Surrey Board of Trade releases first COVID-19 Playbook for business in Canada

AS part of the Workforce Reset Labour Market Partnership project funded by the BC Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, the Surrey Board of Trade on Thursday released the first COVID-19 Playbook for Workforce and Employer Resilience. The Playbook is a digital document produced through a collaboration of Surrey service providers, the Surrey Board of Trade, employers, and industry groups, working together in a coordinated and collaborative approach on workforce priorities in a real-time, rapid-response structure to help with economic recovery.  

COVID-19 Workforce Reset Playbook for Business: https://businessinsurrey.com/workforce-support/workforce-reset/ 

(Note the linked document should be downloaded and opened in Adobe Reader or Acrobat for best functionality.)
“Employers need help to develop capacity to be nimble and agile while responding to ever-changing workforce and economic conditions,” said Anita Huberman, Surrey Board of Trade CEO. “This Playbook provides them with the guidance and resources to survive and thrive now and in the next normal. The Playbook will be continually updated as we navigate through this pandemic.”

Other key elements of the Workforce Reset project are:

* The Pandemic Rapid Response Business Centre for individual employer needs in planning and preparing for recovery and back-to-work strategies. Contact info@businessinsurrey.com or 604-581-7130 to reach the Business Centre.

* A real-time monthly Surrey Labour Market Intelligence Report.

* Surrey Pulse Surveys providing the only on the ground intelligence on what is happening to businesses and organizations.

The project commenced on July 27, 2020, and will conclude on July 23, 2021. Project actions include:

* More Surrey employers being prepared and able to respond to the workforce-related impacts and opportunities resulting from the pandemic;

* More Surrey workers impacted by COVID-19 to be connected to re-employment, re-deployment, re-skilling and sustained employment;

* More unemployed members of equity-seeking groups in Surrey becoming employed;

* A real-time Back-to-Work Strategies Playbook that can be adapted and used by other communities and tailored to specific industry sectors;

* Ongoing real-time labour market Intelligence to support employer and service provider decision-making; and,

* Better use of and connections to government supports.

Funding for this and other projects is provided through the Province of BC’s Community and Employer Partnerships (CEP) program. CEP’s goal is to increase employment and work experience opportunities in communities across BC through partnerships, shared information, technology and innovation.

The Surrey Board of Trade retained Human Capital Strategies (HCS) to conduct the research, engagement, strategy development and business implementation planning on the Surrey Board of Trade’s behalf.