Firms giving workers paid time off to volunteer, others flexible so employees can take in ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experience
It may be spring but in Vancouver business circles, thoughts are increasingly turning to winter and the upcoming February 2010 Winter Olympics. Many organizations are catching the Olympic spirit, from official sponsors to small businesses in the downtown core. The Games will dominate the city both in spirit and logistics, so many businesses are taking steps to get employees involved.
Last November, John Furlong, CEO of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), encouraged local businesses to step up to welcome the world.
“The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be the biggest event ever staged in this country and will require the support, collaboration and contribution of all businesses and citizens if we are to have extraordinary success for Vancouver, British Columbia and Canada,” said Furlong.
For some organizations, that means giving staff paid leave to work as volunteers for VANOC. That’s what the government of British Columbia is doing. Volunteers from the B.C. public service are allowed up to 15 days off to volunteer during the Games, with one-half considered vacation and one-half employer-paid leave. A similar policy was offered to staff for the 1994 Commonwealth Games and the 1997 North American Indigenous Games in Victoria.
“We want the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games to be a success and, as an employer, we want to support employees who are willing to contribute to that success as volunteers,” says Murray Coell, minister of advanced education and labour market development.
RONA is a tier-one sponsor of the 2010 Olympics and it launched a program last year to choose 100 “best” employees to work as VANOC volunteers while still collecting their RONA salary.
“For us, it’s a unique leveraging not just of the pride of being employed by a company that is engaged in the Olympics, but in being engaged personally in the Olympics,” says Christian Proulx, senior vice-president of people and culture for RONA, a Boucherville, Que.-based retail home improvement chain. “You’re not just a RONA employee but (you) will be, within the Olympic organization itself, an ambassador of your company.”
As the search was going on, the company saw a return on investment for the program through the buzz it created internally. The buzz continues in each store where an employee is chosen to participate, says Proulx. RONA employees can also win tickets to attend Olympic events as employee rewards.
Any employer can get involved
It’s not just major sponsors that are trying to involve employees in the Olympic spirit, says Donna Wilson, executive vice-president of people and sustainability for VANOC.
“Not every organization can invest as a sponsor but many want to engage with the Games all the same,” she says. “Many companies are starting to look at what to do within their own workplace to make the Games fun for employees.”
Some organizations are considering fun activities for working staff and some are looking to give employees time off and encouraging them to volunteer, she says.
VANOC has already received 64,000 volunteer applications, with about 32,000 of those coming from B.C. More than 20,000 volunteers have already been interviewed and trained, but many won’t be offered a role until this summer.
While lots of organizations want to involve employees in the Games, most need to keep the business running. Rosie Steeves, principal of the Refinery Leadership Partners, a Vancouver-based HR consultancy, is asking her 18 employees what they want to do during the Games.
“We believe strongly in being part of the community and we know that employees are more engaged when they see their company doing things they support,” she says. “Some employees will be volunteering but we can’t just shut up shop. We’re taking a collaborative approach.”
Preparing for transportation headaches
Transportation will be a big problem for many businesses, with road closures and congestion. VANOC is even running ads this month to encourage employees to telecommute during the Games.
Wilson has been holding meetings with senior HR leaders in major organizations across the lower mainland to discuss Olympic readiness.
“We talk about flexible hours, road usage, getting to work or not during the Games,” she says. “Lots of people think it will be worse than it is.”
Steve Wilson owns a small retail business located at Burrard Street and Robson Street in Vancouver, which he describes as “ground zero” for Olympic celebrations. His store, Eyes on Burrard, will need all his staff working throughout the Games, with part-timers being asked to work as many hours as they can.
But with roads around the store designated pedestrians-only, Wilson says he is worried staff won’t be able to get to work or get home.
“We are thinking about it now but there’s only so much we can do,” he says. “Even while our staff are working during the Games, we want them to feel involved in the Olympics. We plan at least to put in a big-screen TV so they can watch events or major medal ceremonies.”
He is also preparing to accommodate any staff who want to arrange their work schedules around attending particular events.
Olympics a chance to show management is ‘cool’
“HR leaders can take advantage of the Olympic opportunity to create a fun, exciting experience for employees, to show how cool their senior management team is and how great a place their organization is to work,” says VANOC’s Wilson. “Even if it means a longer commute, when you got here you’d still have fun.”
Some ideas she’s been hearing from organizations include setting up TVs to watch the Games, staggering hours to make it easier to commute and attend local events, organizing an office Olympics or adopting an athlete or country.
Wilson’s top advice for HR professionals is to “let employees experience this once-in-a-lifetime thing, because the feeling will never come again. The world is watching and it’s a matter of pride for our city. Encourage your team to create flexibility so they can be a part of it.”
For many organizations, the Games still seem too far away to plan for.
“The business community is just starting to wake up to how close the Olympics are,” says Wilson.
“When specific volunteer positions get offered to our staff, that’s when things will get solidified,” says Steeves. “My guess is that come the fall, that’s when we’re really going to move forward.”
Carla S. Shore is a Vancouver-based freelance writer.
School closures could cause problems for employers
The 2010 Winter Olympics will be held over 17 days, from Feb. 12 to 28, and the Paralympic Games are scheduled for 10 days, from March 12 to 21. Event venues for the Games are located in Vancouver, Richmond, B.C., Whistler, B.C., and West Vancouver.
Both the West Vancouver and Sea to Sky School Districts (which include Whistler) will close schools for two weeks during the Olympics. Generally, this means the school year will start the week before Labour Day 2009 and spring break will move from March to February in 2010.
Recently, the Vancouver School Board decided not to close schools during the Olympic Games. Schools in Richmond and North Vancouver will also remain open.
Many working parents in West Vancouver and in the Sea to Sky region will be stuck for child care during the two weeks of the Games. For students at schools that remain open, parents need to be aware of transportation challenges, such as road closures and congestion, which could affect their ability to travel to local schools.
Employers will need to factor in the challenges of employees who have school-aged children when making plans for February 2010.
