Recruiting and retaining of Indigenous Probations Officers. Steps to creating diverse workplaces that reflect community cultures

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-06-2019-0183
• Pages: 145-165
• Date: 03 December 2019
• Published date: 03 December 2019
• Author: Frank Morven,J. Barton Cunningham
• Subject Matter: HR & organizational behaviour,Employment law,Diversity,equality,inclusion

Recruiting and retaining of

Indigenous Probations Officers

Steps to creating diverse workplaces

that reflect community cultures

Frank Morven

Probations Department, Government of British Columbia,

Prince Rupert, Canada, and

J. Barton Cunningham

School of Public Administration, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper i s to define different types of culturally co mmensurate experiences,

events, activities and in terventions which Indigenous peo ple find relevant for improving cult ural diversity.

Design/methodology/approach –Based on interviews and surveys with Indigenous Probations Officers,

the authors define a framework of nine experiences and events relevant to the organization, team and

cultural development.

Findings –The key finding lies in proposing a framework of what Indigenous Probation Officers finding lies

view as commensurate experiences, activities or interventions which recognize their cultural context

(American Psychological Association, 2003).

Research limitations/implications –The key limitations to this study are the size of the sample and the

inability to conclusively argue that the framework of experiences developed can claim to represent those

important for improving recruitment and retentions of all Indigenous Probation Officers. Further exploratory

research of this type is necessary to add to this research in guiding future research and practice.

Practical implications –The definition of a multicultural experiences offered here might be useful in

encouraging Probation Officers and others in developing a deeper appreciation of cultures of Indigenous

peoples and other groups.

Social implications –The purpose is to better understand an Indigenous perspective on enhancing a

connection to culture within the Corrections system.

Originality/value –Rather than using a list of competencies to shape behaviors and experiences that people

practice, the underlying assumption is to encourage cultural multiculturalism framework competency

development by focusing on experiences and events important to objectives related to improving diversity.

Keywords Diversification, Culture, Recruitment

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Fuller participation in the labor market for Indigenous people in Canada is often linked to a

history of colonization and, according to a Royal Commission report, a record of dislocation

and isolation, racism, violence and poverty (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of

Canada (TRC), 2015, p. 50). A most prominent feature of this history is the forced imposition

of the residential school system created for the purpose of separating Indigenous children

from their families, in order to minimize or weaken family ties and cultural linkages, and to

program children into a new culture (TRC, 2015, pp. 43, 44). Low enrollment and graduation

rates in education are attributed to this history and fears and anxieties, inadequate

educational preparation, a lack of Indigenous mentors, financial hardship and resistance to

government-sponsored educational programs (Smith et al., 2011, p. 8).

One result of lower scholastic achievement for Indigenous peoples is lower employability

in “knowledge occupations,”such as Probations Officers, that tend to pay higher wages

(Moyser, 2017, p. 3). In British Columbia’s current Corrections system of 350

Probations Officers, only 1 percent of the Probation Officers are Indigenous. Indigenous

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 39 No. 2, 2020

pp. 145-165

© Emerald PublishingLimited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-06-2019-0183

Received 18 June 2019

Revised 26 August 2019

Accepted 26 August 2019

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/2040-7149.htm

145

Indigenous

Probations

Officers

peoples in Canada represent 4.5 percent of the adult population, but 27 percent of the adults

in BC Correctional Centers and 24 percent of the clients supervised in the community

(Gress, January, 2014).

In trying to increase employability and attract and retain Indigenous peoples[1] and

other designated groups, the Corrections system and other public sector organizations have

focused on diversity objectives for increasing representation, allowing for more legitimate

access, recognizing and responding to barriers for inclusion, and encouraging

multiculturalism. This paper reviews the success of different approaches in pointing to a

multiculturalism framework for engaging Indigenous peoples in the workforce (St. Denis,

2011; MacDonald, 2014).

Given our review, this paper highlights the multicultural perspective and what

Indigenous Probations Officers felt enhanced or inhibited their experience in the Correction

system. This study, involving interviews and surveys of Indigenous and non-Indigenous

Probation Officers, pointed to different values and ways of working, and a perspective on

why cultural misunderstandings continue. Although this study was designed as an

exploration of ways to attract and retain Indigenous Probations Officers, the comments

revealed ways in which a multicultural model might be realigned to overcome some of the

barriers to recruitment and retention.

Different perspectives on improving diversity

Researchers and practitioners offer a range of approaches or paradigms for understanding

and improving the experiences of indigenous employees and minorities in the workforce and

society (Thomas and Ely, 1996; Kirton and Greene, 2010; Mor Barak, 2018).

In the following review, we illustrate different strands of research and logic supporting

fair and equal representation, legitimate access, reducing barriers and a multicultural

perspective relevant for improving the representation and diversity of Indigenous people in

organizations like the Corrections system. The different strands are not mutually exclusive

but can be seen as different approaches with different objectives for improving participation

of Indigenous people and designated groups. The different strands highlight the mixture of

models being applied, offering basic principles such as equal and fairness representation,

legitimate representation, reducing barriers and multiculturalism.

Providing more equal and fair representation

For Indigenous scholars, the principles of equal and fair representation are often linked to

theories of representative bureaucracy which suggest that democracies, “must be

representative of the groups they serve”(Kingsley, 1944, p. 305) and the agencies (especially

public agencies) should mirror the society in which they function (Morabito and Shelley,

2015, p. 333; Mosher, 1968/1982). Passive representation occurs when the demographic

characteristics of the bureaucracy align with the demographic characteristics of the

population being served (Carroll, 2017, p. 210; Krislov, 2012; Mosher, 1968/1982).

Active representation refers to how the composition affects policy outputs including

whether the inclusion of a diverse group of employees affects the way the organization

conducts its business (Morabito and Shelley, 2015, p. 334).

In responding to the history of decolonization, Indigenous scholars argue that the

programs for inclusion of Indigenous people need to respond to a history of colonization

defined as how one foreign power superimposed its views of the world, values, culture and

institutions on another (Ing, 2005, p. 6; MacDonald and Steenbeek, 2015, p. 34). Movements

for decolonization have expanded calls for a more representative bureaucracy (Timpson,

2006), by shaping the recruitment and selection practices to be more fair (Morabito and

Shelley, 2015; Jordan et al., 2009; Mier and Bohte, 2001; Zhao et al., 2006).

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