Your digest

Launch of our public commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion: We are proud to let you now that today, we launched our public statement affirming our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion at Canadian Blood Services on blood.ca/DEI. We are asking you to hold us accountable. Read it, reflect on what it means for you and think about the questions it sparks. Speak to your leaders. Speak with your colleagues. Contemplate how we can collectively put the words on the page into action. This historic step is just the beginning of the next phase of our journey. Throughout the next few months and over the coming year we will share more details with you on blood.ca/DEI. We don’t have all the answers. But we will be part of the solution. This is our commitment to you and all of Canada’s diverse communities.

New video — importance of COVID-19 safety protocols: As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise and jurisdictions across the country are implementing stronger restrictions, it is more important than ever that we all do our part to contain the spread of the virus. It is our collective responsibility to follow the safety protocols in place at Canadian Blood Services at all times to protect the safety of our teams, donors and our essential operations that patients rely on — even during a pandemic. Our CEO has recorded a video message for employees discussing the impact of our safety protocols on our ability to meet patient needs. This video will also be streaming on Connect TV for employees on-site. Please take a moment to watch it and reach out to your manager if you have any questions. For more information on our safety protocols, visit blood.ca/employees/PPE.

Save the date — virtual holiday celebrations: The holidays are a time where we traditionally come together at Canadian Blood Services to celebrate, give thanks and connect with colleagues. Even though we are unable to gather in-person this year, we’re excited to share that we’ve organized virtual events for employees throughout the month of December to spread some much-needed holiday cheer! Click on the links below to register and learn more about our virtual holiday events on Connect. Gather your teams and save the date(s)!

Fri. Dec. 11 at 1:00 p.m. ET— Escape the Blizzard!

In this app and web-based experience, teams find themselves stranded in a winter blizzard and need to find their way home for the holidays. Against the clock, they need to complete a variety of escape room ‘survival’ style challenges to be successful.

Fri. Dec 18 at 4:00 p.m. ET — Win it in a Minute!

In this event teams get together to complete 60-second challenges via Zoom in order to win prizes, including Canadian Blood Services branded swag.

The COVID caregivers: Being a working caregiver is a balancing act. 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 Obinna Okwelume, a strategic communications specialist in Ottawa, Ont. and father to four young children (including a newborn). Read more about his 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 am having issues accessing the service award recordings on Connect. What do I do? Can this be fixed?

We learned last week that some employees were having difficulties accessing the service award recording for their region on Connect. We investigated and realized that this was due to a technical error with the upload of the recording. This issue has been fixed, and employees should now be able to access all recordings on Connect without issue.

Congratulations again to all employees who celebrated a service milestone this year. While we are all missing the opportunity to gather together, we hope that you found these events to be special and meaningful. If you would like to spend a special note of congratulations to your colleagues, you can also take advantage of our new interactive recognition platform to do so! 

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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.     

Click here to read past editions of your digest.     

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