What have some of the biggest challenges been for your team? How are you overcoming them?
Initially, our biggest challenge was getting laptops so everyone could practise social distancing by working at home. Most of our staff work on desktops, so we had to source the equipment. It’s truly been a team effort – and not just from within the FBCs, but the broader organization to make this possible. Several of our teams put a lot of thought and effort into making this happen and it is a true testament to how we’ve helped one another in these changing times.
Balancing kids and their online learning all while working from home is also a challenge. People need flexibility in their day. If someone needs to shift their regular work hours because their children need help with school, or a family member needs to be taken to an appointment, we’re making that possible.
Working through challenges is not new to us. Even though this situation is different, we’re resilient and adaptable. We have a strong team which we’re proud of.
What has contributed to your team’s success during these challenging times?
Open and regular communication has been key. We’ve always been big communicators, but instead of having an in-person huddle, we’re finding new ways to connect including conference calls.
When I receive updates, I’m talking about it on my daily call with my managers, who are then cascading the messages straight to our staff on their daily calls. We had to be clear on what work is essential and non-essential, because we’re responsible for scheduling it. From the beginning we placed an emphasis on clear communications and having the process documented and shared so that it’s consistent across the province.
Storm response is an important part of your team’s work, and critical to our operations. How has that changed?
Normally we would be working side by side with the field to make sure that customers have timely, accurate information. As information is being updated on a whiteboard and crews are changing status, we’re able to capture it real-time in the system.
This past storm we had to do it remotely, which changed our communications. As a solution, we used tools like Skype to share information and images instantly. The field supervisor sent a photo of the whiteboard so that my team had a visual of who is in what truck and how the crew is set up.
Working this way allowed us to respond even faster and demonstrated that by using creativity, we can still ensure our customers are getting the information they need while their power is out. This also means that travelling in bad weather is reduced, making it safer for our employees and allowing us to support any area in the province with storm response.
Any final thoughts?
We’re in really different times, which comes with a different kind of stress as we adapt. As leaders, we need to recognize that, and support one another and our teams. It’s our responsibility as leaders to make sure our employees are aware of all the resources available to them, whether it’s work related or something that can help them or their loved ones. Caring for each other today will help us come out of this even stronger.
