Pol= icy & Procedures Meeting

Jan= uary 17, 2007

Att= endance: Alison Zheng (Linda’s), David Phillips (G= ary A’s), Leanne Schwartz (Satinder’s), Joanne Collier (managers’ team), Pam Burge (East 2^nd), Sim= one Gauthier (D&S), Jennie Akune (Candice’= ;s), Ernie Baatz, Lanni Sulje (= Shirlane’s), Satyam Trost ( ABI), Kevin Doyle (Taunton)=

Agenda was developed:

Introductions,
Minutes of last meeting reviewed
Wage Equity Update<= /o:p>
20^th Annivers= ary suggestions
Notice for cancelled shi= fts

= &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; i. &nb= sp; Individuals being served cancel shifts

= &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; ii. &n= bsp; Extreme weather makes attendance impossible

Suggestion Box
Asleep / Awake Overnight= s
RRSP – how is the = 3% calculated? When will Standard Life funds be transferred?<= /span>
Petty Cash / Payroll Adv= ance changes
Orientations<= /span>

= &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; i. &nb= sp; Too many by new staff that then are not available to work relief shifts

= &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; ii. &n= bsp; Some relief have too many restrictions on their availability.

Workplace Survey

Ernie gave a quick overvi= ew of the role of the Policy Committee, its history and the policy developme= nt process. People introduced themselves.
Update on Wage Equity = 211; lots of different people hopeful about April 1, 2007 – coalition still working on somethin= g for this year – plus longer range goals of four year compensation plan…

3D"*" &nbs= p; Looking forward to the funding increase announcement: How should we apply the wage increase – What are our priorities for the total compensation package= ?

3D"*" &nbs= p; Across the board increases to each payrate<= /span>

3D"*" &nbs= p; Higher starting wage – less of an increase at the top end<= /p>

3D"*" &nbs= p; Lower starting wage – bigger increase to employees with 4,500 hours or more=

3D"*" &nbs= p; Focus some of the increase specifically to the Sleep Night rate.

3D"*" &nbs= p; Compact the scale? Two increases instead of three – Raise at 1,500 hours and 3,000 hours

3D"*" &nbs= p; Extend the scale? – four increments instead of th= ree – Add another raise at 6,000 hours to further encourage long-term sta= ff.

3D"*" &nbs= p; More to benefits / Less to wages? Increase Spectrum&#= 8217;s contribution to RRSP to an up to 4% matching contribution instead the curre= nt 3% maximum matching amount.

3D"*" &nbs= p; Ernie will create a survey that all employees can complete to provide feedback on priorities for the funding – once it arrives.

3D"*" &nbs= p; We reviewed potential combinations of the above suggestions:=

3D"*" &nbs= p; Bump starting rate to ensure recruitment is supported – don’t want to put a barrier to new employees

3D"*" &nbs= p; Extra pay increase to senior employees – recognize the value of people who = have been here more than 6,000 hours – their experience, their commitment, their contributions to teams at Spectrum.

3D"*" &nbs= p; Increases to middle rates as well.

3D"*" &nbs= p; Feedback was that most staff are focused on wage increase= s, not so much on benefits.

3D"*" &nbs= p; Ernie explained the concept of a Career Map for Spectrum – how our current Career Map is a pretty straight line and we would like to enhance it to off= er a greater variety of options to folks with different strengths and ambitions.=

3D"*" &nbs= p; Current Career Map:

3D"*" &nbs= p; Relief – CSW – Manager – Coordinator – Director=

3D"*" &nbs= p; Proposed Career Map:

3D"*" &nbs= p; Relief – CSW – Manager – Coordinator – Director=

· = With CSW options such as Senior CSW – responsible for Training<= /span>

· = Manager options such as Junior manager – responsible for small programs, Seni= or Manager – responsible for Mentoring new managers, or specific trainin= g or monitoring tasks

· = Coordinator options such as Associate Coordinator – Assist with administrative ta= sks or special projects or Departmental leadership

· = Director options such Director of Finance, Associate Director of Team Building or Personal Planning (Areas of high importance that require strong leadersh= ip

3D"*" &nbs= p; These are just examples of how a career map could look – watch for a more detailed description in the next six months.

20^th Anniversa= ry: Spectrum was incorporated on April 8, 1987 so this is our 20^{th
year of providing services to people with disabilities in the
community. Suggestions w=
ere
sought about ways to recognize our 20^th Anniversary:}

A Book – collect s= tories from our history – sales of book would go toward big party=
Time Capsule<= /span>
Photo book – like = Ray did with Kilmanjaro pictures
Add this question to next survey of employees
There should be recognit= ion developed for 20 year employees.

Notice for cancelled shif= ts:

Current policy says that relief staff need 24 hours notice of cance= lled shift – if they get 24 hours notice – they do not get paid. For permanently scheduled shifts, staff need two weeks not= ice of a cancelled shift. If t= hey don’t get that notice, they must come to work / do some work somewhere – to get paid. If= they don’t want alternate work, then they have the option of taking a day off or vacation day.
Challenges have arisen i= n the ABI program when individuals receiving service cancel shifts with no notice. The ABI program= has proposed an ABIP Shift Cancellation policy that provides a written po= licy to program participants that they must sign – outlining their understanding of Spectrum’s policy and the consequences of a cancelled shift. Susan = Kurliak suggests that this “sign off” or confirmation of policy c= ould be included in the Client Rights and Responsibilities guidelines that= are reviewed with new program participants and reviewed annually thereaft= er.
Extreme Weather: When weather prevents a staf= f from getting to work, do they= get paid? No – staff = only get paid for the hours they are at work. If they are prevented by bad weather from getting to work, then they are allowed to request vacation, sick or banked hours for t= hat day so that their income is not affected.
Obligation to hours of d= ay program support: In gen= eral, life skills supports are flexibly arranged between the individual (and caregiver) and the life skills or ABI staff. Day programs are usually sch= eduled for regular hours per day and week.&= nbsp; If the program cannot be provided because of weather, or lack = of staff, or a flood in the building, then the program service is not provided. A simil= ar situation arises if the individual is sick and cannot attend the day program – the day is not made up in the future. If there are repeated or a significant number of missed days of support, then perhaps the locati= on, staffing or schedule of the day program needs to be reviewed.

Suggestion Box:

On the website – b= ottom left corner, there is a suggestion box.
David suggested that the= Gary A car has reached its natural life expectancy and should be retired.

Asleep / Awake Overnights= :

Has<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> there been a change to Spectrum’s policy on when an asleep night becomes an awake nigh= t?

= &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; i. &nb= sp; At K&J’s, staff are documenting the time= that one resident is awake and getting paid awake night rate for those times = 211; documentation provides clear tracking of patterns and trends for the resident’s sleep patterns.

= &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; ii. &n= bsp; At D&S, manager has adopted a similar scheduling formula, but staff don’t feel the situation is the same. When they are required to be up, t= hey cannot sleep for four to six hours while they attend to one resident’s health or sleep disturbances, and their entire night is disrupted. The intention of a sleep night shi= ft is to have some awake periods, but to provide at le= ast six hours of sleep time for the staff.&nbs= p;

= &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; iii. &= nbsp; D&S staff will meet as a team to work out a plan that works for their shifts and the disruptions. T= he nights at each program are quite different and are scheduled to reflect different workloads, sleep patterns… Consideration= of other programs’ protocols is good information, but absolute congruenc= e is not required.

RRSP: <= /li>
1. How is 3% calculated? The amount that payroll is deducting from your paych= eque is identified in the row just under your name at the top of the paystub. This amount is multiplied by the amount of your regular pay to determine your RRSP contribution.&nb= sp; Spectrum matches that contribution up to 3%. An employee can contribute a= ny amount up to 18% of their gross income.
2. We have provided Standar= d Life with all the info they need to transfer the funds to our new provider= GRS – but it can take up to 4 months for the transfer to occur. There are still employees wh= o have not completed their new enrollment forms and funds are waiting for investment instructions.
Petty Cash: Has the policy changed around reimbursement of receipts and payment of payroll advances?

The policy on Petty Cash= in the policy manual has been in place for 24 months at least:

= &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; i. &nb= sp; Receipts will be reviewed by the program manager.

= &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; ii. &n= bsp; For reimbursement, call in the amount one day in advance and the cash will be available for pick up the next day.

Regarding payouts of tim= e bank hours and payroll advances outside of normal pay dates (15^{th
and last day of each month), our accountant is asking for some written
confirmation from the person making the request as we need documentat=
ion
to back up our payroll transactions.=

One suggestion was that a form be provided that would allow st=
aff
to make a documented request for a vacation / time bank payout outsid=
e of
scheduled payroll.}

Orientations:<= /span>

Many staff provided exam= ples of orienting new staff – providing up to 8 hours of orientation time and disruption to the individual’s routine – and then having that staff disappear – never ever working another shift at that program. Some new staff have received orientations at a number of progr= ams – and then not worked at any of the programs because they have very limited availability or le= ave to work somewhere else.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>
One suggestion is the me= et & greet – that new staff be invited for tea – to meet= the people being served and see the routines of the program / home – and only after agreeing that they feel comfortable in that environmen= t, and the people being served are comfortable, would a further orientat= ion be provided. It could o= ccur right away – or be scheduled for a later date.
These concerns – t= oo many orientations of staff that disappear soon after orientation R= 11; costing spectrum and the staff time and money – will be forward= ed to the HR Manager and to the Coordinators.

A delicious Chili Pepper = dinner was consumed.
Workplace Satisfaction &#= 8211; Spectrum has very low turnover by industry standards, but we need to keep working on recruitment and retention R= 11; Why do employees enjoy working at Spectrum? How can we highlight these qualities to attract new employees and reinforce these qualities for all current employees?

Current employees want to highlight the good qualities in Spectrum as a workplace to ensure that their teams have access to strong new employees and that adequate relief are available for vacation = and sick time. <= /span>
A two part survey was completed by Policy Representatives to review what they like about working at Spectrum and what could be improved, and what specific qualities are more important than others = to them.
54 employees provided co= mments on the Satisfaction Survey in 2006 – but some felt that this su= rvey was only for full-time staff. The intention is the Satisfaction survey is for all staff, peo= ple served by Spectrum, their families, and other stakeholders.
There are “Best place to work in BC” Awards – these are self-initiated awards – employers must submit their own nominations. So if Spectrum wants to high= light our strong workplace qua= lities and enhance our recruitment efforts, perhaps we should nominate ourse= lves for one of these awards. An example was circulated with policy representatives:=

= &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; i. &nb= sp; www.greatplacetowork.ca - Some= notes from the site:

What Makes a Great Place to Work^®= ?

Any organization can be a Grea= t Place to Work^®!

Our approa= ch is based on the major findings of 20 years of research - that trust between managers and employees is the primary defining characteristic of the very b= est workplaces.

At the hea= rt of our definition of a great place to work - a place where employees "trust the people they= work for, have pride in what they do, and enjo= y the people they work with&q= uot; - is the idea that a great workp= lace is measured by the quality of the three, interconnected relationships that exist there:

The relationship between employees and management.

The relationship between employees and their jobs/ organization.<= span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-b= idi-font-family: "Times New Roman"'>

The relationship between employees and other employees.

12. NEXT MEETING: APRIL 18, 2007 – 4pm to 7pm at the office.=

Workplace Satisfaction

Thinking about your work with Spectrum Society, what gives you the= most satisfaction and keeps you working at Spectrum?

List 5 qualities of work at Spectrum that you appreciate:

<= span style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>

Suggestions to make Spectrum a better place to work:

CRITERIA FOR JOB SATISFACTION:=

WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU?

	Very important	Somewhat important	Not very= important
Wage / salary<= /o:p>
Benefits=
Potential for promo= tion
Work relationships<= o:p>
Autonomy=
Challenge / variety=
Flexible work schedule
Recognition
Contribution / serv= ice to society
Balance between work and personal life
Professional develo= pment / training
Other:

= Priorize the three criteria most important to you:<= /o:p>

What Makes a Great Place to Work®= ?

Workplace Satisfaction

What Makes a Great Place to Work^®= ?