Canadian HR Reporter

www.hrreporter.com 3 reacted in a very positive way, says Bossi. "It was really surprising to see how much people were really enjoying the situation despite, of course, the emergency. But just working at home for them is really a great benefit because they are [helping] very much the environment, they are spending more quality time with their families or dogs and they don't have to spend time commuting. And they can pretty much organize their time in the way they wish, in the morning or in the evening, and this is very much a great benefit including the work[-life] balance." In c h e c k i n g ke y p e r f o r m a n c e indicators, such as the reply times to customers, the results have been amazing retention piece, too, to show them you care and mention your wellness side of things." But the communication also has to be genuine and authentic, says Pau. "It can't just be, 'Oh, here's a checklist that I need to go down'… It needs to be reflective of the company. You can see leaders of businesses around the world and politicians where it just doesn't quite feel authentic or genuine… It won't go over well." With events evolving so quickly, Microsoft Canada wanted to make sure that it was giving regular updates to employees and being as transparent as possible, says Gibson. The company has used its web-based collaborative tool SharePoint and social networking service Yammer to provide regular updates and allow for common HR-related questions, such as caregiver allowance or vacation carryover, she says. "We wanted to make sure we had a forum where employees could ask questions." Leadership also provided regular updates by email, says Gibson. "For us, it really is about communicating often, but, at the same time, particularly early on, we really wanted to make sure it was the right cadence so you're providing all the information that you need to provide but you're not creating a sense of panic, if you will. So, it's about having the right balance, being as transparent as you can and making sure you open up the lines of communication." Remote work goes full time Being a tech company, Docebo was well positioned to have all staff work from home if needed. Luckily, everybody from both sides, she says. "We continually check in with employees… We are seeing that almost 90 per cent of our employees are really engaged and it's having a positive impact on their productivity," says Bossi. "They feel that they are really much more engaged and we are seeing that, so we are considering to extend the option to work from home more than once a week… starting to reshape the company for the future." The vast majority of employees who are working in remote environments will be just as productive as they were before. However, there's a variety of things that organizations need to do to make sure that they are achieving that, says Kropp. "You need to make sure that the technologies are in place for robust and sustained remote work." For example, does the videocamera capability create a good experience, is the VPN robust enough for that many employees at home and is the employee's internet bandwidth strong enough? "That's a situation where employees want to be produc tive, but the infrastructure that you're using is preventing them from being fully productive," he says. Workers at Microsoft Canada are well versed when it comes to remote work, but with the pandemic requiring people at home each day, the company made a point to check that they had the proper office equipment and comfortable space to work, says Gibson. "We have been… sharing a lot of tips to keep teams motivated and connected, so [for example] when they're doing CANADIAN EMPLOYERS NOT WELL PREPARED "Once we go through this, there will be a lot of lessons learned. And, hopefully, that will prepare us to deal better with similar events in the future." Plamen Petkov, CFIB conference calls, make sure they put video on." It's also about empowering people so they don' t feel guilty if, for example, they have to schedule meetings when kids are napping, she says. "Really, it's about the outcome of the work [rather] than it is how you get it done," says Gibson. "[For employers], it is a culture shift, changing the way 1 in 4 Number of businesses fully prepared to deal with future emergencies or disasters 2 in 5 Number of businesses that don't have a business continuity plan 1 in 4 Number of businesses that don't know if they have a business continuity plan Source: Angus Reid Global/FirstOnSite Restoration Photo credit: Goldcastle7 iStock

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