A Leadership Resource dedicated to improved communication within the department of Social Services and Seniors

Rhea Jenkins and Barry Chandler discuss

business continuity plans for their program areas.

Leaders LettersEdition 10. December 2009

Senior leaders have a critical role in businesscontinuity planningSubmitted by: Carrie Keizer, Policy Analyst

This fall, many senior leaders were involved increating business continuity plans to outlinehow your most essential programs and

services would respond to a potential loss of humanresources resulting from the H1N1 pandemic. Thisactivity has helped leaders to identify key areaswhere services were vulnerable to staffing shortagesso that action could be taken to increase theirresiliency.

Business continuity planning is about much more thanbeing ready for the potential impacts of H1N1.

It is about being ready for any type of disruption thatcould affect your ability to deliver your programs andservices.

Government Departments and Agencies at all levels havethe responsibility to plan for and respond to disruptionsresulting from hazards that are known to threaten theirjurisdiction.

Over the coming months, Senior Leaders will continuetake part in planning responses to a variety of potentiallydisruptive situations that could impact your workplaces.How would you continue to deliver your service if yourIT systems were to become unavailable for a week?Where would you work if your building was damaged bya fire? What would you do if a sprinkler system damagedyour essential records? Anticipating and preparing forinterruptions to your programs and services allows youto manage through these challenges more smoothly.

For more information about business continuityplanning, contact Carrie Keizer at cakeizer@ihis.org or368-6185.

Leaders Letters are produced by the HumanResource Team of the Corporate and FinanceDivision. They are distributed to members of the SeniorLeaders Group and posted to the DSSS public shared

drive. For information and feedback contact 569-7568.

A Leadership Resource dedicated to improved communication within the department of Social Services and Seniors

Senior leaders receive thanks for their part instrategic plan

Senior leaders received kudos for their contribution andleadership towards the development of a three yeardepartment strategic plan. “We have created a strategic plan

that reflects the needs of our clients by ensuring our front line staff, thepeople who know our clients’ needs best, were fully involved in theprocess,” said Minister Doug Currie who met with seniors leaders andoffered praise for the critical role they played in involving staff in theplan’s development. Lorne Clow was the lead Director on the plan’sdevelopment and he says the process involved meeting with hundreds ofstaff. “Pages of minutes were recorded, compiled, and provided to SMTfor their review and input. Finally, the plan itself had to be written;ensuring that it properly reflected the goals that were put forward byboth front line staff and management,” says Lorne. The Ministerpresented souvenir appreciation certificates to members of SLG for theirrole. The Strategic Plan is now posted on the Departments’ website.

Managing a culturally diverse staffby Matt Krumrie

Workplaces are becoming more culturallydiverse, which often requires managers andothers to continually rethink the ways they

work with people.

“Cultural competencies are not something that you canlearn in a four-hour diversity training,” says Lila Kelly,principal consultant and trainer of Lila Kelly Associates.“They are developed through a lot of hard work, justlike other skills and abilities. Diversity is the way of thefuture, and there’s no turning back. If you want to besuccessful as a manager, working to become culturallycompetent is one way to get ahead.”

“Managers should take the time to learn about the skills,knowledge and backgrounds of their staff,” says CalebFullhart, Area Manager for Ajilon Office, a nationaladministrative staffing firm. “These conversations willallow managers to find out about the differences andsimilarities in the cultural values of their staff and buildon those differences for the benefit of the group.”

Fullhart says that managers should embrace the value ofdiversity, which helps employees to workcollaboratively and in turn be more productive.

“It’s important for managers of culturally diverseworkplaces to dedicate time to bond as a team, includingholding team sessions to discuss ideals or values, or wherepeople can discuss their culture, heritage and history.”

Kelly says successful managers must provide anddemonstrate open and non-judgmental communicationwith all staff members by demonstrating respect,knowledge and awareness of the differences that arepresent in their workplace “If the manager isuncomfortable with the differences, it will show and affectall employees,” says Kelly, who offers these tips: • Look for opportunities to learn. Be humble and

ask yourself, “What and how can I learn from thisdiverse situation?”

• Watch for opportunities to ask your employeesabout their culture. This will show them that youare interested, help you learn, and build rapportwith that employee.

• If you are working with a group of people from aparticular culture, have a few reminders writtendown that would help you communicate betterwith them.

Catherine Freeze, Minister Doug Currie and

Lorne Clow pictured at November 6 SLG

meeting.

A Leadership Resource dedicated to improved communication within the department of Social Services and Seniors

Do You Know How Your ColleaguesCelebrate the Season?By Lisa Epstein, Monster.ca

Have you been wishing everyone at work aMerry Christmas? Or perhaps the catch all“Happy Holidays”? Canada is comprised of a

rich cultural mosaic and learning about ourcolleagues’ traditions goes along way in fosteringharmonious working relationships.

The Canadian workforce includes people who practice amyriad of traditions at this time of year. Christmas isperhaps the most recognized but only one of the manymulticultural celebrations occurring in December. Theholidays mentioned below occur in chronological orderand are offered as a concise guide.

Eid-al-Adha - December 7thMuslims celebrate Eid al-Adha, the Festival ofSacrifice. Lasting 3 days, this holiday stems from

Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son to God and isan extremely important holidays in Islam. Those whoobserve the holiday dress in their finest attire, pray at theMosque and visit family to share meals and offer gifts tochildren. The word Eid is derived from the Arabic wordAwdah which means return, the soul returns to its originalstate of inborn purity. Traditionally, a third of the feast iseaten by the family, a third to another family and a third tothe poor.

Hanukkah - December 22ndThe festival of Hanukkah is celebrated inDecember by Jews. The holiday lasts for 8 days

and commemorates the rededication of the temple in Israelafter it was partially destroyed in 165 B.C.E. It’s a holidayof miracles - after the destruction, there was only enoughoil in the temple’s candelabra to shed light for one night.Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight. Jews light acandelabrum called a Menorah every evening for eightconsecutive nights. Tradition is to consume foods preparedwith oil, like potato pancakes and fried donuts. Familiesusually gather for evening meals and children are givensmall gifts each night of the festival.

Yule - December 21-January 2nd Yule marks the turning season and pre-datesChristianity. At this time of year, traditionally

animals were slaughtered and families would feast. A treewould be chopped down and brought into the home to bedecorated while a Yule log burned for 12 days. It’s awinter festival celebrated by the Danish, Norwegians,Swedes, Finns, Estonians and Wiccans. Each heritagecelebrates a little differently depending on the region. Forall but the Wiccans, Yule became Christianized and is aninterchangeable term for Christmas.

Christmas - December 25th Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ onDecember 25. The holiday began as a “mass for

Christ” hence, Christmas. Just like the three wise men thatbrought gifts to baby Jesus, the tradition continues byexchanging gifts with friends and family. Santa Claus wasnamed after a bishop named Saint Nicholas, who fed thepoor, and the tradition of the Christmas feast continues.

Kwanzaa - December 26th - January 1st The Swahili word for ‘first fruits’ is Kwanzaa. OfAfrican origin, Kwanzaa is a non-religious holiday

when families gather and share traditional foods withincluding dishes made with sweet potatoes, peanuts,collard greens, and spicy sauces. The festival surroundsseven symbols: unity, self-determination, collective workand responsibility, cooperative economics, a sense ofpurpose, creativity and faith. Traditional colors includegreen representing the land of Africa, black for the colorof the people and red for blood lost while fighting forfreedom.

More Alike than Different Knowing a little about the religious and traditionalcelebrations of coworkers helps all of us gain a deeperunderstanding of the people around us. Traditions teach usabout values and the many December celebrations teach usthat we are all searching for peace and goodness.