Your Digest
Townhall September 8: Call for questions
Our next live town hall event is coming up Thursday, Sept. 8, 1–2 p.m. ET. Join our CEO, Dr. Graham Sher, and his guest panellists for updates and answers to your questions. Please submit questions in advance to communications@blood.ca with the subject line ‘TOWNHALL’ or use this anonymous form. You can also submit questions live during the event after joining with the meeting link in your Outlook invitation. A recording of the townhall will be available on the employee portal and the “Podcasts” section of the Connect on the Go app within 24 hours of the event.
Reminder: all employees have access to specialized sex-positive training
As of Sept. 11, all donors — regardless of gender or sexual orientation — will be asked if they’ve had new or multiple sexual partners in the last three months under new sexual behaviour-based screening (SBBS) criteria. To support this transition, all employees have access to specialized training in sex-positive conversations which focuses on removing shame and awkwardness from conversations around sexual behaviour. This training empowers employees and volunteers to feel comfortable and well-equipped for the conversations they might have with donors. Find more information about this change and the training on Connect.
Back-to-school: Off to a good start
Getting into a school routine every September usually requires an adjustment, for students and parents. No matter if it’s getting them ready for pre-school, middle school or preparing them for college or university, parents can feel anxious about helping their children adjust and enjoy the upcoming school year. To help ease the stress and anxiety of the transition, the fourth in our back-to-school series encourages you to consider the following tips:
- Prepare in advance
- Get up earlier
- Arrive early
- Talk about feelings
- Express interest, be informed
Visit ComPsych's back-to-school guidance for a comprehensive suite of resources and tips, and details about establishing a routine to get off to a good start. Visit Connect and stay tuned to Your Digest for more back-to-school highlights; you can also connect with your colleagues on Yammer — check out the hashtag #BackToSchool2022.
Question of the day
As the kids return to school, I would like to focus on my own learning initiatives but as a frontline worker, there’s no designated time for courses and skill development. Why does CBS not have a professional development policy for employees or are we expected to continue to use family time or vacation allotment for professional development?
At Canadian Blood Services, we fully support ongoing employee development and encourage team members to explore the resources and opportunities available within the organization. We understand that it can be challenging to make time to focus on your future career path while keeping up with today’s duties and responsibilities. We have purposefully implemented several development resources that could be accessed by all employees, online, at a time that works best for you.
- Assessment tools, to help you identify your own strengths and opportunities for development
- Career Development Toolkit, to help you take charge of your career and plan your development
- Individual Development Plan, to help you reflect on your career direction, set goals and identify activities and timelines to get you there
- On-demand Digital Learning, such as your free LinkedIn Learning subscription
We acknowledge that many employees do not have the ability, during regular work hours, to spend time investigating these resources or even being able to sit down to have a career conversation with their manager. Developing your career is a shared responsibility.
Our goal is to be an organization where everyone can learn and develop while contributing to Canada’s Lifeline. The people, culture and performance team will be exploring recommendations for enhancing employee development with our executive management team later this fall. This is a complex task, and we ask for your patience as we work through some of the details and processes. We look forward to providing an update in the new year.
Employees are encouraged to speak with their manager to discuss their individual development plan and identify appropriate opportunities to engage in development at work. There may be opportunities for some re-balancing of priorities to create time for development. In the meantime, if you are interested in developing your career and simply don’t know where to start, please contact our development specialist, Abigail St. John, who can help you take the first step.
