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August 20, 2020

One team. One community. Together in well-being.

2 min read

As we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, we've been looking to reassure our employees and lend a helping hand to our local community. This reflects how we see the world. We believe in a six stakeholder model where employees, clients, partners, the community, the environment, and shareholders are all beneficiaries of our business. So when there’s a difficult situation, such as coping with the realities of the past five months, we want to ensure that everyone’s needs are considered.

Moving forward

As we move into the next stage of reopening, we’ve kicked off a Back-to-Office Pilot Project. A small group of employees is going into the office two days a week to work through the logistics of a safe return. The insights from this pilot will be used to help shape future plans for what a voluntary return might look like, with the option to continue working from home for anyone who wishes to do so. We’ll be sure to maintain our weekly virtual coffee chats which keep everyone connected, even when they’re not physically in the office.

Looking back

As we prepare for the new reality that lies ahead, we wanted to take a moment to look back. Because we didn’t just merely survive the pandemic; we were fortunate as a company to thrive. Everyone retained their jobs and we maintained our usual paid summer intern program. We even hired more interns than usual to help more students with their education costs.

Thursday, March 12th, was our first official day of working from home. Months later, most of us are all still at home … seamlessly delivering projects and keeping our clients happy … along with random visits from our children or pets during video calls.

The pandemic's uncertainty and social isolation affect people in different ways. So we kicked off a roster of activities to support our team’s well-being while also helping out local entrepreneurs whose livelihoods were in limbo because of the lockdown. PureFacts subsidized the cost of having these individuals lead some of the activities.

Some of the highlights included:

On Wellness Wednesday, Vince Rexwinkel, a Certified Personal Trainer, brought his energetic bootcamps to whip us into shape. His friendly banter kept us grinning while grunting through our workouts. If you’re looking for a great virtual workout, give Vince a shout.

On Teaching Thursday there was Trish and Andrea, Certified Yoga and Mindfulness Instructors. They got some of us to step away from our computers for 30 minutes and take a mindfulness break that left us feeling refreshed to take on the rest of the day. Want to add a meditative moment to your day? Get in touch with Trish and Andrea.

There were also cooking classes with professional chef and dietician Shauna Lindzon. She delighted our taste buds with her deliciously healthy and surprisingly simple recipes. Want to get a taste for something new? Contact Shauna.

Also, a big shout-out to our PureFacts employees who offered to help their colleagues stay connected. Pasha Datsiuk had us punching our way to fitness in his boxing classes. Darko Antic and Andrea Boileau got us to stretch and strengthen our bodies with their yoga poses.

People in our local community also stepped up to get involved. None other than “Jonesy”, the celebrated sportscaster for the Raptors NBA title win, was the MC for our virtual Inspire Townhall. He shared the secret of what it takes to create a winning team … and importantly for us, a winning company. His message: “keep grinding”. And we are. We’re all going to keep grinding to support each other, our clients, and our communities. Because when we work together, we all win.