Saskatchewan Blue Cross keeps employees connected

How can an employer provide a career-development opportunity and empower its workforce at the same time? In the case of Saskatchewan Blue Cross (SBC), one way is through an inventive initiative called Executive for a Day.

As part of the virtual program, staff at the health-benefits and insurance provider can apply to shadow a top executive through a full day of activities, from the high-level to the mundane, and then the executive shadows them for another full day. Employees are also given the chance to influence key organizational decisions and share new ideas.

The program provides greater transparency and a chance for a positive one-on-one experience, says Shelley Vandenberg, president and CEO. And it helps answer questions like, “What does Shelley really do all day?” she says with a smile.

“You step into our boots, get an appreciation of the decisions or the issues that we’re grappling with,” Vandenberg says.

The program at the non-profit is part of a larger objective, which is to involve all staff in decision-making and ensure “we find ways to connect with our employees.”

“Our secret sauce is our focus on well-being, and the importance of empowering our employees,” Vandenberg says.

SBC worked hard to ensure the pandemic didn’t soften that focus as staff shifted from an office to remote environment. It introduced more flexible work schedules and provided extra days off to create more long weekends.

SBC also set up a host of other measures to maintain “a sense of community,” says Megan Douglas, vice president of customer relations and external affairs. Programs included team recognition events, online challenges, project celebrations, and a virtual version of the annual employee awards event.

Another initiative is the virtual coffee chat, which gives a group of employees time to connect with leaders in an online version of “those wander-through-the-hall meeting opportunities,” she says.

To further bolster inter-office communication, SBC has embraced the online chat tool Yammer. And for the second year in a row, SBC organized an online talent show, giving staff a chance “to just relax, have some fun and be a bit silly,” Douglas says.

The organization also cranked up training by introducing LinkedIn Learning to all employees, providing virtual tools and modules that are “much deeper” than previous programs, she says.

SBC has always placed a high value on philanthropic and community initiatives, which are “really at the core of our DNA,” Douglas says. To mark its 75th anniversary, the organization gave employees additional funds to donate to a charity of their choosing, in addition to long-standing annual time off, to spend a day helping a worthy cause in their community.

In another pandemic response and part of its 75th anniversary recognition, SBC launched a program to create a massive mural on the side of its head office. “It’s a really bright, colourful inspiration piece to help people stay positive,” Douglas says. “That injection of art on a busy street in Saskatoon was a very cool way for us to also ignite conversation about wellness and the connections between mental wellness and well-being.”

SBC has made mental health a point of emphasis during the pandemic, Vandenberg says. Helping people improve their physical and mental health is SBC’s core mission, and the organization wants to ensure employees are included in that circle.

“Community is at the heart of who we are,” Vandenberg says. “It’s why people are attracted to our organization, both as an employee and a customer.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Saskatchewan's Top Employers winners, published February 15, 2022 in the Regina Leader-Post and Saskatoon Star Phoenix. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.