Your digest

Save the date for our next open board meeting: Canadian Blood Services’ Board of Directors will be holding its next open meeting on Thurs. Dec. 3 between 12:30 — 4 p.m. ET. These events are a great opportunity for employees and the public to tune in to see our senior leaders in action as they chart the course for our organization. A portion of the agenda will be set aside to hear from key stakeholders; as well as a live Q&A session with our CEO. For more information about how to participate, visit http://obm.blood.ca/en.

Update on our DEI journey — visible displays of social justice:

As you know, we are dedicated to improving our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. This work includes making changes that impact our organization and contributes to the wider solution against racism and social injustice. It is critical that we understand the impact that these issues have on our employees — many of whom experience them in deeply personal and painful ways. It is also essential that we enable opportunity for employees who wish to demonstrate support for their colleagues and, more broadly, show their commitment to anti-racism and other forms of social justice.

We encourage employees to visibly demonstrate their personal support for social justice issues (such as Black Lives Matter) while at work. We ask that visible displays (such as support pins) be aligned with our ICARE values, are in accordance with our operational requirements and adhere to our policies for respect in the workplace, human right and discrimination. If you have any questions or are unsure if a specific social justice issue is aligned with our values and policies, we encourage you to speak with your manager or PCP business partner who can support you. Learn more about our diversity, equity and inclusion journey on Connect.

New virtual performance management guidelines: This year, some of us have witnessed the way we work change significantly. Many of our teams have made the move to remote work, and we’ve adapted the way we communicate with one another.  Although this shift is a necessary evolution as we rethink our workplaces of the future — remote reporting relationships and virtual meetings can present particular challenges to performance management.  To help leaders and their teams feel supported and linked to our organizational goals, we’ve developed virtual performance management guidelines, available on Connect.  If you or your leader have been working remotely, we encourage you to review these guidelines and think about how you can implement their principles as part of conversations around your own professional development.

Canadian Blood Services recognized by the CST: Today, the Canadian Society of Transplantation (CST) recognized Canadian Blood Services for our decision to implement a paid leave policy for employees who wish to be a living organ donor as part of the launch of their Living Donor Circle of Excellence program. “We want our employees to feel supported and empowered to make these life-changing decisions,” says Andrew Pateman, VP, People, Culture and Performance. “We want to lead by example and hope that other organizations will follow suit.” For more information on the Circle of Excellence visit the CST website.

The COVID caregivers:Through the COVID caregiver series, your colleagues are sharing the challenges they’re facing, the steps they’re taking and how open communication can make all the difference. Today, we bring you a story from Cindy Signoretti, manager of support services at the NCC in Sudbury, Ont. and mother to two young daughters. Read more about her journey of being a working caregiver on Connect. If you are struggling, please know there are resources available for your through the employee assistance program and the COVID-19 leave supports for employees.

Question of the day: I’ve heard disposable masks are hazardous for wildlife. What can I do to minimize the impact?

Although masks are necessary to protect our health and safety and contain the spread of COVID-19, we are aware that disposable mask straps are becoming a new hazard for wildlife. Unfourtunately, reports show that wildlife entanglement is an issue, even when masks are disposed of correctly.

To minimize the impact, we are encouraging employees to cut or detach the ear straps of their disposable masks before throwing them in the garbage. If you have access to scissors, we recommend that you cut the ear straps in half before disposing. If you do not have access to scissors, the ear straps can be detached by forcefully tugging at the base of the strap before you throw the mask in the garbage.<

We can all do our part to minimize the impact of disposable mask usage on our environment. If you have further questions, please reach out to Canadian Blood Services’ manager of environmental services, Carlene van der Heiden.

 

 

About your digest

This digest will highlight the latest policy and employee support measures, resources to help you manage our new reality and original content like articles and videos to remind us that what we do matters.  No access to email? No problem — all this information and more can be found on blood.ca/employees from any device, no login required.     

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Have questions? Check out blood.ca/employees or email us at communications@blood.ca