GardaWorld: Initiator (Team) - Aboriginal Human Resource Council

 Award Recipient Profile
GardaWorld Initiator (Team) Awarded to a team of people (unit/cross-­‐functional or internal/external) that is demonstrating how they are moving from the first stages of inclusion planning within their organization toward implementation of inclusion systems in one or more of the following workplace systems: HR, procurement, communications, CSR. We are very pleased to honour GardaWorld with the inaugural Workplace Inclusion Leadership Award – Initiator, (Team) in the Change Maker category. This award recognizes the speed and conviction of GardaWorld’s action in promoting Indigenous workplace inclusion. GardaWorld, an international leader in security, evolved the idea of a business case for Indigenous workplace inclusion in Canada, into an action plan that resulted in a national initiative. The sure speed, in which Cy King, VP & Senior Advisor for Industrial Projects & Aboriginal Relations, led a small team of committed and passionate individuals to climb the Aboriginal Human Resource Council’s seven-­‐stage Inclusion Continuum, is nothing short of spectacular. With the strong support of, Marc-­‐André Aubé, President and CEO, Protective Services and Aviation Services, the Canadian team was able to advance a National Aboriginal Policy to support its business case for inclusion through an enterprise-­‐wide approach. The team aligned their personal values for the cause to its business case, which was to better position the company in contract bids that required them to be an inclusive company of Indigenous people, businesses and communities. GardaWorld has adopted a forward thinking protocol for building relationships and partnerships with the Indigenous community, and in the short span of one year, it has formalized a national strategy and grown community relationships from coast to coast to coast. Today, GardaWorld provides Indigenous candidates with free and local training to help them pursue and secure employment in the security industry. They have adopted a flexible Indigenous hiring process, and they now employ Indigenous people at many of their work sites. A benchmarking system to evaluate Indigenous hiring practices has been implemented. The company has established an Indigenous onboarding process that helps orient new recruits to company policies and workplace procedures. New recruits are provided with coaches and posted to work sites in groups to ensure they are able to support one another. The company also supports community investments in consultation with Indigenous communities… and the list continues. GardaWorld is proof in concept that a small group of passionate and committed individuals can change the world, or in this case… GardaWorld.