We are very proud to announce that London Drugs was nominated as a top 3 finalist for the BC Workplace Inclusion Award in the Large Business category.
This nomination was due in large part to the great work of some of our Lower Mainland managers through an employment initiative just over two years ago. In the spring of 2015 London Drugs became a founding Employer Partner of a new ‘made in BC’ initiative called BC Partners in Workforce Innovation (BC WiN). This is a 3-year pilot launched in the lower mainland that helps businesses to be more inclusive by hiring qualified, job ready candidates with disabilities/diverse abilities. This initiative works like a recruitment search firm, starting with our recruitment needs and matches these to job seekers – which makes good business sense!
So why does this matter to us? London Drugs welcomed the opportunity to participate in this pilot because we recognize the value of ensuring our workforce represents the communities we do business in. We also recognize that there is a talent pool of individuals that we may be missing out on as an employer to meet our workforce needs. BC WiN Recruitment Specialists help our recruitment efforts by tapping into a pool of candidates from over 96 different groups funded to provide employment programs, including WorkBC Centres, foundations and social services agencies. Candidates recommended to us have been pre-screened with London Drugs’ specific employment needs in mind. This one-stop approach is a huge win for us and will further our goal of being a retail employer of choice!
We are very happy to announce that London Drugs is in first place with our recruitment efforts, thanks in large part to Dave Woogman, 004 Store Manager who leads the way in recruitment at the Cambie/Broadway location. With 15 different organizations participating in the pilot (including Edgewater Casino, CIBC, Seaspan, Canucks Sports and Entertainment, BCLC to name a few), we are proud of the store managers who have embraced the initiative. Other locations that have hired through the pilot include Abbotsford, Brentwood, Clearbrook, Cloverdale, Kerrisdale, Granville, Langley, Lougheed Centre, New Westminster, West Vancouver and the Distribution Service Centre.
To date, we’ve hired over 16 people in our stores in the lower mainland working in Warehousing, Stocking/Aisle Merchandising, Cashiering and Insurance Specialist positions. In this last year of the pilot, we are looking at ways to significantly increase our efforts to hire from this diverse talent pool.
You can find out more about BC WiN by visiting the website www.bcpartnerswin.org and be sure to check-out the short video, which features Brian Best, our Director of Warehouse Operations speaking to the value of being an inclusive employer.
If you know someone with a disability/diverse abilities who would be a great match for us as an employer, or one of the other employers BC WiN works with, please recommend them to Recruitment Specialist, Jamie Millar-Dixon. She can be reached at rs@bcpartnerswin.org.
