Back to most recent IRP news • Browse archive: 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008
Refugee thriving in a company that values diversity
Aisha Mohamed.
Photo: Mike McCaman/CRIS
|
Aisha Mohamed, a 20-year-old refugee from Somalia, recalls that before she started working at Limited Brands in Columbus, Ohio, she was too shy even to reply "I'm fine" when someone asked her "How are you?"
Today it is difficult to imagine that this exuberant, gregarious young woman ever lacked self-confidence. She credits Community Refugee & Immigration Services (CRIS) and her employer with helping her to blossom.
Aisha and her mother were resettled to Columbus, Ohio, in March 2006 by Church World Service and CRIS, its affiliate agency there. Among CRIS staff providing resettlement services was employment counselor Abdisalan Ugaas.
"He said to me, ‘Don't be afraid of people. Speak to everyone. If you are scared, you won't get a job,'" Aisha said. Abdisalan also urges his clients "to try to stand out from the crowd. Be patient, smile, dress nicely, and show you really feel comfortable working with different people. Have confidence in yourself that you can do the job."
One of the largest employers in Columbus, Limited Brands is the parent company for Bath & Body Works, Henri Bendel, Victoria's Secret, C.O. Bigelow, La Senza, and The White Barn Candle Company. The company's products are available in more than 2,900 retail outlets across the United States, and in stores in about 40 other countries.
Limited Brands' Columbus-based distribution centers fill orders from retail outlets and from individual catalog and on-line shoppers, said Mike McCaman, Employability Services Program Manager at CRIS. Each year, CRIS helps 150-200 refugee clients find jobs, 20-25 of them at Limited Brands, which is "always open to giving our clients a chance," he said.
CRIS offers refugee job seekers a month-long class that focuses on basic job skills, how to fill out an application, how to look for a job, and other job-readiness activities. At the same time, employment counselors work one-on-one with clients to prepare their resumes, fill out applications, and accompany them to interviews.
Before Aisha's appointment at Limited Brands, Abdisalan conducted a "mock interview" with her, asking questions she was likely to encounter including "Why did you choose this company? Why should we hire you? What are your short- and long-term plans?"
The interview went well, and in October 2006 she was hired as a packer -- her first job ever. From her first day at work, Aisha said, she was impressed with the company's positive culture. For example, when she admitted nervously to her supervisor that she hadn't understood an instruction, the supervisor replied, "Don't worry, it's human nature. When I started this job I was confused like you."
Limited Brands uses incentives, not reprimands, to encourage good work, Aisha observed. "No one says, ‘You are a bad worker.' Instead, they say, ‘Your friend is a good worker.'" Punctuality, accuracy, and efficiency are rewarded. ‘"If you finish your order, you ‘meet expectations,'" Aisha said. "If you finish your order and then do other orders and help others, you ‘exceed expectations.'" Top performers can win extra time off, dinner at a local restaurant, even a new car, Aisha said.
She enthusiastically listed other things she likes about working at Limited Brands: employee sales and discounts, a good benefits package, the opportunity to earn extra vacation days by working Sundays, and periodic surprise declarations of "free time" on the job for basketball, singing, dancing, or other fun together.
Aisha, who is Muslim, also noted, "When it's time for prayer, we are free to go pray, and there's a place for us to wash and pray. If we need to drink water or go to the bathroom, we feel free; no one asks you where you are going."
It is clear from the company's Web site that the company values its diverse workforce. "‘Being inclusive in our thoughts and behaviors' is one of the core values of our enterprise," according to the company. "Inclusion makes us stronger. We cherish our diversity, because embracing others' thoughts, experiences, hopes and dreams makes our own more complete and connects us to our customers."
Aisha confirmed that, whether an employee is black or white, Asian or African, or born in the United States or overseas, "all are linked. And all can get promoted."
Aisha works full time at Limited Brands and takes English classes three days a week. Asked what she would advise other refugees just beginning to work in America , Aisha said, "In America, you have to work. Don't lose your time.
"And stay with your company. You'll earn good benefits and build your reputation, rather than starting over all the time in new places. I like my job," she concluded. "Nothing is too hard for me. I like them, and they like me."
By Carol Fouke-Mpoyo
Sixth in a series of articles featuring enterprises identified by CWS affiliates as exemplary employers of refugees.
Back to most recent IRP news • Browse archive: 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • Back to top