INNOVATIVE HR TEAMS 2021
SPECIAL REPORT
18 www.hrreporter.com
"If you were isolating, if you had
COVID, if you were taking care of
someone who had COVID, we provided
you with that sick leave for the 14-day
quarantine period."
Lina Kanawati, Islamic Relief Canada
HR STEPS UP WITH
INNOVATIVE RESPONSES
TO PANDEMIC CHALLENGES
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT WITH CORPORATE CULTURE
My employer provides
effective ways to
collaborate
33%
My employer creates
an inclusive work
environment
35%
My employer maintains
corporate culture
31%
My employer creates a
sense of togetherness
and teamwork
31%
My employer provides
training to help me
develop skills
28%
Source: PwC Workforce Pulse Survey, 2020
a year characterized by uncer-
tainty and fear, employers were
faced with many questions in coping
with the pandemic. But HR teams across
Canada rose to the challenge in demon-
strating ingenuity and innovation
through a variety of programs and poli-
cies — as seen in looking closely at three
of this year's winners.
Sick leave for quarantine
at Islamic Relief Canada
When the pandemic first hit, there was a
lot of talk at Islamic Relief Canada about
how to support the roughly 85 employees
who could contract the COVID-19 virus.
But that talk soon became action as the
organization decided to offer 14 days of
paid sick leave.
"If you were isolating, if you had
COVID, if you were taking care of
someone who had COVID, we provided
you with that sick leave for the 14-day
quarantine period, just to ensure that
the safety of our staff was our utmost
priority," says Lina Kanawati, HR
coordinator in Burlington Ont.
As a further sign of support, the
charity focused on mental health by
offering unlimited sessions with a
registered psychotherapist.
"If you needed to speak to a psychother-
apist — as often as you wanted, whenever
you wanted — you could reach out and
you would have those sessions… to work
through anything. It doesn't necessarily
have to even be professional struggles; it
can be personal struggles," she says.
"There was a really significant use of
that, so we were really proud to offer
that resource."
The organization was also very keen
to keep its sense of community and
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