Preparing for Reopening: A Conversation for Managers and Administrators

Preparing for Reopening: A Conversation for Managers and Administrators 

Successful reopening requires the leadership of Managers, Human Resources Administrators, and Executive Directors. On May 21 and 22 2020, EYET hosted and facilitated a conversation that brought over 75 leaders and decision-makers from across the housing sector together to discuss preparing organizations and teams to reopen doors to clients and community in the wake of the Covid-19 quarantine restrictions.  

The conversations were guided through three themes:  

• Physical Spaces 
• How must we shift our physical spaces to adhere to social distancing rules?   What are the safety measures needed, and how will they be supported and communicated?   
• Client Services 
• What do client services look like? How must we prepare for this new interface? How are we prioritizing client safety as policy? How are we communicating that to staff and clients?  
• Managing Remote Teams 
• How do we continue to support workers working remotely?  
• Tools that can support remote work:  
  • Trello – a tool for tracking work  
  • Asana – a tool for tracking project-based work  
  • Microsoft Teams – tool for collaborative working that is integrated with Outlook  
  • Slack – digital communication platform for remote teams   
  • Zoom – video conferencing program  
  • GoToMeeting – alternate video conferencing platform 
  • Cisco Webex – alternate video conferencing platform 

As leadership strategizes ways shift their organizations to prioritize safety in reopening, staff need to know that there are structures in place to ensure their safety. Policies and procedures need to be created and communicated clearly, and staff need to be trained on any changes.  

Physical Spaces 

How must we shift our physical spaces to adhere to social distancing rules?   What are the safety measures needed, and how will they be supported and communicated?   

During our community conversations with Housing Professionals across the sector, we heard a lot of feedback and concerns about returning to the office. Some of those concerns include: 

• Small office and/or client meeting spaces making it difficult to practice social distancing  
• High volume of traffic in office spaces lead to increased risks  
• Office computers are not always set up with needed technology for digital connection (cameras, headsets)  
• Office spaces/desks are close making privacy a challenge for digital meetings with clients 

Leadership-identified challenges and strategies: 

CHALLENGE / PROBLEM	STRATEGY / SOLUTION
Shared Workspace:   Many front-line staff share spaces or use the same computer/equipment	Divide staff into teams and alternate their in-office time   Allow all admin/reporting to be done at home on ‘work-from-home’ days or weeks  Implement policy for deep sanitation of all equipment by staff at the end of use.   Limit capacity in supply rooms, bathrooms, and other rooms where things are stored; display supplies list for convenience
Safety for direct service provision:   Frontline essential services (i.e.: drop-ins) must continue, high risk activities that includes prolonged close contact	Secure full PPE (Personal Protective Equipment): face shields, masks, goggles, gowns  Provide PPE to staff and clients  Sanitation station upon entry to building (hand sanitizer)   Consider screening and having in-house testing   Active screening of visitors/clients can include: taking temperature and asking questions to identify potential exposure or risks, identifying symptoms
Acquiring PPE:   Can be expensive; unexpected expense, not budgeted for	Advocate for the city to provide PPE to agencies for at least one full year   Advocate city to provide in-person assessments for IPAC advice   Negotiate with funders and the city – it should not be up to agencies to offer that themselves; the city must provide these for at least a year if not longer  Advocate for in-person assessments for IPAC advice; physical things can be done, and reasonably well, but it’s a matter of funding it
Lobby / intake crowding: Intake spaces are modelled in ways where congregation happens	Consider remodeling to reduce congestion  Remove waiting area or significantly reduce capacity  Add clear markers on ground for lines, including outside  Clearly mark capacity on the door, redeploy staff to monitor at the door   Install plexiglass Safe Guards at intake desks (consider moveable Safe Guards to maximize utility
Noncompliance with Social Distancing:   Staff or clients may not comply fully with the social distancing guidelines in place.	Make social distancing a policy; have regular safety check-ins about it to reinforce   Make client services by appointment to ensure control over space where client interaction occurs   Clearly mark spaces with appropriate distance, including meeting space, working desks, hallways
Maintaining staffing levels:   Some staff may be physically compromised and unable to work; pay not competitive enough, staff retention challenging.	Reallocate labour to keep staff employed   Advocate for increased funding and re-structured work plans   Leadership may have to take on new workload to complete work employed staff are unable to do
Contamination:   High traffic offices may have increased risks of contamination.	Ensure well stocked on supplies (disinfectant; disposable wipes; alcohol-based hand sanitizer; touchless garbage cans)  Create and post a regular cleaning schedule in the office   Staff rotate to sign up for a disinfecting shift every 2 hours   Use laminated paper/whiteboard for a cleaning checklist to ensure all surfaces are disinfected at least 4 times a day  Hire a deep cleaning company to disinfect office fully between rotations of staff teams   Post signage on how to keep clean and sanitized
Staff may contract COVID:   There is high risk to frontline service delivery, and staff may contract Covid-19 and be unable to work, or spread it to other.	Revise sick days policy to be flexible to accommodate unique circumstance of pandemic   Use SSHA guidelines to screen staff daily upon coming to work   Offer support in monitoring symptoms before and after work, allowing remote work if any symptoms are present at all   Consider policy to reimburse Transporation costs to encourage staff to avoid TTC
Policy and Guidelines:   New or revised policies are needed related to COVID-19	Revise existing policies to make amendments to include information from policies put out from Toronto Public Health and other governmental guidelines   Revise illness policies, including return to work post COVID illness     PPE (ex: when to wear masks; wearing gloves to touch communal equipment)  Screening   Remote Work   Cleaning and Disinfecting   Transportation to reduce TTC use   Client prioritization and triage guidelines to prioritize essential services   When Covid-19 is suspected or confirmed
Rearranging and Reducing Furniture: Furniture currently in the office needs to be removed to make space for social distancing.	Rent a storage unit to move furniture into   Consider partnering with a community partner who is in the same situation
Signage: Clear communication of all guidelines, policies, and safety measures in the office spaces is extremely important.	Passive Screening Signage: prompting visitors to self-identify if they have symptoms of Covid-19  Active Screening information: if there is someone screening visitors, signage at entrances outlining procedures   Reminders to perform hygiene (hand washing)   Physical Distancing reminders   Reminders to use PPE, with instructions
Funding and Costs: Implementing measures needed to address safety concerns is costly.	Ministry allows shifting of agency funds if related to safety   Combine advocacy efforts to secure funding for safety needs (like the provision of PPE)

Client Services  

What do client services look like? How must we prepare for this new interface? How are we prioritizing client safety as policy? How are we communicating that to staff and clients?  

During our community conversations with Housing Professionals across the sector, we heard a lot of feedback and concerns about returning to the office. Some of those concerns include: 

Examples (Staff have identified): 

• Unable to hold in-person workshops and programs for clients 
• Clients feeling social isolation and unable to connect  
• Accessing food services  
• New move ins require furniture but moving is a challenge 
• Shared living spaces may be unsafe for clients and workers  
• Outreach and client intake 
• Supporting clients to viewings 
• Home visits 
• Regular office hours have not consistently met shifting needs of clients 

Leadership-identified challenges and strategies: 

Challenge/Problem	Strategy/Solution
Program Risk Differentiation: Not all programs pose the same risk or need.	Undertake risk assessment for each program offering to prioritize bringing programming back   Incorporate impact to the risk assessment to balance risk- with impact/need   Determine a rollout of program returning on a basis of low-risk/high-impact metrics
Groups and Programming:   Clients need to return to programming and groups as soon as possible.	Reduce capacity for groups  Reduce program length   Increase frequency of programming   Shift staffing schedules to accommodate offerings   Consider hiring security or using Volunteers as security to monitor capacity
Risks to client one-on-one meetings:   How to ensure social distancing while sitting in the same room as a client.	Switch to appointment-based meetings only  Screen clients upon entry   Re-purpose office space to make client meeting rooms larger  Install barriers between client and worker (ie: plexiglass)  Secure virtual platforms like Ontario Telehealth Network that Doctors use or ZOOM platform  Ensure compliance with privacy legislation, Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
Supporting non-essential services:   Clients still need information but non-essential programming is limited.	Provide a resource centre for clients with information packets to grab   Space public computer stations  Computer time limitations, sign-up basis
Application Support:   Clients need help with applications, challenging to do socially distanced.	Shift to a ‘drop-off’ service with respect to applications  Install a box for clients to drop off forms to minimize number of clients coming in to the office   Use DocuSign – software that allows clients to click a button to sign an application instead of having in-person
Prolonged contact unavoidable:   Orgs that offer spaces to sleep or food services cannot mitigate risks of prolonged contact.	Prioritize space as risk mitigation  Move cots apart   Limit people at a dining table by closing or removing chairs   Clearly mark distanced spots for sitting, socializing, smoking, etc
Client noncompliance with PPE guidelines and policies:  Especially for clients with mental health issues, or clients who struggle adapting to new/changing environments.	Provide education and training on protocols   Provide PPE for clients   Post information in multiple languages, formats (ie: visuals and pictures as well as words)
Other Organizations Changing Services:   Staff struggle to keep up with service changes for referrals.	Coordinate with partners to update changing services  TDIN is currently updating service changes for all Drop-Ins
Clients not self-screening:  Clients unaware of self-screening strategies and not screening prior to accessing services.	Implement screening on-site prior to entry   Form for staff and clients to complete at check-in asking about where they have been, if they’ve been in contact with COVID-19 infected person, if they have symptoms   Install intercom systems for screening to occur before clients enter building
Tech Limitations: Clients don’t have access to the tech needed for remote support.	Shift drop-in to appointment based   Organize tech literacy training to facilitate clients shifting to digital support models   Set up virtual meeting room with computer with tech set up so that clients can access workers remotely, and the workers can provide meetings to clients from home   Toronto Public Library lends out hotspots

Management of teams: Organizational changes and working remotely 

How do we continue to support workers working remotely? What considerations must leadership and management have to adapt to managing teams in new structures.  

Examples (Staff have identified): 

• Disconnect between staff and teams working remotely  
• Workload changes and feeling unsure of new shifts  
• Recent technologies and software are overwhelming  
• Staff don’t have access to hardware at home (printing, scanning, copying, stamps)  
• Staff need reliable high-speed internet for working from home  
• Staff who parent find it challenging to balance childcare with consistent work hours  
• Work/home life lines are blurred while working from home, challenging to set up boundaries  

Leadership-identified challenges and strategies: 

Challenge/Problem	Strategy/Solution
Strategy: COVID-19 requires adaptations and workplan strategies that are temporary and unpredictable.	Create a COVID-19 Strategic Plan that covers: Minimum staffing needs; critical and essential services; policy development functional limitations and barriers; work from home plan  Begin near-future planning and recovery planning; draft frameworks for planning beyond reopening: one year, three years.
Remote work impossible for some positions: Some front-line service delivery needs to be in person.	Reconsider expectations and redefine service delivery  Provide meeting rooms for clients to meet with worker who works remotely by providing tech, so worker can deliver services from home    Set up an inexpensive voicemail service that clients can leave messages to for workers to get a hold of them
Team building: Teams feel disconnected and isolated in their work	Prioritize regular meetings and check-ins  Create self-care check-ins for the team to ensure collective care is considered  Provide space for socializing – organize lunches, social meetings   Provide prompts for a ‘fun’ check-in at the start of each week
Productivity and Outputs: Working from home may limit productivity; there is only so much work that can be done from home.	Identify what productivity looks like to staff working remotely vs in-person, strategize ways to replicate productive environments for staff  Survey staff about reimagining work in this context: what to stop/start/keep, what is realistic   Survey clients and volunteers about capacity and need in order to adjust expectations  Review workplans and deliverables, adjust   Recognizing challenges to work/life balance and childcare, offer option of flexible hours to accommodate life, focused on deliverable and not hours “in the office”
Adhering to collective agreements; undertaking union bargaining: Adhering to collective bargaining agreements is challenging with this shift in staffing structures; consistency is unattainable across many staff departments	Prioritize building a relationship with the unions and consider Covid-19 response and bargaining   Find ways to redeploy staff or reassign work to ensure consistent and equitable workloads for people working from home   Establish a Pandemic committee: a joint union-management committee to problem-solve collaboratively
Grants and Funder Expectations: Funding allocation has been provided for outputs that are no longer realistic; those funds could be used to implement new and shifting services, program, and projects.	Build and strengthen relationships with funders   Contact funders to renegotiate terms and deliverables, negotiate re-allocation of funds o adjusted programs and services   Re-define productivity and output to prioritize IMPACT in the COVID context   Collaborate with staff providing services to identify new, realistic deliverables and advocate for expectations informed by staff capacity
Remote work has tech challenges: Staff do not have access to the tech required to provide services remotely, or to do remote work	Provide computer, phone, phone number, headset, camera  Provide a budget for highest speed internet and to pay phone bill   Compensate for supplies for printing or provide account at printshop closest to employee’s home, or one that delivers   Provide training on chosen software and communication tools for remote work   Free Geek Toronto has refurbished tech at inexpensive rates
Immediate solutions don’t work long-term:   The quick adaptations to working from home don’t feel sustainable	Evaluate quarantine: Review and survey on the tech and software used during quarantine to work from home   Identify long-term solutions (software, systems management, training) for working from home   Set up sufficient training, provide resources for staff to learn   Ask staff for input in planning work from home strategy, and offer them to demo and train coworkers on what works (learn from one another)   Identify a mentorship model for those comfortable working from home and those uncomfortable – pair people in a buddy system to troubleshoot and learn together
Compassion Fatigue and Mental Health: Burnout seems to be increasing as boundaries are thinning.	Create an Action Plan for compassion fatigue  Cultivate a community of care in the workplace  Prioritize providing professional development around self-care, burnout, collective care, compassion fatigue, secondary trauma

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