Topic outline

  • Achieving Success in the Canadian Workplace: Full Curriculum

    The training curriculum is intended to help immigrant professionals who have recently joined a Canadian company and are in their early probationary period. The purpose of this material is to provide information and insight into Canadian workplace culture and expectations that guide success in the Canadian workplace.

    This curriculum will help participants:
    • Access information and learn the unspoken rules of the workplace 
    • Understand manager relationships and how they differ in other workplace cultures 
    • Take an individual approach to building team relationships 
    • Demonstrate task performance through communication 
    • Give and receive critical feedback correctly Manage conflict effectively 
    • Negotiate needs to meet business outcomes 
    • Adapt to a concise business meeting style 
    • Ace the performance review 
    • Set up success for the future 
    There are 9 modules in Achieving Success. Each module includes material for the facilitator and the participant.

    • Orientation

      Use this material to discuss and develop strategies for learning the written and unwritten rules of your new organization.

      Learning outcomes:

      • Identify the necessary steps to learn the written and unwritten rules in any Canadian workplace.
      • Recognize the scope of workplace orientation and identify how best to access information such as acronyms or company specific jargon.
      • Develop an appropriate approach to help them learn who and how to ask questions pertaining to sensitive issues such as salary, religious observances and health related issues.

      • Manager Relationships

        Learn strategies to understand the nature of the manager-team member relationship in Canada, and how it differs from elsewhere. 

        Learning outcomes: 

        Participants will leave the workshop with the ability to:

        • Identify their new manager’s unique style
        • Describe the essential steps to build a productive working relationship with their manager
        • Recognize critical success factors for position and achieve a positive performance review

        • Teambuilding, Team Culture and Communication

          Understand Canadian team culture and develop strategies to build fruitful relationships with team members. 

          Learning outcomes: 

          Participants will leave the workshop with the ability to:

          • Recognize the importance of team-building and the individual approach to building relationships in the Canadian workplace.
          • Describe strategies to effectively take part and contribute to a productive team dynamic 
          • Identify appropriate responses to deal with dysfunction on their team 

          • Demonstrating Performance

            Discuss and develop strategies to demonstrate your performance in a new workplace.

            Learning outcomes:

            Participants will leave the workshop with the ability to:

            • Recognize the value placed on achieving targets and demonstrating task performance
            • Describe the nuances in between different cultures may perceive individual performance
            • Determine the appropriate mechanism and frequency for reporting individual task performance

            • Critical Feedback

              Discuss and develop strategies for recognizing and responding to critical feedback.

              Learning outcomes:

              Participants will leave the workshop with the ability to:

              • Recognize the elements of  the indirect and sandwich feedback approaches
              • Develop and present appropriate responses to critical feedback
              • Clarify and compare perspectives with manager

              • Conflict & Sensitive Issues

                Develop and share strategies for responding to workplace conflict.

                Learning outcomes:

                Participants will leave the workshop with the ability to:

                • Recognize behaviours which demonstrate the indirect approach to conflict in the Canadian Workplace
                • Appropriately apply using the “I” approach to defuse tension
                • Recognize and accurately de-code body language and other cues that may indicate conflict

                • Negotiate Needs and Tasks

                  Learn strategies for negotiating needs and tasks in the workplace.

                  Learning outcomes:

                  Participants will leave the workshop with the ability to:

                  • Understand which tasks and outcomes are negotiable (however processes are usually always negotiable)
                  • Communicate needs and constraints

                  • Business Meetings

                    Learn strategies for managing your role in business meetings.

                    Learning outcomes:

                    Participants will leave the workshop with the ability to:

                    • Describe the typical nature of business meetings in Canada
                    • Observe business meeting norms
                    • Participate efficiently and effectively in business meetings

                    • Performance Review

                      Discuss and develop strategies to effectively participate in your first performance review. 

                      Learning outcomes:

                      Participants will leave the workshop with the ability to:

                      • Describe the elements which are typical of performance reviews in Canada
                      • Effectively engage in a two-way performance discussion within the framework of the typical performance review
                      • Recognize and appropriately action feedback