Specialty broadcaster ‘treats people right’
Reaching its audience starts with relationship with APTN employees
Growing up in Vancouver, John Stott realized early on that he had an interest in people.
He was drawn to a human-resources career in retail that took him across the country and across the border to rural Alaska. He then moved to Manitoba where he worked with a not-for-profit organization that responds to the needs of a diverse inner-city population.
Today, Stott is director of human resources with the Aboriginal People’s Television Network (APTN) in Winnipeg.
“The move to broadcasting has given me the opportunity to make a difference and to apply common experiences from throughout my career,” says Stott. “Foremost is an appreciation that to succeed, it is good business to treat people right. Many businesses understand their customers, but to be truly successful, you also have to understand your employees.”
APTN is the first and only national aboriginal broadcaster in the world. English, French and aboriginal-language programming is shared with viewers across Canada and around the globe.
Diversity is a part of the very fabric of the organization: Sixty-nine per cent of employees are self-identified as having aboriginal ancestry such as First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. Visible minorities, non-aboriginal people, and people with disabilities are also represented.
“One of the things we do well is to support diversity and culture within our workforce,” says Stott. “We also ensure that the workforce is reflective of our audience. To do that, we must connect with the community. That means understanding where job applicants might be, taking extra steps to engage them, making communication easy, and breaking down obstacles to their entry.”
Initiatives with stakeholders, including colleges and organizations like the Strategic Alliance of Broad- casters for Aboriginal Reflection (SABAR), help to achieve this.
Once applicants have been identified, opportunities for promotion through formal, semi-formal and informal mentorship programs help employees with potential to move to higher value positions in the organization, adds Stott. “By working with other broadcast organizations and the union, we also put an em- phasis on internships and positions for students.”
Take Francine Compton, a member of Manitoba’s Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation and producer for APTN’s news and current affairs programs.
Twelve years ago, Compton was the lone female intern on a six-person studio/technical crew. “I was taught broadcasting in grades 10 to 12. It’s what helped me to get started and made the transition easier,” she says. “When I got the position as director and then producer, the network provided yearlong mentorships with experts from other organizations. They gave me the training and experience that I needed to do my job.”
Achievements can also be leveraged beyond APTN’s doors to people in communities that are looking for hope and inspiration, says Stott. “If we hire, train and mentor and then those individuals leave to go on to better things, that’s OK too. It’s leveraged employment that brings further diversity to our people.”
It takes a high sense of social conscience and responsibility to be successful when hiring in a diverse environment, he says. Knowledge of organizational development along with business acumen is also necessary.
Stott enjoys his work. “My role is to help others to be successful. When I see the results of an engaged, reflective, diverse workforce leading to personal performance, it is very rewarding,” he says. “I don’t have a job, I have a purpose.”