Media Release: CPHR Manitoba publishes results of survey on impact of COVID-19 on workplaces

97% of Manitoba HR Professionals say their organizations are prepared for a safe return to work

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA - Nearly all Manitoba HR professionals believe their organizations are prepared to meet occupational health and safety and public health guidelines for the return to the workplace and two-in-five consider their organizations 'very prepared', according to a special edition HR Trends report released by CPHR Manitoba today.

"HR Professionals have been working night and day to support the rate of change that is taking place in our economy. It's an untold story of the pandemic," says Ron Gauthier, CEO and Registrar, CPHR Manitoba. "I'm not surprised to see that HR leaders feel they're ahead of the game in preparing to return. Positioning businesses and people to succeed is their primary mandate. In this case, it also positions our economy for a quicker, safer return."

The HR Trends Summer 2020 report polled CPHR members across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, BC and the Yukon with respect to their organizations’ responses to the pandemic.

“As of June 17th, 74 per cent of Western Canada organizations that had an HR presence were able to continue all or most of their operations,” adds Gauthier. “In Manitoba, it’s 78 per cent. Given the circumstances, that’s a very strong number. But that happened with across the board changes in policies, processes, training and communication, led by HR.”

Among those Manitoba organizations able to continue their operations during the pandemic, half report that at least half of their organization is able to work from home. One-in-seven report that their entire organization is able to work from home. After the public health emergency phase has ended, 66 per cent of Manitoba employers expect to offer flexibility to work from home, compared to 27 per cent pre-pandemic.

“The mental health of employees is also top of mind,” adds Gauthier. “81 per cent of Western Canadian organizations have addressed or are considering having special mental health supports available to employees as a result of the pandemic. Large organizations are significantly more likely to have already addressed this issue at 78 per cent vs. 64 per cent medium-sized and per cent small.”

HR key to business continuity plan effectiveness

Having a business continuity plan in place prior to the pandemic significantly improved the likelihood an organization was able to continue all or most of their operations. If HR was a key contributor to the development of the plan, then the plan was more likely to have been viewed as helpful in guiding decision-making during the public health emergency. “We found that respondents were three times as likely to say their organization’s business continuity plan greatly helped in responding to the pandemic if HR had been a key contributor when the plan was created,” said Gauthier.

The survey also looked at the pandemic’s effects on HR policies and initiatives, how organizations controlled labour costs, what actions will likely be taken to keep costs controlled, and the challenges presented to resuming operations as provinces permit the resumption of non-essential economic activity.

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Complete results of the survey for Western Canada can be found here. Results solely for Manitoba can be found here.

Contact (Media Only)
Emily Janssens
Marketing & Communications Coordinator
emily@cphrmb.ca
204-954-8370 | Fax: 204-943-1109 | Web: cprhmb.ca
1810-275 Portage Avenue | Winnipeg, MB | R3B 2B3

About CPHR Manitoba
CPHR Manitoba is the exclusive certifying body in Manitoba for the nationally recognized Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) designation - the leading standard for HR professionals in Canada. Our mission is to advance the human resources profession. We work to achieve that by promoting the brand and supporting CPHRs in their professional development to foster public confidence in the designation and demonstrate the value of HR to business.

About this Release
Results are based on an online study conducted by Insights West from June 1 to 16, 2020 among a sample of 1,622 human resources professionals in the provinces of British Columbia, the Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The margin of error - which measures sample variability - is +/- 2.43 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies between totals are due to rounding.