New office welcomes recruits to UBC

At a time when relationships are built online and email correspondence is fast and informal, there’s one office on campus that insists on welcoming newcomers face-to-face.

The Work-Life and Relocation Services Centre was established in October 2009 to help new faculty, postdoctoral fellows and UBC’s Vancouver campus.

“What we offer is a unique service that addresses the individual’s needs,” says Jayne Booth, manager of the centre.

Booth and her colleague Debbie McLoughlin, the client services coordinator, will sit down with candidates who have accepted or are considering a job offer from UBC. They chat over a cup of coffee about some of the concerns the individual has about moving to Vancouver.

“It’s a recruiting and retention tool,” says Booth. “We need to make sure people feel valued. If they’re unhappy outside of the workplace, they’ll move on.”

Establishing a faculty and staff relocation office was part of UBC’s new strategic plan, Place and Promise. Since the centre opened in October, Booth and McLoughlin have helped more than 200 people. The service is confidential and includes all members of the family.

About 42 per cent of UBC’s new faculty members come from across Canada, 46 per cent are from the United States and 12 per cent are from other parts of the world. UBC also has about 250 new postdoctoral fellows arriving each year.

Newcomers are primarily concerned about housing. Vancouver is one of the most expensive cities in the world, and it can be difficult to find a home. As strangers to the city, they need information about neighbourhoods, schools, religious centres and the community.

“I talk to the spouses too,” says Booth. “You need to take care of the entire family.”

A spouse might need to find a new job, learn English, or do conversion courses for qualification.

Dr. Ricardo Jimenez-Mendez, a postdoctoral fellow from Mexico City, moved to Vancouver with his family in June, so that he could work with Bruce Carleton, a professor of pediatrics and pharmaceutical sciences.

“Postdocs have some additional challenges,” says Booth. “They’re here temporarily, on a limited salary, and often from countries where English is not the first language.”

The centre helped Jimenez-Mendez find an apartment at UBC, a church, and to register his son for school and his daughter for daycare.

“When we packed up our lives in Mexico City, we had 20 big boxes.  We’d found a service that would ship the boxes to Canada but they were unsure how to deal with customs. Jayne was kind enough to provide me with the information so I could get my belongings here myself.”

Booth’s help made the move less stressful for Jimenez-Mendez, and allowed him to get straight to work: learning and researching. But, it can be hard to break into a community.

Jimenez-Mendez thinks his five year-old son Santiago is doing the best at embracing their new life. Within two days of moving to Vancouver, he’d joined a Tae Kwon Do class, a sport he’d practiced in Mexico.

“He shows us that we have to reach out,” says Jimenez-Mendez.

The Work-Life and Relocations Services Centre is organizing more informal meet and greet opportunities for newcomers. They are about to host their first welcome barbecue and will hold activities for parents and tots.

“It can be very isolating moving to a new city, very lonely,” says Booth, who immigrated to Vancouver from the U.K. in 2008.

In September, Booth will begin courses in UBC’s Certificate in Immigration program so she can help newcomers navigate the work permit and permanent residency process. The centre also plans to extend the service to the Okanagan campus in 2011.