You will be aware that the UK has now entered the Delay phase of the Government’s Action Plan on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. I wanted to reassure you that the health, safety and wellbeing of GC colleagues remains our top priority.
For the last four weeks, I and other SMT colleagues have dedicated ourselves to dealing with this evolving situation. Whilst I have taken overall responsibility, Paul Simpson is leading our contingency planning; Carla Nuttall is managing all communications; Vicky Barton is focusing on colleague wellbeing; and Dom Delsoldato is ensuring the continued robustness of our IT which is another key element to our approach. Of course, all SMT are focused on this issue.
It is fair to say that planning for a pandemic had not been seen as a highly expected scenario (a lesson for us), and we have had to review our approach to dealing with Covid-19. We are now, though, well-prepared for a range of scenarios and we are putting in place a range of preparatory actions although not all will be visible at this stage.
I know for some colleagues Covid-19 will still seem remote but for an increasing number it is beginning to impact their personal and work activities. Fortunately, to date, we have had a very small number of colleagues impacted, and where this has occurred, all public health guidelines have been fully implemented.
The move to Delay follows the announcement by the World Health Organization that the disease is now classed as a global pandemic, meaning the containment measures already in place are unlikely to work on their own. As a result of this change, we are moving to the next stage of our response. This will include changing our approach to the use of agile working practices, launching new frequent and direct engagement with all managers and updating our position and guidance to staff, clients and partners.
We continue to seek to deliver our services, which in many respects are even more vital. For instance, our work with businesses to help them manage their way through this period and our work in employment and skills clients will be a great aid to people in the times ahead.
Based on current information, I am in no doubt that we are in a new and significantly changed operating environment that will be with us for some time, remembering that the Government expects the peak case period to be 10-16 weeks ahead and there will be a longer economic recovery period following this. This will also be a time where GC will need to adapt and also where we will be called upon to help those in most need whilst also looking after ourselves. From the response of you all to date, I am confident we will do this, although I know there will be challenges ahead.
On this note, we recently sent out an invitation for you to attend one of a number of sessions on our 3 Year Vision & Strategy and the Business Plan 2020/21. These sessions will no longer go ahead as originally planned, but we will provide further details shortly regarding a virtual session.
What we are putting in place
Maximum use of agile working
- From Monday 16 March, all staff who are able to work remotely should make arrangements to do so until further notice. Managers will be making this clear to individual staff and if there are particular difficulties in you doing this please discuss with your manager or the HR Service Desk.
- Any internal meetings should be conducted virtually. We are also asking colleagues to limit travel across GC facilities, again making use of virtual meetings where possible. Here is some further guidance on how to make the most of the available technology, to support you working in an agile way.
- There are several roles across the Group that are not fully agile – but reducing the overall number of staff coming into our offices will reduce risk to colleagues in our buildings as well as allowing us to focus our efforts to stop and mitigate any impact for them.
What to do if you become unwell
- In the event that you become unwell and display coronavirus symptoms (a high temperature and/or a new continuous cough) you should follow the latest NHS guidance to stay at home for seven days and advise your manager who will then complete the self-isolation form.
- If these symptoms or your role prevent you from working from home, as well as completing a self-isolation form, your manager will also record your absence as sickness in the normal way on Unit 4.
Updated travel and events guidance
- Overseas business travel is not essential in the current circumstances. If you have any business-related plans to travel overseas, we advise you to speak to your manager and make appropriate arrangements to undertake this activity virtually, postpone or cancel your travel. If you have any concerns, please talk to your line manager or contact the HR Service Desk.
- Overseas personal travel – please complete this survey, if you haven’t already done so, to advise us whether you have any personal overseas travel plans between now and the end of June. 500 of 1,300 colleagues have already done so and it is important that you complete this survey even if you have no plans to travel. This is important information and will ensure we have appropriate measures in place to exercise our duty of care and minimise the risk to our colleagues, students and clients.
- Following Government guidance we are not proactively cancelling our events at this time, although we appreciate that these may be impacted or cancelled due to external speakers/attendees no longer being able to participate. This guidance may be subject to change should the government take the decision to ban mass gatherings, and we will communicate updated guidance in this instance.
- We are however changing the way events are delivered and, we would ask staff to continue to take additional precautionary measures when organising or planning these activities. This includes taking the following FIVE steps:
- Review operational plans with venue partners
- Support good hygiene levels by supplying hand sanitiser, tissues and hygiene advice notices throughout the venue
- Include hygiene messages at welcome/reception areas and within any housekeeping announcements
- Encourage attendees NOT to shake hands at the event
- Communicate with all attendees/visitors prior to the event to reiterate latest www.gov.uk and www.nhs.uk guidance and advice
If you would like further support or guidance on delivering events during this time, please contact a member of Group Marketing.
Communications
As highlighted, we recognise that this is a quickly evolving situation and there will be a greater need for more regular and detailed communications in the coming days and weeks.
- The Group Senior Management Team (SMT) is skyping every 48-hours to review, agree and share insight and decisions to adjust to real time.
- Each Business Unit will now hold skype meetings with all its managers with similar regularity to review and agree how any changes may specifically impact on their operational delivery and escalate any substantial or group-wide issues.
- You can expect to receive more regular group communications via email and Skype updates from your Group SMT to ensure you are supported and understand any impacts on service delivery.
- Underpinning these regular communications will be a new coronavirus Hub where the latest information, guidance and policies will be made available. We will share a link to the new live site next week.
What next…
Whilst the Government has not banned mass gatherings or introduced school closures at this stage, we are proactively planning for this potential eventuality.
School closures
We recognise that if there are widespread school closures some staff will have to undertake caring responsibilities. At the current time there is not desire by Government for widespread school closures, however we have identified and will follow a clear pathway to help address this. Our focus will be on managing issues locally within teams to ensure business continuity. The following considerations should be made in the event that parents are unable to make alternative childcare arrangements:
- Continue to maximise the use of agile working where possible and practicable to do so.
- Encouraging local collaboration and capacity planning to enable individuals and teams to support each other with resourcing difficulties, this may be assisted as demand may also reduce.
- Enable staff to take annual or unpaid leave.
Please stay updated with the latest guidance and continue to practice good hygiene to help minimise the spread of the virus.