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As one of Canada's largest banks, RBC Financial Group employs thousands of people dedicated to providing diversified financial services to clients around the world.

In Canada, the organization has over 150 specialized East Asian-focused branches, staffed with employees who speak a number of Chinese dialects. Additionally, a number of branches are dedicated to serving the growing Middle Eastern and South Asian populations.

The 2001 Census showed RBC that the demographic mix of Canada is changing: more immigrants are making Canada their home than ever before.

As part of its marketing strategy, RBC realized that it needed to plan for a workforce that reflects this expanding multicultural customer base. Success would require employees who reflected the ethnicity of the communities RBC serves and who are familiar with the cultures of their clients.

To make this happen, RBC implemented a number of initiatives aimed at recruiting skilled immigrants including:

• A visible minority advisory board with an emerging focus on skilled immigrants;
• Participation in the Career Bridge internship program aimed at recruiting skilled immigrants;
• Development of partnerships with community organizations that place skilled immigrants in the workforce; and
• A bias-free interview guide that takes into account acknowledging of foreign credentials.

An example of how this recruitment strategy has furthered RBC's expansion into new markets can be seen in Toronto's South Asian community. Irfan Chaudhry, a multi-lingual account manager, is a skilled immigrant from Pakistan whose client portfolio includes the South Asian Business Market.

Irfan is able to expand his client base by leveraging his relationships with the Canada-Pakistan Business Council and the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce. His networking abilities and fluency in South Asian languages have led to his outstanding results with RBC, recently achieving over 60% loan growth and over 10% deposit growth in 2004.

Since 2003, RBC's recruitment management system has had the capability to collect and track the international experience of all job applicants. Access to this type of data (e.g. RBC employs over 700 skilled immigrant employees with post-secondary education) has provided the organization with the opportunity to learn and understand how to better leverage the potential of the international skills and credentials of its workforce.