supported international recruits through their immigration journey to permanent residency at no cost to them. Last year, we took our efforts a step further and created an International Recruitment Task Force with a mandate to recruit outside Canada. This year, we began extending offers to candidates outside the country, and we are optimistic that we will see great success from these efforts.
Centre of Excellence for Health Partnership
As part of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development’s Future NB Initiative, the new Centre of Excellence for Health was launched with Shannex as a founding partner. The centre offers hands-on learning by welcoming students from grade 9 to 12 for co-op placements in our long-term care communities across New Brunswick, educating students on the career opportunities in long-term care while creating meaningful connections and providing firsthand experience into their lives. Fifteen student placements have been made during the last school year and we look forward to welcoming new students next school year.
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