HR IN A COVID WORLD
Project: Safe Haven When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Ryman Healthcare turned its villages into safe havens, determined to do everything possible to make sure its people were happy and safe.
R
yman Healthcare is one of Australasia’s largest aged care and retirement living operators, with 41 villages in New Zealand and Australia, providing homes and care for more than 12,500 residents. Ryman believes its most precious resource is its people, and making sure they get home safe and well every day is a number-one priority. During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Ryman Healthcare aimed to ensure that the wellbeing of residents, their families and the team did not suffer as a result of any pandemic measures in place.
A different way of working
Project Safe Haven was Ryman Healthcare’s response to COVID-19 – focused on improving life for team members and showing appreciation for the incredible work done to keep the villages safe.
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HUMAN RESOURCES
SPRING 2021
The COVID-19 crisis put a significant amount of pressure on the Ryman team, and many employees made substantial personal sacrifices to stay at work and keep residents safe. With teams throughout New Zealand and Victoria, Australia, Ryman needed to tailor its approach to different locations. They knew that different groups within the business would have vastly different experiences. For office teams, it meant working from home with brand new ways of collaborating and keeping connected. At the same time, the village teams were caring for residents, with the added pressure of new infection controls. Additionally, construction teams had either reduced capacity or a complete shutdown of their sites. Auckland and Victorian teams also had, and still have, very different working conditions due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns.
Implementation
Ryman elected to put as much effort into the wellbeing of its team members as it could, including: • unlimited COVID-19 paid sick leave
• access to a free Employee Assistance Programme • a paid day of leave as a Wellness Day • mental health virtual workshops, eLearning modules and webinars with experts • additional coaching and counselling for leaders • a wellbeing month of activities and competitions • bespoke Ryman Team Wellness website • new wellbeing policy • regular updates and communication from the CEO • fast-tracked rollout of communication app to connect people with important information • lobbying and advocating to support changes to visa conditions that affected many Ryman family members who are migrant workers.
Project Safe Haven … focused on improving life for team members and showing appreciation for the incredible work that was being done to keep the villages safe.
