Canadian HR Reporter

16 www.hrreporter.com F E A T U R E S W hile many employers have said they put their employees first amid the pandemic, Desjardins truly came through. For one, it quickly made the decision not to do any layoffs. That meant having more than 80 per cent of staff working from home, and they were kept busy dealing with many questions from customers dealing with the economic crisis. "It brought less uncertainty for our staff because when you are managing a situation like we all had to manage since the beginning of March… you want to keep 48,000 employees as motivated and as focused as they should be," says Guy Cormier, president and CEO. The co-op also decided to give up to $700 to each employee to cover any at-home expenses for ergonomic or IT equipment and introduced flexible schedules for remote workers. Parents were also given an allowance for child-care expenses, and employees who did have to go into work were reimbursed for parking and taxis, he says. In addition, any employees that were still on-site at Desjardins locations in Quebec or Ontario were given an extra half-day of vacation for each week of work. The generosity extended to the customer side, as Desjardins launched several relief measures that included deferral payments and reduced interest rates. It also increased contactless payment limits to $250 from $100 so people could be safer with their transactions and launched a $3,000 emergency loan on the retail banking side, says Cormier. "Hundreds of thousands of members and clients have used these relief measures. So, it was important for us not only because we're a co-op but because we are so strong in Quebec but also in the country… to act properly and lead by example." Strong culture One of the big reasons why Desjardins was able to act so proactively and quickly is because of its values and culture, he says. "It was so clear that doing what is best for our members and clients was the only way to contribute to help the society, our members, clients and the country go through this situation. There was no conflict about 'OK, there's the net profit at the end of the year' or 'There's our growth' or 'There are some investors that will look at our results' and all these things," says Cormier. "It's not only the fact that we were ready, but our culture was so strong and it was so clear in our mind [what we] must do in a situation like that, so it can help us to take really quick decisions and the right decisions." During a crisis like this one, people were also looking to their leaders to be behind them, to provide alignment and listen and adjust, he says. To that end, Cormier decided to hold weekly webcasts with all employees, in both French and English, with up to 30,000 employees joining in. "This connection with them, for me, was really important; first, to listen to them… just by their questions and their comments, it was easier for me to have a feeling of what was bothering them or what was the mood of our people right now; and second, it was also really helpful, just as the president and CEO, to not lead by example, but [by] being really human and telling them what were my expectations. Sometimes, I haven't all the answers [so it was about] being really honest about the fact that 'I'll listen to you; I'll bring back the answer next week.'" Looking ahead Looking down the road, Desjardins will continue to be prudent and cautious about fully reopening. For the most part, people will keep working from home until the end of 2020, he says. "We asked everyone to stay home, don't come back in the offices… So, we'll be able to bring back some employees carefully in our offices, specifically, but really slowly in the next few months. But the main message is to keep everyone happy at home, to contribute, to stop a second wave and to be sure that everyone feels safe." Even in 2021 and beyond, people will continue to work from home, and a hybrid model might make sense, says Cormier. "We all learned that it's possible to stay productive, and so we're going to use the next few months to adjust to see what maybe we should change or what we should learn. But it's sure that the new normal means probably 60-50 or 60-40 time at home in a way where people can feel not only safe but can feel that they can do their job." C E O s TA L K THRIVING IN THE NEW NORMAL The upheaval that accompanied the pandemic- related economic disruption saw many employers scrambling to adapt. But in talking to four Canadian CEOs, Sarah Dobson finds that leaders are putting employees and customers first Guy Cormier President and CEO of Desjardins Group Based in Quebec, the financial services co-operative has 48,000 employees

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