Another Fantastic Virtual Breakfast Forum
Another fantastic call with representation from the Lower Mainland, Kelowna, Nanaimo, and Prince George.
April 30th was to be the day when BC Safety Charter Signatories would have gotten together for the 2020 Round Table. We were on track with just shy of 100 people expected to attend, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Round Table has been rescheduled to November 12th. We are pleased that Mark Collins, CEO of BC Ferries will be the keynote address and we will be able to have the event at the Vancouver Club. Should the physical distancing restrictions remain in effect, we will most likely pivot to a videoconference call platform.
We would like to thank two of our key supporters, WSBC and Surewerx. Their support is greatly appreciated and recognized by all Executive Health and Safety Members.
It was also announced that the video of our 2019 Round Table Keynote speaker, Greg Stewart from Sinclar Group Forest Products, will be available for online viewing. It was agreed by attendees that it is an hour well spent and is a very riveting and emotional address. Greg has kindly offered to do a Q&A after the session. At present we are targeting the May 21 breakfast forum for this showing. All BC Safety Charter Signatories and their guests will be invited to view and ask questions.
We are also looking forward to having Dr. Joti Samra as a guest presenter at the end of the month. Mental Health in the workplace is a timely topic, as isolation and anxiety about the future are affecting many of our colleagues. Dr. Samra will be addressing the EHSCBC on May 28th at the 8:00 am breakfast forum.
Some of our videoconference takeaways included:
- The stress for some of working from home, managing kids and their homeschooling is overwhelming for many and could result in some mental health challenges. Please make sure you’re checking in with your staff who are working from home.
- It is helpful for leadership to be honest, transparent and communicative to staff during these times. Have regular town halls, check-in with your teams virtually and make it fun and personal.
- People in management roles all handle stressful situations very differently. Provide support where you can to these individuals as they may be taking on more work than normal and going through more emotional stress than ever before.
- As leaders, it is important to take care of yourselves as well. You are no good to anyone if you’re not healthy, both emotionally and physically.
- Do not let COVID-19 distract you from running your business. You still have to make decisions that are right for the business but bearing in mind the new circumstances.
- Workshare approval and Wage Subsidy has been granted to many attendees, although it was reported that Workshare can take up to a month to get formally arranged. You can have both in place in an organization, however, be aware that the government may claw back some of the money that they provide in wage subsidy. This is also capped based on the gross income of the worker. More information on this to be shared next week.
- There is concern that some provinces may be opening up too soon, but it was widely agreed that most of the social distancing and sanitizing practices will remain in place. Some practices include installing barriers between workers and public, handwashing/sanitizing, PPE use, locking offices down to only essential visitors, social distancing, moving mailboxes outside, taping floors, signing in and escorting, etc.
- It is expected that we will see a higher level of absenteeism among staff, however, stats are showing that the number of absentees is not increasing, just the duration of absence is increasing.
In summary, it takes years to establish a sound safety culture in an organization. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a major issue before organizations implement one. COVID-19 presents a real issue that organizations are facing to have to change and evolve the way they approach safety in the workplace. It is widely hoped that we will come out of this a lot better in many ways with care and thoughtfulness, and especially kindness to everyone.
