Recruitment and retention of bilingual health and social service professionals in Francophone minority communities in Winnipeg and Ottawa

The difficulty in recruiting and retaining employees able to work in both official languages has been identified as one of the most significant reasons why Francophone seniors in minority language communities are unable to access social services and health care in French. This chapter presents the findings of a study of 55 profes sionals interviewed in six focus groups, who worked in bilingual organizations in one of the two regions studied (Winnipeg, Manitoba and Ottawa, Ontario). We hoped to identify the factors that led these employees to work in bilingual organizations and those that had encouraged them to stay in the organizations where they worked. Our findings show that the desire to contribute to the well-being of Francophones and the opportunity to obtain stable positions offering good working conditions are among the most important recruitment factors. The quality of the work environment and the opportunity to work in a diverse and inclusive workplace are retention factors mentioned regularly by the study participants. A greater recognition of the additional workload associated with working in both languages, and the recruitment of senior bilingual management staff, are among the recommendations proposed to improve the recruitment and retention of bilingual staff. Key Words: Recruitment and retention, social service and health professionals, Francophones in minority language communities.

Chapter 9