Douglas Magazine February/March 2021 by Page One Publishing

21 IDEAS TO ACTION IN 2021

FEB/MAR 2021

DOING BUSINESS THE COST OF

SPECIAL EDUCATION SECTION

HOW ISLAND HEALTH CARE WENT DIGITAL Dr. Jaron Easterbrook is a family physician and co-chair of the Greater Victoria COVID Community Task Group.

PM41295544

ON THE ISLAND

HEALING A NATION An ambitious social venture for the Kwakwaka’wakw HOW E VOLUTIONARY O R G A N I Z AT I O N S A R E

CHANGING THE RULES ROUNDTABLE ON

REMOTE WORKING

OUR FUTURE IS ELECTRIC

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Navigate what’s next. Create a safe and compelling workspace that brings people together.

It’s how you’ll work, today.

As we return to the office, organizations need a strategy that follows new safety protocols and allows people to create, collaborate and be productive. Three areas to consider:

Density - The number of people per sq. ft/m Geometry - How the furniture is arranged Division - Using screens, panels or barriers e. info@graphicoffice.com Authorised Dealer ©2016 Steelcase Inc. All rights reserved. Trademarks used herein are the property of Steelcase Inc. or of their respective owners.

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FEB/MAR 2021

CONTENTS FEATURES

18 42 The Cost of Doing Business Working Remotely Running a business from an island does have its disadvantages, but for these loyal entrepreneurs its worth the challenge.

Douglas brings together six Victoria business leaders in a roundtable discussion about the realities of working from home.

BY KEITH NORBURY

BY CLEMENS RETTICH AND CARLA SORRELL

Business and work culture is in transition. Douglas rounds up ideas to help your company adapt and thrive. BY CARLA SORRELL

Organization

24 21 Ideas to Action in 2021

28 Transforming Health Care How the pandemic has accelerated the advancement of digital and virtual health care, motivating cross-sector collaboration. BY CAROLYN CAMILLERI

48 The Evolutionary

How several Cascadia-based companies have created progressive, future-proof organizational structures. BY ALEX VAN TOL

Special Education and Career Section

Discover what skills will be in demand for the future and the best options for getting them at any stage in your career.

DEPARTMENTS 6 FROM THE EDITOR 9 IN THE KNOW Nezza Naturals’ hand sanitizer, building permits rebound, Hemp House Hair Salon, Hey Neighbour crowdfunding campaign, the region’s new wastewater treatment plant and an Order of Canada honour for a UVic professor. 16 IN CONVERSATION K’odi Nelson on the Nawalakw Lodge and Healing Village, an ambitious social venture that will support healing in the Kwakwaka’wakw community and offer destination eco-tourism. BY CARLA SORRELL

54 POINT OF VIEW

Sue Maitland’s advice for newcomers to Victoria.

4 DOUGLAS

INTEL (BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE) 50 MINDSET

Connecting through questions. BY ERIN SKILLEN

51 MONEY

Develop your financial literacy BY STEVE BOKOR, CFA, AND IAN DAVID CLARK, CIM CFP

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

FINDING THE POSITIVES IN CHANGE

Enriched Thinking™ for your family, business and future. A team-based approach for a total wealth strategy that addresses the entirety of your life. C.P. (Chuck) McNaughton, PFP Senior Wealth Advisor 250.654.3342 charles.mcnaughton@scotiawealth.com

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UNDERSTANDING TRANSITION, and how it differs from change, has been a theme to my year. An authority on both, American consultant William Bridges developed a transition model that distinguishes three phases: an ending to the status quo, the neutral zone and a new beginning. In the end, we know things aren’t going to be as they have been; in the neutral zone, we know what isn’t but we don’t yet know what is; and, in the beginning, we get a sense of a new present. This issue will mark my introduction as Douglas editor, which is both an ending and a beginning for me. Over a year ago, I made a big change in my life. My husband, sons and I moved from London, U.K., where I lived for over 15 years, back to Victoria, where I was born and raised. Although I was the only one returning to a once familiar lifestyle, my transition “back” has in many ways been one of a newcomer. I returned with the freedom to see “home” from a new perspective; my many questions driven by curiosity and enthusiasm to understand what has changed, which, given the year, has been exponentially more than I expected. Over the last few months Changes to the way we I’ve reimmersed myself in the South Island’s economy through conversations with a wide live and work that initially range of businesses and old friends; conferences felt temporary … are now like SIPP’s Rising Economy Week and VIEA’s long-lasting, revealing State of the Island Economic Summit; and the many webinars that have taken the place of hints of what the new talks, information sessions and meet-ups. beginning will look like. This issue will also mark a year since the first lockdown. Changes to the way we live and work that initially felt temporary, or characteristic of the neutral phase, are now long-lasting, revealing hints of what the new beginning will look like. The stories in this issue bring to light the changes that our community has chosen to hold onto: from the acceleration of innovation in health care and the realities — both good and bad — of working from home to a passion for living and doing business on the Island. Changes that positively enhance ways of working across organizations and businesses of many shapes and sizes. Business owners, thought leaders and specialists have shared their unique experiences of this transition. These collective responses to change, through innovation and adaptation, show so much promise for Vancouver Island’s future prosperity. In reflecting on these insights, we can identify what is working and appreciate this phase — with all its challenges, achievements and insights — for what it is.

®Registered trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia, used under licence. Scotia Capital Inc. is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. For more information visit www.scotiawealthmanagement.com. McNaughton Group is a personal trade name of C.P. (Chuck) McNaughton.

6 DOUGLAS

LOG040-Jul-AD-McNaughton-2x9.indd 1

2016-08-04 12:33 PM

— Carla Sorrell

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www.douglasmagazine.com VOLUME 15 NUMBER 2 PUBLISHERS Lise Gyorkos, Georgina Camilleri

We believe the ultimate measure of our performance is our clients’ success. It has guided our approach for over 30 years.

MANAGING EDITOR Athena McKenzie EDITOR Carla Sorrell DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Jeffrey Bosdet PRODUCTION MANAGER Jennifer Kühtz DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER Amanda Wilson

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Do Canadian citizenship & immigration rules leave you puzzled? We can help. 740—1070 Douglas St. Victoria BC V8W 2C4 Canada +1.250.590.2951 immigrationlawbc.com All legal services are provided by the Robert S. Sheffman Law Corporation.

8 DOUGLAS

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I N N O VAT I O N | D E S I G N | B U S I N E S S | S T Y L E | P E O P L E



[IN THE KNOW]

JEFFREY BOSDET/DOUGLAS MAGAZINE

Three months after launching their sweet orange hand sanitizer in collaboration with Victoria Distillers, Sasha Prior, cofounder of Nezza Naturals, signed a lease on a production facility dedicated exclusively to what is now one of their top five products.

HAND SANITIZER IS HERE TO STAY Nezza Naturals’ sweet orange hand sanitizer is one of the company’s top five selling products, but a year ago it didn’t exist. “Hand sanitizers have become a household item,” says Sasha Prior, cofounder of Nezza Naturals. “It’s in our cars, it’s in our purses and offices. It’s a consumable — people are going through it quite quickly. People are becoming aware of the product, thinking about their favourite hand sanitizer.” In mid-March Peter Hunt, president and master distiller of Victoria Distillers, popped into Nezza Naturals to ask about

demand for hand sanitizer. Four days later a collaboration between the two companies had produced the first of what would be 5,000 bottles distributed free to highrisk sectors like police stations, hospitals and to Canada Post workers. Three months later, Prior was signing the lease on a new production facility. With industrial space hard to come by, she enlisted her resourceful father, and cofounder of Nezza Naturals, James Trueit, who discovered the perfect spot by scouring UsedVictoria. “We needed to store the alcohol, and it had to

be fire safe and locked up with cameras,” says Prior. “We had the product licence from before, but we needed an actual site licence [from Health Canada] for longterm productivity.” Over the next few months the site was renovated to support production — adding shelves, work stations, a commercial dishwasher, and room for new equipment like machines and stainless steel pots. The huge quantities and flammable nature of alcohol require separate storage space. “It’s quite a simple process to make hand sanitizer. It doesn’t involve heat, which is great [for

risk of fires]. It’s the filling and the labeling and the capping that takes time.” At the same time they shifted to wholesale to retail the product. “We’ve never wholesaled any of our products, so that was really interesting community building,” says Prior of the experience. “I felt like we were connecting with our community through Red Barn, Root Cellar and all these little local pharmacies. We got such great feedback.” Prior assures loyal customers that this favourite will remain a staple, and hints at adding a new scent. DOUGLAS 9

BUILDING PERMIT INCREASES ON VANCOUVER ISLAND IN Q3 2020 Residential

Commercial

to $254.5M

to $210.5M

41%

25%

A TICKET TO BUILD

Institutionalgovernment

66% to $28M

SOURCE: VANCOUVER ISLAND CONSTRUCTION ASSOCIATION

BUILDING PERMITS REBOUND AFTER SUFFERING FROM LOCKDOWN BACKLOGS

he construction sector has weathered the pandemic storm with a strong rise in activity. The third quarter of 2020 saw the total value of building permits issued on Vancouver Island rebound to $681.6 million, or 40 per cent above the second quarter of 2020. “Construction has, from the get go, been one of the most resilient sectors on Vancouver Island because it’s been able to persevere and work through, right from day one,” says Rory Kulmala, CEO of the Vancouver Island Construction Association. “The industry has made very quick adjustments to the workflow, to how the projects are run, to safety on the site” The BTY Market Inelligence Report 2021 forecasts a three to five per cent escalation in B.C.’s construction activity in 2021 through energy and major infrastructure projects and government stimulus. “There were a number of mixeduse projects that were happening in the region, particularly where you have multi-[residential] coupled with commercial purposes,” says Kulmala. He cites CRD developments like University Heights and Harris Green for

making up a significant percentage of the permits — four such multiuse developments can account for close to $200 million in permits. This gain came mainly from non-residential permits. Residential building permits edged three per cent, higher over the second quarter but decreased 13 per cent compared to the third quarter of 2019. The highest increases in residential building activity were seen in Powell River (363 per cent), Comox Regional Valley (123 per cent) and Mount Waddington Regional District (216 per cent). “That’s just consistent with what we’ve been seeing," says Kulmala. "You know, the past trends in those areas up-island are a real attractive place for residential.” Trends within those permits were for renovations and multi-family new builds. “I generally look at the Island to say, you know, are we seeing a peak that we did about four years ago? We’re not quite seeing that, but we’re still seeing a level that would suggest that we’re in a very demanding market for housing, and that’s evidenced by the vacancy rates that we’ve seen up and down the Island. Victoria’s very low; it’s still creeping around that one per cent.”

SCALING UP

[ ADOLUS TECHNOLOGY ]

The Nanaimo-based startup won the 2020 New Ventures BC competition, presented by Innovate BC. This cybersecurity business specializes in safeguarding against malicious software and firmware in smart devices. They were awarded over $135,000 in cash and prizes, including the $115,000 Innovate BC First Place Prize Package.

10 DOUGLAS

Large multi-use developments like Harris Green in downtown Victoria account for approximately $50 million in permits.

BC Assessment’s 2021 property assessment shows single family house prices up five to 10 per cent, with the largest increases in Colwood (nine per cent) and Metchosin (10 per cent). The first three months of lockdown caused a major backlog in planning permissions in many municipalities where internal processes took time to adjust to the restraints of working from home. “We have municipalities that have gone from a paper based

[ CROWD CONTENT ]

Founded in 2011, Crowd Content specializes in helping businesses create push-ready content for clients including WordPress and Lowe’s. The company has been acquired by an investment group that includes Canadian-based Sage Capital and California-based Cetina Capital.

system to completely online with tracking systems. We also have municipalities who have not innovated in any way and essentially giving off the impression that they’re closed for business,” says Kerriann Coady, CEO of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association — Vancouver Island. “A tremendous amount of accolades goes to those municipalities that have been innovative in working with the industry,”

[ ECHOSEC SYSTEMS ]

The seven-year-old Victoria-based company was bought by the Tusker Fund. The software company monitors social media feeds and messenger applications to help spot security threats and potential problems. This investment will put focus on reinforcing operations in the U.S. and the U.K.

DESIGN/BUILD

BUSINESS IMPACT TAP INTO THE MOVEMENT TO SUPPORT LOCAL

The Region’s New Wastewater Treatment Plant AFTER FOUR YEARS of construction, the $775-million McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant officially began operating on December 15. “This project has been years in the making,” says CRD board chair Colin Plant. “This is the largest infrastructure project in the region’s history and is a demonstration of our commitment to protect our ocean and our environment.”

THE FIX Before the plant began operations, raw sewage and wastewater from seven municipalities were passed through a six-millimetre screen to remove solids, then were released into the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Victoria’s Clover Point. The new treatment plant in Esquimalt can treat 108 megalitres of wastewater per day — the equivalent of 43 Olympic-sized swimming pools. It will serve the core area municipalities of Victoria, Esquimalt, Saanich, Oak Bay, View Royal, Colwood, Langford and the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations.

THE SPECS This is the first tertiary treatment plant to operate on Vancouver Island. The three levels of wastewater treatment include: primary treatment, which is the physical separation of solids from wastewater; secondary treatment, which removes dissolved and suspended organic compounds in the wastewater; and tertiary treatment, which reduces any solids that remain.This tertiary process is one of the highest levels of treatment available. A new outfall was also installed at McLoughlin Point. It is two kilometer long and discharges treated sewage waste at a water depth of 60 metres.

The BC Marketplace by Small Business BC is an online platform created to help consumers support local entrepreneurs and keep money in their communities. Creating a profile is free. marketplacebc.ca

Membership with Think Local First gives you access to promotional events, cross-promotion on social media, special decals and inclusion on its website and app, as well as other marketing opportunities. thinklocalvictoria.com

Think Local is also part of Support Local BC, an initiative created to support local, independent businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic by selling gift certificates for future use. To date, B.C. consumers had purchased over $713,723 in gift certificates from 1,730 businesses in 109 communities. supportlocalbc.com

GROWTH

CANOE BREWPUB Victoria’s harbourside brewpub will become part of the CRAFT Beer Market Restaurant & Bar family, marking the company’s first acquisition in Victoria as well as its first brewpub. Don Calveley, Founder and Owner of the Truffles Group, will continue to own the land, buildings and marinas at the Inner Harbour location and will be leasing the restaurant, patio and brewpub space to CRAFT. With nine locations across Canada, CRAFT was founded in Calgary in 2011 and is known for showcasing brewers’ art, for fresh local food and for community partnerships. Customers won’t see changes in the immediate future, but long term plans include rennovations. “We admire Canoe as a community builder in the city and love the history of the building that is Canoe’s home,” says CRAFT founder and president PJ L’Heureux.



TOP TOOLS CANADIAN CONTENT

Full of practical, easy-to-implement and relevant (Canadian) advice, the StartUp Canada podcast shares conversations with key people in the country’s entrepreneur community. Topics are as varied as “Knowing When to Say No” to “Business After COVID-19.” (Victoria’s own Nicole Smith, CEO of Flytographer, appears in the recent episode “Shoot Your Shot: Navigating the Gig Economy.”)

THE REMOTE HIGH FIVE

Performance management platform 15Five helps remote teams stay connected. Through strategic check-ins, the application allows managers to maintain visibility and foster employee performance with continuous feedback, objectives tracking, recognition, software for planning 1-on-1 meetings, and 360° reviews.

NURTURE YOUR FOCUS

What if focusing on your work benefited the environment? The Forest app lets you plant a virtual seed plant that will grow into a tree if you stay away from the distracting websites on your customized blocklist. With the app’s paid version and other optional add-ons, your credits can go toward planting real trees through the app’s partnership with Trees for the Future.

DOUGLAS 11

IN THE COMMUNITY

CASE STUDY

Thinking Inside the Box

Local developer Aryze has teamed up with the Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness and Mayor Lisa Helps to design a transitional housing scheme that would help to alleviate homelessness in Victoria. Hey Neighbour: Making Room is a crowdfunding campain that aims to raise $500,000 for 30 homes. To date the campaign has raised enough to fund 15 homes. Built from used shipping containers, the homes will provide dry, heated space with power, security and access to hygiene, at a fraction of the price of traditional units. The community will engage residents with skill development and social enterprise opportunties. The project was created in response to the City of Victoria’s motion last year to offer housing and indoor shelter to everyone currently sheltered in city parks by March 31, 2021. The community will be built in the parking lot at Royal Athletic Park. Find out more about the campaign and how to support it at aryze.ca/project/heyneighbour.

DOUGLAS READS In WHO NOT HOW: THE FORMULA TO ACHIEVE BIGGER GOALS THROUGH ACCELERATING TEAMWORK, entrepreneurial coach Dan Sullivan and organizational psychologist Dr. Benjamin Hardy encourage entrepreneurs to take on a new business strategy. Instead of asking, “How can I do this?” one should approach new ideas and opportunities by asking, “Who can do this for me?” The authors argue that by making this paradigm shift, there are numerous potential benefits, including building a successful business while not “killing yourself,” freeing up 1,000-plus hours of work you shouldn’t be doing anyway, building a team to support you in your vision and giving yourself the choice of how you spend your time and the type of work you do.

12 DOUGLAS

NATURAL BEAUTY

“I did a project on it [eco-friendly salon] for hair school, and they told me that it wasn’t feasible, that nobody would do something like that … but I did it anyways.” — SAMANTHA HARRON, FOUNDER, HEMP HOUSE HAIR SALON

Salt Spring Island’s Hemp House Salon is a progressive eco-friendly salon built from hempcrete. For Samantha Harron, beauty is not skin deep, and she wanted a salon that reflected that ethos. It took years to design and build the more-thansustainable Hemp House Hair Salon. “I always knew that this was what I was going to do,” says Harron, who was disappointed and shocked by the amount of waste she encountered in the beauty sector. Seeing the salon to fruition was a family affair. Harron’s husband Tristan Harron managed the build while their young daughter played foreman. The couple settled on hempcrete for its high performance, non-toxic quality and fast, renewable growth. Common in Europe, the process lacks standardization in Canada, providing numerous challenges solved by a crossCanada team of engineers.

When building in hempcrete, every detail has to be designed and in place before applying the material. “We had to go with the shape of the land,” says Tristan Harron of the design process. “Samantha got creative and took a spray can and just started spray painting on the lawn. We then tried to design something that was going to really be functional and work.” The deliberate, thoughtful space benefits from improved air quality, reduced energy consumption and natural temperature control. It is one of the most boundary-pushing businesses that the Vancouver Island Green Business Collective has certified. As a Métis raised in foster care, with a vision that doesn’t align with industry standards, she wants to be a positive role model for re-envisioning beauty.

Samantha and Tristran Harron built Hemp House Salon with help, and reclaimed materials, from the Salt Spring Island community.

THE MATERIAL Hempcrete is a mixture of hemp shives (hemp stems), water and lime. The salon’s 13-foot walls pull carbon out of the atmosphere and store it and are fully compostable.

THE BUILDING Features include 11 solar panels, rainwater collection, a rainbow of reclaimed metal roofing and locally milled wood from fallen trees.

THE FINISHING The walls are plastered with a natural sand, lime and water mixture, painted with an ecofriendly milk paint.

THE CLOSED LOOP Hair clippings, used foils, colour-tubes, excess hair colour, glass, papers and plastics are recycled and repurposed by Green Circle Salons. Cut hair is upcycled into booms to clean up oil spills in waters worldwide.

Disciplined Value Investing That Works COMPOUND ANNUAL RETURNS1 (Including reinvested dividends, as of December 15, 2020) 1 YEAR

3 YEAR

5 YEAR

10 YEAR

20 YEAR

INCEPTION2

Odlum Brown Model Portfolio

6.2%

6.8%

8.9%

12.3%

11.5%

14.2%

S&P/TSX Total Return Index

6.4%

6.3%

9.6%

6.0%

6.1%

8.3%

Except for YTD period. 2 December 15, 1994. *The Odlum Brown Model Portfolio is an all-equity portfolio that was established by the Odlum Brown Equity Research Department on December 15, 1994 with a hypothetical investment of $250,000. It showcases how we believe individual security recommendations may be used within the context of a client portfolio. The Model also provides a basis with which to measure the quality of our advice and the effectiveness of our disciplined investment strategy. Trades are made using the closing price on the day a change is announced. Performance figures do not include any allowance for fees. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.

HONOURS

NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR INDIGENOUS LAW John Borrows, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous law at UVic, has been appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada for his scholarly work on Indigenous rights and legal traditions.

Successful investing is done by buying and holding high-quality businesses, particularly during times of market uncertainty. I invest alongside my clients in the very same businesses, focusing on companies that will continue to show long-term growth. If you would like to discuss your investment strategy and whether it aligns with your life goals, please contact me today.

R. H. Mark Mawhinney, CPA, CMA, ICD.D, CIM® Associate Portfolio Manager, Investment Advisor

Tel 250-952-7755

mmawhinney@odlumbrown.com

What does receiving this honour mean to you? I feel like it’s a reflection of all the support I have received from others through the years. We never accomplish anything on our own and I feel this deeply. I am grateful for my family, community and colleagues because we are doing this work together.

Member-Canadian Investor Protection Fund Odlum Brown Limited

@Odlum_Brown

Odlum Brown Community

OdlumBrown

What does it mean to the advancement of Indigenous law? I hope this award helps people see the value of Indigenous peoples’ law in a contemporary light. Indigenous law consists of the standards, principles, processes, measures, criteria, benchmarks, traditions, authorities and precedents Indigenous peoples use to regulate their affairs and resolve disputes. It allows people within communities to both agree and disagree with one another, challenging the idea that might makes right. Like many of our treaties with the Crown, Indigenous laws are designed to create an atmosphere of peace, order and respect. I hope a few more people consider their potential as a result of my being appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada.

How far has your work with Indigenous law come, and how far do you hope it will go? Indigenous peoples have struggled to have their law making power be recognized through most of Canada’s history. Laws, which still apply, like the Indian Act, are designed to minimize Indigenous decision-making and dispute resolution. Fortunately, Indigenous peoples still cling to the hope that they can take responsibility for their own lives and contribute to the common good. In my 28-year career I have seen these hopes grow. I have also seen practical, on-the-ground changes, where these laws have made a positive difference. I hope I live to see the day when Indigenous law is formally considered to be the law of this land and can benefit everyone in this country.

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IN CONVERSATION WITH K’ODI NELSON OF THE NAWALAKW LODGE AND HEALING VILLAGE

A VISION FOR THE FUTURE This ambitious social venture will support healing in the Kwakwaka’wakw community, fostering wellness and cultural resiliency, while offering visitors the chance to immerse themselves in the history and geography of their traditional territory in the southern Great Bear Rainforest. BY CARLA SORRELL

PHOTO BY TIM ENNIS

awalakw means supernatural in Kwak’wala, the language that has been spoken in the Kwakwaka’wakw Territory in the southern Great Bear Rainforest for thousands of years. The word encapsulates ancestral heritage while representing a vision for the future — it is the name of an ambitious social venture and sustainable Indigenous enterprise that is a catalyst for healing and connection. The Nawalakw Lodge and Healing Village is a dual purpose social enterprise being built in the Hada River estuary of Bond Sound. It will generate profit through the summer as an eco-tourism lodge, funding traditional healing programs and language and culture training throughout the rest of the year. Keeping the Kwak’wala language alive was the seed of this idea, sown by K’odi Nelson, then a language and culture teacher at the Gwa’sa’la — Nakwaxda’xw School, who took students on week-long camping trips to their traditional territories. “They were learning more language in five days out on the land than we could possibly ever do in a month and a half in the classroom,” says Nelson. “They’re having fun just being kids on a beach, and in the forest, and they just didn’t even realize they were learning their own language.” Working in the summers as a tour guide for his cousin’s company, Sea Wolf Adventures, gave Nelson insight into international interest, particularly from European travellers, for longer immersive experiences of Indigenous

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history and culture. It was much later that Nelson was introduced to the Fogo Island Inn in Newfoundland, whose model for a placespecific destination with positive alignment of capital and community, would help to structure the vision for Nawalakw. It was the community who nurtured this seed of an idea to life: Nelson told a friend who was on the board of the Community Futures group, an architect friend did some renderings, a federal grant supporting a feasibility study was received and a chance encounter on a summer tour resulted in one early investor. Phase one, the culture camp, which sleeps 24 students, their teachers and 12 support staff will provide year-round wellness programming and language revitalization. It was funded by philanthropic private investments and is on track to open early this year. “There’s lots of people that want to help,” Nelson says. “We haven’t met anybody along the early stages that didn’t want to give us a discount or didn’t want to offer more services in kind or end up donating to the project in some way. It’s got this great spirit about it — this whole spirit about the energy around our project — which is pretty special.” Where did this idea begin? For us, years ago, we were going into a place called Bond Sound (Hada). And to our disappointment, there was heli-logging going on right outside the mouth of the estuary. That is a place of origin for our First Nations. One of our tribes believes that one of their first

ancestors came from there. And so a lot of effort started going into this idea that if we had some sort of cabin or shed on that beach over there, we probably could have stopped that from happening. What does this land mean to your Nation? Having our kids on the land is healing. After the intergenerational traumas that our people have endured over the years, there’s a big need for change. Just planting our kids and rooting them and knowing who they are and where they come from. We do that here, and that will be the stem of all wellness to blossom from that. It was an early investor who told you about the Fogo Island Inn. What was the impact of learning about what Zita Cobb had done there? I had never been exposed to social ventures. I didn’t know they existed. It wasn’t until I got back from Fogo that the light bulb went on. I always wondered, How are we going to pay for wellness security? We keep talking about language revitalization and mental wellness, the land healing workshops. How do we pay for elders? How do we pay for transportation? How do we pay for the operational costs without spending the rest of my life writing grants all the time? And the idea was, could the profits of

Watching heli-logging take place on the Kwakwaka’wakw ancestral land gave K’odi Nelson the idea to build a lasting presence for the community.

the eco-tourism resort just pay for our wellness and language revitalization? Do you think this is a model that other Indigenous people can use? I believe that this is why there’s such excitement and an energy around our project at the moment. People are like, “Oh, wow, I never thought of that.” And we totally believe that this business model can be used worldwide for Aboriginal tourism — the Maoris could use it in New Zealand, for example. When we do a good job setting up our social venture, I believe it will be implemented all over the world, not just Canada. Phase one, the culture camp, will open this year. How will it work? Once school or community groups arrive on Monday morning, we are speaking Kwak’wala, our endangered language, to them as much as we can, until they leave on Friday. They would get broken into groups and do all the camp life

activities, but it’s going to be in our language. Our language apprentices [currently five, ages 19-21] — the young people that are conducting the language planning and lessons with the elders — those are the people that are going to become fluent. Our language apprentices should be well on their way [after year one]. Then year two, we could bring five more first-year apprentices, so we have 10 young people speaking and teaching our language, and it continues to grow like that. What does phase two look like? Phase two would be the healing village, which is the adult wellness program and staff housing for the lodging facility of the commercial [ecotourism] side of what we’re planning. We can have both facilities running simultaneously because of their location. They are strategically separated in terms of distance. When we start incorporating the eco-tourism component, the healing village would double as a wellness facility for a certain portion of the year and

then it changes to then accommodate staff housing for the eco-tourism [side, during the summer months]. What do you need to move forward with phase two? Two philanthropic families from Victoria basically paid for the whole phase one. We didn’t engage either [the provincial or federal] government [for funding], only because we really didn’t need to. Phase two is going to be much larger than our first phase — there will be a big need and a big push for fundraising. And that’s what I’m going to be focusing a lot of my energies on in the early months of 2021, continuing to build relationships with family foundations, so that we can get a few more partners on board with this amazing journey that we’re on. What I think people like about our model is that I won’t be going to them year after year for funds anymore. Once we are up and running, we have created this [sustainable] model. ■ DOUGLAS 17

The Cost of Doing Business ON THE ISLAND

Despite the obstacles, such as higher taxes and insurance rates, rising food and housing costs, shipping times and frequent ferry crossings, loyal Island business owners believe the benefits outweigh the challenges. BY KEITH NORBURY PHOTOS BY JEFFREY BOSDET

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Duncan-based Promac Equipment manufactures and exports skidsteer and excavator attachments. The company’s competition is largely in the American midwest where the cost of living — housing, food, taxes — is much lower than on the Island. DOUGLAS 19

or Duncan-based Promac group, the higher cost of doing business on an island can put it at a competitive disadvantage. One of the company’s three lines of business, Promac Equipment, manufactures skid-steer and excavator attachments, largely for export. “Our cost of living — which is encapsulated in the cost of housing, food, taxes, everything that goes with it — is much, much higher here than in the Midwest U.S., which we compete with,” says Promac president Gary Powers. In his frequent travels south of the border, Powers often asks about the cost of buying a house. “It always amazes me,” says Powers, who bought the company four years ago. “On Vancouver Island, now you can’t get much for $600,000 or $700,000. The equivalent house in East Texas is $200,000.” The good news is that the Island’s costs for buying houses — which averaged $515,000 in October 2020, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association — are half that of Vancouver’s. Powers actually exploits that as a recruitment tool. “There’s both challenges and advantages to being on the Island, believe it or not,”

says Powers, whose company has about 55 employees, around 40 of them unionized. Paying union wages also puts Promac at a disadvantage with right-to-work states in the Deep South. One advantage, though, is Promac’s three business units gives it a broad revenue base, helping it weather the pandemic, although annual sales have slumped to around $12.5 million from about $15 million.

executive director of the Downtown Victoria Business Association. “The costs that impact margins are not what businesses are focused on. It’s how do I keep my staff working? How do I keep my doors open? How do I pay my rent? How do I inventory up?” John Wilson — president and chief executive officer of The Wilson’s Group of Companies, which has B.C.’s second largest private fleet of passenger buses — says business has dropped off 95 per cent. That’s largely a result of THE REAL COSTS pandemic-related travel restrictions crushing Island businesses also face additional cost tourism. challenges by being in B.C., such as the new At the best of times, the high price of land employer health tax. By being in Canada, poses a burden for his company, which has six businesses end up paying among the highest properties — four rentals as well as locations it cell phone bills on Earth. But, as Powers says, “If you’d asked me what makes a big difference, owns in lower-priced Nanaimo and Campbell River. Pre-pandemic, a big I would say phone plans challenge for Wilson was would be pretty low on my recruiting professional drivers. priority list.” Kelly Hawes, founder In good times, Wilson’s has It also bears noting that and CEO of ColdStar 270 employees and 200 buses. the pandemic represents a “We may not need as many more imminent threat than Solutions, estimates drivers in 2021,” says Wilson, the underlying business that his company spends who chairs the Greater Victoria costs. Chamber of Commerce. But as about $3 million a year “Obviously, costs are tourism recovers and the driver still critical,” says Jeff Bray, on ferry and barge

services. On the plus side, that discourages competition.

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shortage continues, the company might have to cut service. “Buses [here] can be off the road almost twice as long as buses are off the road on the mainland just because of the logistics of getting parts over here,” Wilson says. Promac has a similar dilemma — the delay in shipping replacement parts to its customers, particularly in the U.S. That’s why Promac has a parts warehouse in Blaine, Washington. On-demand culture leaves people expecting immediate delivery. “In Western society, these days everybody wants it today,” Powers says.

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PAIN OF FERRY TRAVEL For Trish Tacoma, owner of Smoking Lily, the biggest problem with being on the Island is that fabric representatives have stopped visiting. Fabric is a big input for a company that makes handcrafted clothing and accessories. “So I have to go to Vancouver and it’s a pain in the butt,” Tacoma says. Other than that, Tacoma doesn’t regard the Island as an overly pricey place to do business. “But I’ve never run a business anywhere but here,” Tacoma says. “So I can’t really compare.” Kelly Hawes, founder and CEO of ColdStar Solutions, estimates that his company spends about $3 million a year on ferry and barge services. On the plus side, that discourages competition. Like others, he cites land prices and a small labour pool as among the challenges he faces. Hawes also calls out B.C.’s carbon tax as “a money grab” that should be eliminated for the commercial industry. “Fuel is a large expense, and if anyone is motivated to reduce this cost, it is us,” says Hawes, who founded the company with wife Jennifer in 1999. Workers’ compensation, Insurance Corporation of B.C. rates and other insurance premiums are also “extremely high.” And, as a wholesaler for independent grocers on the Island, Hawes worries about the likes of Sobeys and Walmart displacing smaller grocers. Nevertheless, Hawes says, “Simply put, this is our home, and I will not live anywhere else.”

UNPREDICTABLE FOOD PRICES For Castro Boateng, who with wife Charlotte owns the House of Boateng Café in Langford, the overarching non-pandemic concern is food costs. “That’s very unpredictable,” Boateng says. “It’s always changing.” Food costs are higher in Victoria than, say, Calgary where he used to live. “You’re not getting the buying power as other places,” Boateng says. “We have a smaller market.” Boateng moved to the Island about 14 years ago to work as a chef at the Aerie Resort (now the Villa Eyrie Resort). He soon fell in love with

“You’re not getting the buying power as other places. We have a smaller market.” — CASTRO BOATENG, HOUSE OF BOATENG CAFÉ

the Island. “So we decided to literally just create a job for myself,” he says. He subsequently built up a catering business and the café. Catering has suffered the most because of cancellations of weddings and other events. In the summer, he normally employs up to 12 full-time workers. But that’s dropped to about six full-timers and a few part-timers. Nevertheless, over the years, the Boatengs have lured 40 workers to the Island. “And it’s always to sell them the beauty of the island,” he says.

REGULATORY AND TAX CHANGES Pip White, managing partner in green energy at the startup Cascadia Bioenergy, chaired the 2020 economic report committee of the Vancouver Island Economic Alliance. The report doesn’t examine business costs per se but takes a higher-level view. For instance, as the economy reopened following shut-downs earlier in the pandemic, “record-low interest rates and pentup demand caused a flood of buyers in the housing market, putting modest pressure on prices on Vancouver Island,” the report says. The report also anticipates that factors like lower interest rates and shifting to remote work “may lead to a continued migration from the Lower Mainland to Vancouver Island communities.” White cautions that a fundamental challenge for businesses is how government taxation and regulatory environments can quickly change. “So when I talk about that regulatory environment, a setback for us is when Premier Horgan announced that he was going to remove

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the restriction on importing electrical power from the United States — because part of the reason that the previous government had put that in place was to try and develop the renewable energy industry in B.C.,” White says. That’s a similar beef businesses have with B.C.’s new employer health tax, which aims to recoup revenue from the cancellation of Medical Services Plan premiums. Smaller businesses like the House of Boateng and Smoking Lily don’t have to pay the tax. But as the DVBA’s Jeff Bray points out, it only takes a staff of about 10 people each earning $50,000 a year to reach the tax’s $500,000 payroll threshold. However, a survey the DVBA conducted of its members in 2018 found that concerns over parking far outweighed concerns like business property taxation. Bray says property tax is an issue that’s usually factored in with other costs, like rent and utilities. Another worry is a trend, prevalent in Vancouver but starting to edge its way to Victoria, of assessing properties on their potential commercial use as opposed to their existing use.

PROPERTY TAXES FAVOUR RESIDENTIAL

PROFILE

John Treleaven, who chairs Grumpy Taxpayer$ of Greater Victoria, notes that municipalities have business tax rates that are multiples of

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the residential rates. The ratio in North Saanich was 5.8 times higher in 2019, according to a municipal staff report. North Saanich politicians have boasted for years that they have the region’s lowest residential property tax rates, Treleaven says. “That’s because they get the highest multiples for commercial and industrial land.” His group’s other concerns include interprovincial trade barriers, the health tax (which he says should have just been added to the provincial income tax) and the duplication of services — such as multiple fire chiefs — among the capital region’s 13 municipalities. “The more efficiently we can operate municipal services and government services, and the whole infrastructure on the Island, the better off we will be,” says Treleaven, who spent 32 years in Canada’s foreign service and ran the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership for five years before retiring to Sidney in 2000.

MORE NORTH-SOUTH COMMERCE Bruce Williams, CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, says business owners are wondering what municipalities will have to do to recoup their revenues in the wake of the pandemic. “I think we’re going to have to get into some

pretty creative times here, where all three levels of government need to cooperate on this,” Williams says. “And they need to have a very strong engagement with business through organizations like the Chamber.” On the plus side, Greater Victoria has strong pillars, like the Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt and the provincial government “that are going to see us through COVID and beyond,” Williams says. A former broadcaster, Williams came to the Island in 2001 to work for a new TV station, now owned by CTV. Since then, he’s lived all over the Island. “Both the mid Island and the south Island gravitate toward Vancouver,” Williams says. “That always frustrated me that there was not more north-south commerce on the Island.” Promac’s Gary Powers moved to the Island only six years ago. For a decade, he lived in Calgary, where he built an electronics recycling business that later relocated to Toronto. He recalls a colleague in Edmonton, who always raved about returning to Vancouver Island one day. Oddly enough, the colleague remains in Edmonton while Powers has found a great place to do business on this coveted isle. “There’s a reason why we’re all here,” Powers says. “We’re all fighting to be competitive because we all love to live here.” ■

ate Harris has taken over DriveWise BC from her parents Arthur and Patricia Harris, who ran the business for more than 45 years. Harris grew up around driver education and has made a career of it, helping build DriveWise BC into one of B.C.’s largest driving schools. “While they are technically retired, my parents still remain involved with the company, which is great for all of us. They still have roles in the business they love and they are truly a great source of support as I start to put my long-term vision in place,” says Harris. “We’ve had more than 45 years of being a leader and innovator in the industry, and I’m excited to keep modernizing so we can continue being at the forefront of the industry, helping more drivers safely get on the road.” Harris has used the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to solidify a new strategic direction for DriveWise, which currently has five locations and is looking to expand to other communities around the province. “We were recently acknowledged as one of the first driving schools in B.C. to become licensed by ICBC to offer e-learning for our full driving program,” says Harris. “Students participate by Zoom, allowing us to educate new drivers anywhere in B.C. This has opened up opportunities for us to expand the program into smaller communities and the Lower Mainland. Students take the classroom portion of their learning online with one of our DriveWise instructors and then we work with accredited DriveWise driving instructors in other locations to do the in-vehicle learning.” DriveWise is expanding its team of instructors and accredited affiliates as well as upgrading their technologies to meet the demand for comprehensive driver training across the province. “We’re in the process of launching a new website that will make it much easier for students and parents to book online, schedule their lessons and stay up to date with their learning progress,” says Harris. “This will make it much easier for busy parents and students who are usually adding driver education to an already hectic schedule.” Harris has an aim to increase the percentage of young people who take driver training across the province by making it relevant, more accessible and convenient. “It’s a fact that new drivers who even take

“We’ve had more than 45 years of being a leader and innovator in the industry, and I’m excited to keep modernizing so we can continue being at the forefront of the industry, helping more drivers safely get on the road.” — KATE HARRIS, DRIVEWISE BC

a few professional lessons are much more likely to retain the information they learn and put it to use on the roadways. The positive impact is even greater for students who take a comprehensive driving program, but that’s less than 20% of BC’s new drivers. We’re working on reaching more new drivers across the province to help them feel confident and

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skilled behind the wheel. Each student that feels empowered to drive safely is a win for our team and a great thing for road safety in British Columbia.

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DRIVEWISE BC THE NEXT GENERATION OF DRIVER EDUCATION

Ideas to action

Companies and individuals have adapted everything, from office setups and work schedules to their approaches to lifestyle, in order to meet the needs of a culture in transition. Douglas sources the ideas and actions that will shape business, leadership and the way we work in 2021.

in 2021

BY CARLA SORRELL

STRATEGY

THINK LONG TERM. Pacific FC, the Island’s Canadian Premier League soccer team, is looking past challenges the pandemic has dealt to professional sports, focusing on long term goals. “We’re not looking at this as a two-to-three year investment; this is a 10-year plus investment. This is leading up to the 2026 World Cup. This is going to pass, and we’re going to be stronger for it.”

— ROB FRIEND, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND GENERAL MANAGER OF THE PACIFIC FOOTBALL CLUB

Focus on what you can control.

“Focus, more than anything, is really what allows an entrepreneur to discern what has to happen in the moment ahead of them. As an entrepreneur, I don’t think there is anything wrong with asking how might this be the best thing that ever happened? It allows people space to think about how they can control the controllables.”

JAMES MACDONALD

— IAN CHISHOLM, PARTNER WITH THE ROY GROUP

MARKETING

Mobilize your data.

Any business can become a data business, using dynamic interactive content to speak to consumers and potential consumers. Use data to learn what your customers like about your products: how they like them, what kinds they like and what sits on the path to their buying decisions. Understanding that data gives a small company the knowledge to insert themselves into bigger business.

Confront uncertainty head-on. Scenario

thinking can enhance decision making now and in the future. Deloitte notes that executives and boards tend toward one of two types of response. The first way recognizes its existence, depth, and complexity but may become paralyzed by it. The alternative is a brashness aimed at wishing away complexity. Avoid both by planning ahead.

Look at a new client base.

Campbell River had annual growth projections over six per cent and 100 per cent summer occupancy, with 75 per cent international visitors in a normal year. This past year the majority have been from the South Island and Lower Mainland. “It’s not that some people haven’t been here in years, it’s that they haven’t been here at all.” Kirsten Soder, director of Destination Campbell River. “There is a lot of opportunity for some of us underdog destinations to become discovered.”

DESTINATION CAMPBELL RIVER/ADAM NAGY

While COVID-19 has had a negative impact on tourism, Campbell River has benefited from more people travelling within B.C. The region adapted its tourism strategy to remind local Islanders how much it has to offer.

LEADERSHIP

Problem-solve collectively. “We’re

looking for managers who can empower team members with selective honesty, posing the situation how the company perceives it, so you can draw solutions from your team members.” — STEPHEN ROBERTS, CLINICAL DIRECTOR AND COUNSELLOR WITH AMIRA HEALTH (FORMERLY FAMILYSPARKS).

Adopt a humanfirst approach

by prioritizing human needs to create digital offerings that will replace in-person interactions but still maintain the human touch. Safely and comfort are a priority. For Good Measure went online for pickup and had a dozen orders within an hour. The team worked to help customers convert measurements, often received in emails, and ensure amounts

Manage by objectives to promote true flexibility. Working

remotely is mistakenly credited with creating a flexible environment, but in reality it often replicates rigid, traditional office expectations like presenteeism. “Managers need to be clear about what the objectives are,” says workplace consultant Sarah Jackson in the Financial Times. “This will save us from the flexibility backlash. People are expecting to work with more flexibility. Next year, lazy organizations will [go back to the way things were] at a time when they need to be more productive.”

that customers purchased were correct by offering suggested sizings. “That was something that really went into the website, teaching people how much to buy of certain things,” says owner Max Young. Demand increased to the point that Young doubled his workforce, who were filling orders seven days a week, and opened a second location in James Bay. Young’s takeaway was the resilience of community, staff and customers.

BE AN AUTHENTIC LEADER. The four core components of leadership are: trust, compassion, stability and hope. Finding inventive ways to create the space for conversations that elicit those ideas will see a rallying effect within teams. As Dan Pontefract, CEO of The Pontefract Group, writes in Lead, Care, Win: “A relatable leader is more personal in their interactions with others, demonstrating realness and a real sense of openness. They show their underbelly. Furthermore, they respect everyone they work with, are polite in all their dealings and they employ a high dose of empathy. They take the time to appreciate the opinions, feelings, and intellectual points of view of others.” DOUGLAS 25

FINANCES

SUSTAINABILITY

Fill the reserves. “Cash is king. Plan to have enough cash to get you through a season of no sales. Really look at the business you are operating to make sure it’s as efficient as it can be. Putting a closer eye to your bottom line and expenses is a good lesson for everybody.”

— NICOLE SMITH, FOUNDER OF FLYTOGRAPHER

Plan diverse revenue streams. Successful businesses all over the world are the ones that pivot by offering new product lines and services. Plan ahead this year with a diversification strategy.

Consider strategic philanthropy and charitable giving. With charities facing reduced donations due to our current stayat-home culture, giving back needs to be reassessed and integrated into financial planning. There are ways to give back that not only make you feel good but are tax efficient and will benefit economic growth in the future. Tesla Tours joined 1% for the Planet, pledging to donate one per cent of its annual sales to support nonprofit organizations focused on the environment.

Think about the big picture.

Restaurants need to look for innovative solutions that are cost-effective, bring margins back to the restaurants and do good for the Earth. With a lot more restaurants now providing take out sourcing quality, affordable, eco-friendly packaging is important for long term.

Pursue a circular economy. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, adopting a circular economy could reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 22 to 44 per cent in 2050. Transitioning to a circular economy supports 12 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and also makes economic sense. According to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, it could unlock global GDP growth of up to $4.5 trillion by 2030. Benefits to businesses including cutting costs through reduced needs for raw materials, reducing energy consumption, increased supply chain resiliency and improving carbon footprint and resource security.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Invest in education

to ensure your workforce is future ready. Many leading organizations are realizing that over half of their workers will need to augment their skills and capabilities to position their organizations for long-term success. Individuals and employers should

26 DOUGLAS

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consider the benefits of micro-credentials for all stages of a career (read more on this in the Education section on page 34). “Reskill or upskill in shorter, more concentrated courses that allow the employee to transfer those skills to the next role or even the next company,” says Dan Pontefract founder of the pontefract group.

OPERATIONS

Consider a digital supply network.

Technologies such as the Internet of Things, cloud computing, 5G, A.I., 3D printing and robotics are all critical to the digital supply network of the future. The traditional view of optimizing a linear supply chain for your own business is transforming into digital supply networks (DSNs) where functional silos are broken down within your organization and you are connected to your full supply network to enable endto-end visibility, collaboration, responsiveness, agility and optimization.

Fine tune operations by realigning what you are offering, ensuring that it fits client needs by reassessing demand, measurement of productivity and strict adhering to the production plan. “Specialists will talk about sales and operations planning, which is basically to align the demand in the market with your production plan, so you are producing things that have value in time and volume," says Stephane Chrusten, senior business advisor, BCD advisory services."

Use your data to improve efficiency.

Pani Energy helps water treatment facilities use a plant’s operating data to process water with increased efficiency and performance. Seek out innovations in your sector.

Working at Camosun Innovates, student Lucius Hall removes completed build of replica bowhead whale bones on a Stratasys Fortus F900 3D printer. Top Left: angel head statue printed on an SLA (stereolithography) 3D printer.

Recognize diversity,

equity and inclusion as a sources of innovation and growth by investing in DEI training. Without an understanding of its needs and goals going into this an organization is implicitly assuming that a few shortterm actions will tick the DEI box. Leaders needs to first determine why they value diversity and why they want to create an inclusive environment that connects with the company’s values and strategic goals.

Support your team to sort out their home offices.

Hopefully you’ve done this already, but making sure people are sitting and using computers ergonomically will reduce one of the most common reasons people see a doctor — lower back problems.

Get your head out of the clouds and put your files there instead. Deloitte Global predicts that revenue growth in the cloud market will remain greater than 30 per cent for 2021 through 2025 as companies migrate to the cloud to save money, become more agile and drive innovation. “A range of enterprise and consumer technologies — from 5G to the cloud to virtual reality — will continue to offer opportunities to the worldwide business ecosystem," says Ariane Bucaille, Deloitte global technology, media & telecommunications industry leader. DOUGLAS 27

Transforming If COVID-19 has any silver linings, the advancement of digital and virtual health care is one of them, along with the collaboration of organizations and sectors motivated to meet health care’s newest challenges. BY CAROLYN CAMILLERI

JEFFREY BOSDET/DOUGLAS MAGAZINE

Dr. Jaron Easterbrook, family physician

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HEALTH CARE

hroughout 2020, and especially since March when the pandemic hit, there has been a flurry of innovation to solve problems in every area of life, especially in health care. “Early COVID days, people that weren’t even in health care, like engineering firms and math firms, were all just bringing ideas together and working with the public sector to try and make things like PPE and virtual tool kits. It was coming from a bunch of different angles,” says Cory Fry, director of consulting services for CGI, a Canadian multinational management consulting and IT services firm with about 75,000 team members worldwide, including about 300 in B.C. “Our key focus these days has been the digital transformation of the public sector, helping them to embrace some of those new technologies,” says Fry. “We support them in a lot of different ways, whether it’s IT systems, strategy, analytics — we’re an end-to-end services firm.” Public health care is a complex system of multiple organizations and regions influenced by financial and political factors, all of which can limit the rate of innovation. Fry refers to the ongoing debate between public and private health care, especially with respect to technology. “One of the big questions that always remained is: Can the private side innovate faster than us?” says Fry. “Private sector, if the money’s there and there’s a buyer, they could just move forward.” Until the pandemic. “[COVID] really accelerated the innovation that was already happening within the public sector,” he says. By way of example, Fry refers to a project involving CGI, the B.C. Ministry of Health and five provincial government agencies working on the COVID Digital Assistant, a digital chatbot that helps triage questions that overwhelm call lines. Within two weeks, the chatbot was live, fielding thousands of questions from the public: do I need to be tested and where should I go? Should I send my kids to school? Should I go to work? “Six months previous, there was no such thing as a digital chatbot service,” says Fry. “And within two weeks, they had something up.” That’s just one of many advances adopted since March 2020. Virtual health care is another, one that is transforming how we access health care services in the province.

Health Care CHANGING HOW WE SEE THE DOCTOR

Childs and Easterbrook, both family physicians, didn’t know each other before the pandemic but, since then, have worked hundreds of hours together as co-chairs of the Greater Victoria COVID Community Task Group, a collaborative partnership between the Victoria and South Island divisions of Family Practice and Island Health and a force behind the shift to virtual appointments.

As Fry points out, COVID-19 accelerated innovation that was already happening within the public sector. Virtual care is the perfect example of that. It’s not that virtual care is new — it isn’t really — but until the pandemic, the use of it in B.C. was less common, despite research pointing to its benefits. “In 2019, even before the accelerated deployment of virtual health services, the data showed that virtual care saved approximately 11.5 million hours for Canadians who didn’t have to take time off work to attend in-person appointments,” says Sue Paish, CEO of the Digital Technology Supercluster, a cross-industry collaboration of diverse organizations. “So that in and of itself contributes to maintain productivity. It also saved, because of reduced travel time, more than $595 million in travel costs for going to and from physician in-person appointments or quick clinic appointments. And this, in turn, resulted in 120,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions being saved.” While there hasn’t yet been an equivalent analysis done since the start of the pandemic, we do have some projections from Canada Health Infoway, a federally funded not-for-profit that provides data and analysis on health technologies. “[Canada Health Infoway’s] projection is that if we continue to have virtual visits for roughly 50 per cent of visits, we can save approximately 103 million hours for Canadians every year, $770 million in travel costs, and 325,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, so CO2 emissions,” says Paish. “That’s the best forecast we have. These are significant numbers.” Keep in mind, too, that virtual care is more common in other parts of the world. Dr. William Cunningham, head of Island Health’s primary care department and the medical director for Urban Greater Victoria (Portfolio 4), says in many countries 60 to 70 per cent of care is delivered through virtual care. And that’s without a pandemic. “COVID has really pushed primary care to deliver services in a different way and, really in a better way, not only here in Victoria but also elsewhere in B.C.,” says Cunningham. “Face-to-face meetings are very important in primary care, in particular, where a physical exam is required. Many interactions can, however, be done well and to a high quality through the virtual care options.” Some virtual care was already in place before COVID-19. Cunningham points to Home Health Monitoring, a free service to support people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, heart failure and hypertension to help patients manage their

Dr. Aaron Childs, family physician

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conditions at home with the daily support of medical staff. Cunningham also names my ehealth, a secure website that provides patients with 24-7 access to personal health information, including laboratory results, medical imaging reports, clinical documentation and outpatient appointments. Both programs encourage people to play a more active role in their own health care. But for actual appointments with physicians and specialists, virtual care was minimal before the pandemic. So what stopped us? “An important and necessary enabler was that the Ministry of Health created fee codes that could be used and then also encouraged virtual care to be used,” says Cunningham. “Without those, it would not work.” Previously, doctors didn’t have a way to charge appropriately. “Due to changes made early on in the pandemic, the fees paid to physicians for virtual care and in-person care are the same, which removed financial incentives from decisions around the type of visit that is appropriate for the patients,” says Dr. Aaron Childs, a Victoriaarea family physician. “For the first time, the medical care is valued the same, no matter where it is delivered.” This fee structure change also allows more flexibility for patients and doctors. “In B.C. we’ve been well supported by the ministry in the switch to virtual care,” says Dr. Jaron Easterbrook, a Victoria-area family physician. “This certainly makes it more convenient for patients who no longer have to drive to the office, find parking and then wait in my waiting room — all for a simple conversation that might take 10 minutes” So far, it is working fairly well.

“[Canada Health Infoway’s] projection is that if we continue to have virtual visits for roughly 50 per cent of visits, we can save approximately 103 million hours for Canadians every year, $770 million in travel costs, and 325,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, so CO2 emissions.” SUE PAISH, CEO OF THE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY SUPERCLUSTER

HOW IT’S GOING IN FAMILY MEDICINE Interestingly, Childs and Easterbrook didn’t know each other before the pandemic but since then have worked hundreds of hours together as co-chairs of the Greater Victoria COVID Community Task Group, a collaborative partnership between the Victoria and South Island divisions of Family Practice and Island Health and a force behind the shift to virtual appointments. “To be honest, I only started offering virtual visits in January [2020] as a way to offer an extra hour of visits in the morning but still be able to walk the dog once the sun was up,” says Easterbrook. “Then COVID hit shortly after, and, for the first couple of months, everything was virtual.” Easterbrook says the rapid change from inperson to video or telephone visits brought about a huge culture change in how family medicine is conducted. While the balance between in-person

and virtual visits levelled off to about half and half in the following months, alternating the types of visits minimizes the number of people in his waiting room and allows for additional cleaning between patients. Both doctors say virtual visits work well for follow-ups, discussions about prescriptions and reviewing lab results, while in-person visits are better for new or evolving symptoms that require physical assessment. “Last year, I would see on average 125 patients in person per week with the occasional telephone follow up,” says Childs. “Now, I see 115 patients virtually per week and 12 to 15 people in person who need a physical exam. It has been a complete transformation of how I provide medical care.” Childs adds that approximately 85 per cent of virtual visits with his patients are conducted by phone, primarily due to patient preference, with the option chosen online at the time of booking.

ISLAND PROSTATE CENTRE GOES VIRTUAL For the last 20 years, the Island Prostate Centre has been providing free information to men and their families as they navigate the uncertainty of a prostate cancer diagnosis. “With prostate cancer, it is not a simple, ‘Here’s your treatment, go and get it done,’” says Leanne Kopp, executive director for the Island Prostate Centre, noting that it is a not-for-profit organization that doesn’t receive funding from the Ministry of Health. “With prostate cancer, there are several different treatment options that are available, and there’s a big, big area of education for patients to really determine what treatment is going to be best for them.” Prior to the pandemic, service was primarily face to face at their Victoria office, with occasional telephone support for men unable to travel from communities up-Island. While they had considered 30 DOUGLAS

offering some programs online, it wasn’t until COVID-19 hit that they made the shift. “We were thrust into not just working on it but also making it operational and doing it really quickly,” says Kopp. Within a week of shutting down the office, all of their programs were moved to Zoom, including the nurse navigator program, which provides counselling to men who are newly diagnosed, in treatment or in aftercare, as well as support groups and the twice-weekly exercise program. “Cancer doesn’t stop because of the pandemic,” says Kopp. “A lot of these men and families really rely on this type of community support program.” The transition to virtual has been successful but not just for maintaining services for their community. “The nice thing about the virtual world is it’s

Island Prostate Centre’s programs and appointments that been face-to-face for 20 years moved online within weeks of shutting down the office.

“Video visits will likely become more popular over time, but there are sometimes challenges with the connection and audio, like most video conferencing,” says Childs. “I usually can connect with patients by telephone if things don’t work with video, but it does affect the amount of time we have left for the medical visit.” Easterbrook also falls back to the phone if there are challenges with technology. In general, his patients love virtual care. “Especially when I’m running late — my assistant can even send them a text message from within the app to give them a heads-up,” says Easterbrook. “They love not having to take a couple of hours out of their day for something that can take five to 10 minutes.” Both Childs and Easterbrook use a platform out of California called doxy.me, describing it as simple to use and having end-to-end encryption. “There are myriad solutions available, with new ones popping up all the time,” says Easterbrook. “The Doctors Technology Officer, a service of Doctors of BC, has done an initial evaluation of the major solutions and provided comments about privacy and security, features, and other capabilities.”

HOW IT’S GOING IN LONG-TERM CARE Changes are taking place in long-term care facilities as well where the increase in digital or virtual technology has followed two streams: social and medical. In the social sense, the key reason is to connect isolated seniors with family. Ian Bekker, long-term care physician lead for Island Health, says social workers and recreational therapists have been run off their feet scheduling iPad FaceTime visits and helping residents connect with family members.

really pushed our strategic goal of expansion on the Island,” she says. “Now, it doesn’t matter where anybody is. We’re even looking provincially. There are people on the mainland who are accessing our exercise group or accessing our support group because they can.” Kopp says being able to expand has been incredibly fulfilling in terms of the mandate of the organization. Other benefits include reduced travel time and, thus, environmental impact, as well as improved time management and greater access to a bigger network of guest speakers for support programming. While she expects in-person programs will be available again someday, virtual options are here to stay. “The long-term goal of Island Prostate Centre is that every man diagnosed with prostate cancer has access to the programs and services available at Island Prostate Centre,” she says. In a virtual world, that goal looks more achievable than ever.

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“It’s a 100 per cent increase because there was zero, and now it’s super busy,” says Bekker. “It may have died down a little bit as we relaxed things slightly, but definitely there was a huge run-up.” On the medical side, there has also been an increase. “It was basically non-existent beforehand, so it’s become existent. It’s being used, I would say, more for the specialists,” says Bekker. “The geriatric psychiatrists, I think, are probably the biggest users of it.” With the psychiatry appointments, which are for a set time, a nurse can set up a device and walk away to do other work. That doesn’t work so well with medical appointments. “Now, suddenly the nurse and the doctor have to do the visit together because the nurse is participating in making the technology work, and that’s not very efficient,” says Bekker, adding that the nurses are already very busy. That said, specialist and follow-up appointments work well with technology, and Bekker can see how it will be useful for annual family care conferences. “The staff are adjusting, but the goal is to make things better for the patient in the end,” he says. During lockdown, when interactions with anyone outside the care facilities was restricted, the phone was more commonly used, possibly because the video-conferencing infrastructure wasn’t as established. That may change if there

is another lockdown. When long-term care facilities do use virtual technology, they employ MyVirtualVisit, Island Health’s secure videoconferencing platform. Bekker says the platform is very flexible and has been made even simpler to use. But what Bekker is really pleased with relates to medical charts — the big binder at the nursing stations. “When the doctors weren’t allowed to come in, and we were having these conversations on the phone, we were a little bit like, ‘Well, how am I supposed to medically, legally document this idea or that I had a conversation, I collected some information, I made a decision and these are my rationale?’ That’s what we’re supposed to be writing in the chart, but we’re not allowed to go get the chart. So Island Health and I worked to enable the physicians to do that typing in the patient’s chart at home, and then it would show up in the computer system.” When restrictions lessened, staff continued to use the computers for charting because it was so much easier for everyone to read the notes and understand what was happening. COVID-19 happened to coincide with the opening of The Summit, a 320-bed facility at 955 Hillside Avenue. Computer documentation was part of the plan for The Summit and all the medical staff received advance training. “At The Summit, nurses and doctors communicate a lot more freely with the

COLLABORATION WORKS

hat stands out with so many of the recent technology projects in health care is the collaboration involved with each. In fact, COVID-19 has underscored the critical need for collaboration to resolve problems and move forward. The Digital Technology Supercluster is all about collaboration. “We bring different organizations together — public sector, private sector, large, small, academic and research organizations — to solve big problems,” says Sue Paish, CEO at Digital Technology Supercluster, a cross-industry collaboration of diverse organizations. When the pandemic hit in March, the Supercluster acted fast to create an environment of collaborative innovation to advance and deploy technologies quickly. “It’s private sector, public sector, working together and being committed to an outcome,” says Paish. “I want to emphasize how important this

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model is, how effective the digital Supercluster has been in bringing these organizations together and how Canadians have benefited.” Paish lists just three of many recent Supercluster health care advancements. “One example is a project that we have called ‘point-of-care ultrasound for COVID-19, and this is a project that shows the agility of public and private sector organizations when they work together,” she says. The typical ultrasound machine is large and bulky and access is very difficult, especially for people who live in remote rural areas. Point-of-care ultrasound is a hand-held ultrasound device that detects COVID-19 in lungs. It was developed by a company that had been working on hand-held obstetric ultrasound devices but pivoted quickly when the pandemic hit. “We currently have, in the space of a few months, 75 of these hand-held devices delivered across the

technology because it just enables better communication,” says Bekker. “We understand what’s going on with the patients a lot more.”

WHAT’S NEXT? Both Easterbrook and Childs believe — and hope — the shift to virtual care is permanent. “It provides necessary flexibility in providing health care, and patients and physicians love having the virtual care option,” says Childs. Easterbrook adds, “The convenience factor alone, for me and for patients, is enough to make me want to keep it.” Childs says the challenge will be convincing patients to come for in-person visits when it is actually necessary but less convenient than a virtual visit. “More practically, it will be the fee changes that will drive the decisions to continue to offer virtual care options,” says Childs. “If we go back to a fee difference between in-person and virtual care, it will be a challenge for family physicians to provide virtual care as a viable option long term.” Fry notes that there are quite a few solutions in the virtual health care marketplace, and, because it was embraced so quickly, medical professionals are using different tools, depending on their region and practice, instead of one standardized system. “Public sector leadership with the private sector partners need to look at the tools that are being used and how we can create a tool belt that is effective for clinicians and administrators to use and what can be supported,” says Fry. “I do think there’s going to be a time where they’re

province, mostly in those remote rural communities,” says Paish, listing Providence Health Care, Change Healthcare (an international company with a big presence in B.C.), Vancouver-based Clarius Mobile Health, University of British Columbia, Rural Coordination Centre of BC and Vancouver Coastal Health Authority as being involved in the project. “So a real combination of large, small, public and private, and that technology is mostly using AI.” Another Supercluster project focuses on the delivery of confidential virtual mentalhealth services to frontline health care workers. Organizations involved include Starling Minds in Vancouver, along with Genome BC and University of British Columbia. “In a similar vein, we know that our frontline workers, in particular, frontline health care workers, who are under tremendous stress through the pandemic, are more likely to be experiencing difficulties that could lead to substance-use issues,” says Paish. “And so another project led by ALAViDA, another small B.C. company, again using A.I. and machine learning, is providing confidential access for frontline workers to virtual substance, use services any time day or night, anywhere in the province.”

Coming very soon is virtual wound care, a project led by Swift Medical, a Canadian company supported by a group of organizations. As Paish explains, more than 6.5 million North Americans have chronic wounds — wounds that don’t heal as expected or in a predictable length of time. In Canada, between 30 and 50 per cent of all health care involves a wound. “[Virtual wound care uses] the combination of artificial intelligence, machine learning and data to interpret and evaluate the nature of the wound, instruct the patient or the caregiver on how to care for the wound, and then do follow-ups where you can again see the progress or the healing of the wound, all done virtually, digitally,” says Paish. “This wasn’t even on the radar four months ago,” she adds. All these projects and many others were made possible because of the Supercluster. “These kinds of things would take years, if not decades, in the traditional approach to health care innovation,” says Paish. “A silver lining of the pandemic is that we are showing what Canadian companies can do to advance the health and safety of Canadians quickly and effectively by working together.”

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going to look at the number of tools in use and say, ‘Okay, what works best for our patients, what works best for our clinicians,’ and probably consolidate on a few provincial tools.” As we look to the future, there may be more consistent stratification for types of appointments that can be virtual, saving the time and focus of physicians for complex appointments that require in-person examinations. “Virtual care also gives the opportunity for us to expand the use of other health care professionals, whether it’s nurse practitioners or nurses or other members of the health care profession, who are very adept at conducting virtual consultations, again freeing up physicians and specialists for those in-person complex situations,” says Paish. Fry says in 2020, in general, there was a large move to cloud technologies and, with it, concerns about privacy and whether we are ready for it. It’s a point Paish makes as well, listing issues to consider as we expand and diversify the nature of virtual consultations. “Issues such as the protection of privacy and confidential information; the security of the systems that are being deployed; the retention and sharing of data between different systems,” says Paish. “These are all things that need to be considered as we move to virtual care being a fundamental element of the health system.” And surely these issues will be addressed because while the pandemic pushed us forward in deploying innovative technology, it also proved how well and quickly the various sectors and organizations could work together to find solutions. ■

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DOUGLAS 33

EDUCATION AND CAREER SECTION

Education Section

Targeted Learning with Micro-Credentials THE WAY WE LEARN IS CHANGING WITH SHORT COURSES TRANSFORMING EDUCATION FOR THE PACE AND NEEDS OF THE LEARNER.

34 DOUGLAS

The pandemic has created a huge opportunity for micro-credentials, single courses that operate in an intensive way — over a few weeks or months — to help people develop specific skills and competencies. This shift in accreditation will serve early, mid and late career learners by offering flexible and highly targeted training. A 2020 McKinsey global survey on future workforce needs found nearly nine in 10 executives and managers who said their organizations were experiencing skill gaps

in the workforce or expected them within a few years. The pandemic has exposed the need for pivoting, retooling and rapid re-skilling. “Upskilling people through microcredential programs is an agile response to labour market needs,” says South Island Prosperity Partnership CEO Emilie de Rosenroll, “particularly as some of our sectors, such as services and tourism, experience massive disruptions and major displacement of the workforce.”

“This model of accelerated niche learning is something that we now see across the board, especially with the transition to online learning environments. It's becoming more commonplace to see it in areas that we didn’t traditionally, like post secondary institutions.” — EMILIE DE ROSENROLL, SOUTH ISLAND PROSPERITY PARTNERSHIP CEO

Micro-credentials rely on close relationships with industries and businesses to make sure learning outcomes align with needs and opportunities. Employers want to know that future graduates have specific technical knowledge and competencies required of a sector. Prior to the pandemic, the Government of British Columbia asked for expressions of interest in delivering micro-credentials. Postsecondary institutions on Vancouver Island have been working with industry and business already. Those with well developed co-op and workplace learning programs are positioned to leverage these relationships in developing microcredentials. But they have some catching up to do with industry leaders like Google and Microsoft who have been offering short, affordable certifications for a few years now. The global popularity of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC), teaching

The Appeal of Campus IN A HYBRID WORLD, THE MULTIPLE BENEFITS OF BEING ON CAMPUS ARE BECOMING CLEAR. The pandemic has helped both educators and students realize the intangible benefits of on-campus education. Poised against the rising digital offerings and the ease of remote learning, the appeal of having a cohort and sharing experiences has drawn students back on campus — from boarding schools to postsecondary institutions around the world — overcoming travel risks and quarantine times

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to be part of a physical learning group. The shared experience is integral to education. Peer-learning accounts for many aspects of student development. An environment where students can come together and work as teams will foster problem-solving and communication, skills that are always in demand by businesses. The holistic learning that comes from being

millions worldwide, shows the appetite for hybrid learning and education technology. To date, there is little standardization across micro-credentials, so it is important to assess the options carefully. Take into consideration how an institution positions multiple units — some will take the long view with stackable credentials accumulating toward a degree or qualification and others will offer badges that you can post on LinkedIn, for example. One of the benefits of local certification is that the hybrid nature of a course can offer a combination of an on and off campus, digital experience. This reflects a paradigm shift in education, where lifelong learning is adapting to the needs and pace of individual learners. From career change to college preparation to corporate training, the appeal of flexible and affordable micro-credentials will serve many.

An environment where students can come together and work as teams will foster problem-solving and communication, skills that are always in demand by businesses. inside the classroom, developing a real life social network on campus, is hard to replicate through remote alternatives. Vancouver Island is an attractive place for students, given the incredible public health efforts during the pandemic by the government and Island Health, alowing educational institutions to offer world-class campus experiences despite health concerns. Another advantage of the campus experience is the international cohort, contributing to a formative experience for students and enriching communities. Diversity on the Island’s campuses is fostered carefully, with much effort put into widespread recruitment. Being in the classroom can create a more equitable environment, removing inequalities of lifestyle broadcast through Zoom sessions. Forward-thinking institutions are rebuilding the student experience to ensure that quality learning remains great, despite changes in the landscape. The campus experience undoubtedly now exists in both the digital and physical environments, but institutions that can find a symbiotic or mutually beneficial balance between the two will strengthen their appeal and leverage the value of campus life.

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Skills for the Future Innovative economic recovery relies on the right skill sets in sectors ripe for change. Look for these in all levels of education — from high school to college to work qualification Programs. John Stackhouse, senior vice president in the Office of the CEO at RBC, interprets trends for the executive leadership team and board at RBC. Identifying ways that COVID will transform the economy and disrupt businesses, he singled out eight key skills that rise to the top for recovery. These aren’t all revolutionary tech skills — many are foundational learnings that are now more important than ever.

PROBLEM-SOLVING

SYSTEMS ANALYSIS

How many of us knew how to open Zoom in March? The ability to approach unforeseen problems — from technology and business operations to health and wellness — is crucial. Problem-solvers will review relevant information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

The transformation in how we shop has meant that smart retailers are evolving their consumer engagement with new services like curbside pickup. The result is a greater demand for people who are able to work with data, understanding how it impacts systems and consumer environments.

DIGITAL AND MULTIMEDIA We are awash with content that democratizes access to global activities and spectacles, like museums and conferences. The ability to shape, inform, imagine and execute meaningful interactive content will be of value to all kinds of organizations — even those who don’t know it yet.

CREATIVITY

COMMUNICATION

COLLABORATION

With travel and tourism industries hard hit, the experience economy has potential to fulfill that need for a getaway. There is a huge opportunity for creativity in physical and virtual experiences that will be the engines for local and community engagement.

The pandemic has shown how dependent we are on great health care, and the development of future health packages will rely on communication. Introductions of telehealth, health tech and diagnostics, conversations around quality of life and aging in place will need a clear voice, and the requirements of industry to work effectively and safely will need advocacy.

In this new generation of interactive, hybrid learning, an even greater premium is being placed on collaboration. The education experience will be shaped by community, employers and learners who will all contribute to personalized learning journeys.

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT The data revolution has changed how people share information. Strategic management of that data will see businesses create dynamic interactive content that speaks to the patterns and behaviours of its customers.

SOCIAL PERCEPTIVENESS The understanding of how people in different parts of the world behave and act differently will be an asset within many sectors. Everyone will become an exporter, especially in a digital platform based economy, and social perceptiveness will influence trade.

No one can argue that the pandemic has created a need for skills that were not in demand coming into the crisis. The right skills will galvanize recovery, ensuring forward momentum as people direct and redirect their efforts to the sectors poised for innovation and growth in a hybrid economy.

38 DOUGLAS

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Where Students Choose To Be Brentwood’s distinctive tripartite program and schedule is designed to provide students with a timetable that leads to unrivalled opportunities. The fact that students choose Brentwood is what makes this place so special. Because when a student truly wants to be here, and they’re surrounded by a family of like-minded friends and supporters, we believe they can choose to be . . . anything.

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Transformative learning SUPPORTING EXPERIMENTATION AND RISK-TAKING WILL ENCOURAGE NEW WAYS OF SEEING THE WORLD.

lended learning and socially distanced classrooms have challenged the concept of experiential learning. The new online world of teaching is most successful where the teaching is more human, less slick, more risky and where accidents and misunderstandings are encouraged as new ways of seeing the world. How teachers accomplish that will vary, but a culture that supports experimentation and risk-taking is a good start. Teaching through uncertainty and complexity will equip students with the skills and competencies to deal with unknowns. In 2020, 1.6 billion students worldwide completed their last year of school digitally. Globally there are twice as many people attending university online versus on campus, which puts higher education institutions under

significant pressure to attract and retain students. A progressive and innovative approach to learning will help. Students are well positioned to straddle between online and offline realities. Starting with a problem can create the opportunity to lean in, trust and initiate. In a hybrid environment, one half of a class might be local and situated in person, with the other global half distributed all over the world. Combining phones, WhatsApp, Zoom and in-person groups can generate valuable discussions. Demand for a university education is expected to double in the next 10 years, and was up 35 per cent in the last decade. An estimated 300 million people will hold a degree by 2030. The education sector has been ripe for change that needs to reflect the realities of new generations, for whom the “new normal” is normal.

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“We’ve always been 100 per cent remote, ever since we started. So there was no transition here. The downside to that is we can’t really get together as a team for team building, but we’ve learned to do that online instead.”

42 DOUGLAS

JEFFREY BOSDET/DOUGLAS MAGAZINE

ALEXANDRA DAWES, FOUNDER, VIRTUAL CFO SOLUTIONS

REALITY CHECK

Roundtable on Working Remotely Douglas brings together six Victoria business leaders to discuss the realities of working from home.

PANELISTS

Nicala Hicks Principal Designer, Maven Design + Build

BY CLEMENS RETTICH AND CARLA SORRELL

fter a year of dealing with the world in a pandemic, many of the ways we used to do business, and the assumptions those ways were built on, have been challenged. Many things we thought we could never do, we are doing, and doing surprisingly well. One of the most visible changes has been moving to working remotely. Management and staff, colleagues, clients and delivery, opportunities and sales, all have taken on a profoundly different shape. Douglas brought together a panel of business owners and representatives to talk about how the move to remote or hybrid work took shape in their respective sectors, each with their own constraints and opportunities. We wanted to know: How did we get here, what’s happening now and what might the future look like? The themes that came out of this conversation may not be surprising but reveal working realities of very different companies.

FACILITATING THE CHANGE Sometimes the best solutions are the simplest. Want to keep people from coming into the office? Turn off the coffee machine. “The most effective thing we did to stop realtors from just coming in to socialize,” says Kevin Sing, president of DFH Real Estate, “which is a big part of our business, was to shut down the coffee machines, so there was no reason to come in and be social.” One of the biggest challenges in leading a team through a disruptive event is managing the transitions: helping people move from what was to what is, and what is likely coming. The challenge is to do that in a way that acknowledges deep-rooted habits, fears and uncertainty about the future. Our panel responded to this challenge by communicating a lot, and then communicating even

more. “We have 140 team members,” says Caitlin McKenzie of Monk Office. “Although we’re pretty decent at communication, I had to learn that you can’t communicate enough right now.” The communication ranges from “steady hand at the tiller” broadcast messages to personal connections to interactive times for people to voice their particular concerns. Another important communication message is “those who support, need support.” Managers and team leaders have the double responsibility of ensuring their own wellness and that of their teams. Klaus Diaz at Certn made sure that a part of his focus was on supporting his managers to be accountable and present to their teams. “When we were transitioning for full-time remote, we put an even bigger emphasis on making sure that team leads were being held accountable for communication with the team members,” explains Diaz. “I was going to team leads asking, ‘What is it your team needs? What’s working for them? Are you asking them these types of questions? Where are we finding gaps? How do we help fix those gaps?’” A steady cadence of meaningful check-ins helps managers feel like they aren’t in this alone.

Kevin Sing President, DFH Real Estate Ltd.

Alexandra Dawes Founder, Virtual CFO Solutions

Klaus Diaz Office Manager, Certn

PRODUCTIVITY For decades the debate on the merits of “management by objectives” (MBO) seemed ivory tower at best to many organizations. In a matter of weeks, for tens of thousands of Canadian organizations, it became a very real issue. With employees working from home, and far from any opportunity for direct observation, questions of trust, productivity and monitoring emerged front and centre. The opportunity to equate “being at work” with “being productive” disappeared. No one came to work. Accountability and productivity had to be reframed, and fast. It was long overdue, and it took a pandemic to advance this important management

Caitlin McKenzie President & CEO, Monk Office

Emily Panzenboeck Human Resources Business Partner, Megson Fitzpatrick DOUGLAS 43

JEFFREY BOSDET/DOUGLAS MAGAZINE

“I find that this whole thing has divided a lot of people. A lot of people have family that are compromised at home and some people don’t. It’s hard for people to be empathetic to others’ situations.” ICALA HICKS, PRINCIPAL DESIGNER, N MAVEN DESIGN + BUILD

issue. Building better communicating objectives and elevating trust were suddenly no longer optional. Stories emerged, of course, of organizations that tried to extend their traditional command and control reach into their employees’ homes through tracking software, cameras and sensors. These efforts did nothing but expose failed and failing cultures and were generally excoriated in the business literature. Our panelists were considerably more insightful in their responses. They understood this was the time to double down on transparency and to support employees in connecting their work to the objectives of the team. Panelists found it advanced their practice as managers. “I find the most impactful thing has been scheduling those meetings,” says Nicala Hicks of Maven Design + Build, “and agreeing to due dates, and then leaving people to do what they need to do when they need to do it. I find when people are at their own homes, I don’t get into the habit of micromanaging.” “One of the challenges of working from home is [clarity around] when is it going to be due?” says McKenzie. “It was easier, it helped me [to be clearer] when something was expected to 44 DOUGLAS

be done because I couldn’t just walk down the hallway [to check]. We think that accountability piece is going to stay.” One of the challenges raised early in the pandemic was that of getting innovative, collaborative work done when people couldn’t just bounce around the same space. But like our panelists, many were surprised that often the fluidity and “democratisation” of video conferencing actually increased participation in group activities. “Instead of running three separate meetings, we now run one meeting a week, but the participation level was extraordinary,” says Sing. “We would be lucky to get 50 per cent ‘live’ attendance at our regular meetings, and, all of a sudden, we were hitting 85 to 90 per cent of everybody [in the ‘all in’ video meetings].” Trust was tested, and many were pleasantly surprised to find their efforts to take that chance to increase trust unilaterally were rewarded. “I think the bottom line is that you really just need to trust when you’re hiring and have that trust with everyone,” says Alexandra Dawes of Virtual CFO Solutions. “Give them guidelines on what to do. You don’t need to oversee them; you don’t need to micromanage. Trust that they can do it.”

The confidence that this was all headed in the right direction wasn’t universal. We are deeply social animals. The human drive for proximity and direct connection is captured in insights about the negative impact of teams working even on different floors. While there have been many benefits of working remotely as teams, distance still costs us as humans. “We’re moving to a situation where all of our activities are on one floor versus split between two floors, just because we wanted to get back to that energy level, and which we know has been missing,” says Sing. “And we’ve watched the numbers. It’s really quite apparent that working from home is not as productive as working from the office.”

COMMUNICATION Just how important communication has become can’t be understated. It’s the lifeblood of every relationship within every organization, inward and outward facing. The pandemic caused lines of communication to multiply and, with it, the subject and subtleties of what needed to be discussed. For the panelists, connecting with employees became more scheduled and purposeful as a result. The increase in cadence and detail meant

finding the right language and tone — a way to bring authenticity without oversharing. “It’s a very effective way to communicate, via email,” says McKenzie. “But I have seen a lot of things get taken a different way. It’s a challenge. You know, there’s lots of times where you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t. So emails have tried to get more direct, but clear, and remembering the audience with whom you’re sharing and what you’re saying.” The purpose of such touch points in real estate quelled fears that agents were facing about how to continue to provide a high level of customer service when people were afraid of everything they touched. “We’re very much a belly-to-belly industry and to feel the satisfaction of completing transactions, not being able to even shake a hand, has really been difficult for us on a day-to-day basis,” says Kevin, who saw a lot of agents eager to connect and share stories when he added a second weekly catch-up. Mental health quickly became part of the conversation — it got personal because it needed to be. Working from home inherently personalizes a day “in the office.” But negotiating that balance doesn’t come naturally. “We discussed the mental health of the team,” says Emily Panzenboeck of her conversations within Megson Fitzpatrick. “If there are people that were suffering more than others, usually that would fall on me. I’d reach out and see what we could do to the system, if it was about managing their workloads.” Although systems like Slack try to replenish the space filled by informal office banter, people still need the attention and fulfillment of a good one-to-one chat. “I have a full day where I say, ‘You can come and talk to me,’ says Diaz of his approach. “‘Let’s talk about professional development, let’s talk about personal life, let’s talk about sports or whatever you want.’ Having person-to-person communication doesn’t just have to be professional.”

MANAGING PERSONALITIES The redistribution of office workers cast light on how very different people are: different levels of comfort, different challenges outside of work, different emotional capacities. Family plays a big part in this too, the way that businesses who operate as a family support their employees and what kind of family relationships are factoring into the experience for individuals. “I find that this whole thing has divided a lot of people,” says Hicks. “A lot of people have family that are compromised at home and some people don’t. It’s hard for people to be empathetic to others’ situations. Just knowing how to keep everybody safe in the way that they need to. [I need to] know what comes down from the government and how to feather

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DOUGLAS 45

JEFFREY BOSDET/DOUGLAS MAGAZINE

“Let’s talk about professional development, let’s talk about personal life, let’s talk about sports or whatever you want.’ Having person-to-person communication doesn’t just have to be professional.”

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46 DOUGLAS

confidence was a devastating consequence of such a shift in habit. Many of the panelists are looking forward to the time when they can hug again, share the kind of “belly laughs” that don’t make the cut on a video call and celebrate in person (aren’t we all?). Even some of the panel’s digitally native companies admitted it’s not the same celebrating on Zoom.

KLAUS DIAZ, OFFICE MANAGER, CERTN

BENEFITS

that into my business. Half of it’s essential and half of it’s not. Keeping up with all of that has been incredibly challenging.” Like Maven Design + Build, Monk Office is an essential service, with some of its employees working on the frontlines in retail within the community, while others were working from home. For McKenzie, managing these opposing situations within one company meant educating the team to create a mutual understanding that “just because they’re at home doesn’t mean they are not working. “Being there for so many different types of personalities, you know how they work and how they don’t work, what works for them,” says McKenzie. “I had some team members who really thrived. Then there are people who were working from home … but certain fears got to them, and they really dug in their feet to return back to the office to be with their colleagues. I was dealing with calls or emails: ‘Nobody needs me, I don’t contribute, Monk is better without me.’ It was starting to dig into their confidence.” For some, being isolated from daily routines was like losing roots, and the erosion of

Optimism is part of the DNA of entrepreneurship, what keeps businesses digging in and innovating, when even the statistics say it’s time to throw in the towel. The pandemic certainly tested that optimism. But entrepreneurs kept finding those silver linings that drive hope and innovation. Working from home revealed some of those silver linings. Businesses discovered that they could continue to operate, in many cases quite successfully, with some or all of their employees working remotely, calling into question the need for all that expensive office real estate. More profoundly, many entrepreneurs began to rethink their entire relationship with space and location. Everything from video conferencing to e-commerce to recruiting created opportunities to do business in places and ways that were literally unthinkable as little as a year ago. An accelerated adoption of technology drove a lot of new opportunities in human capital management. “Certainly, the greater use of technology has really been great,” Panzenboeck confirmed. “I think from an HR perspective, we have hired three people since COVID started; one out of province, one up-Island, and one of our existing employees has moved off the Island. And I don’t know that we would have

made all those hires or approved the existing employee to move off the Island before. But now that we have seen that people can work effectively from home, we have embraced that.” With the opportunities for many roles to create value remotely, many employers realized that this changed more than where employees set up their laptops. If work could be done remotely, the geographical constraints on recruiting suddenly vanish. We can hire from anywhere. For some panelists this changed who their brands were as employers. “So for us, the biggest opportunity that we’ve seen, is in terms of how remote work is changing our philosophy and our employer brand, from how to be the best company to work for in Victoria to how to be the best Canadian company to work for,” reported Diaz. Before the pandemic, many customers had a deepseated and laudable commitment to local providers and suppliers. All of that was shaken when even a supplier down the street had to act remotely in every way. This created enormous challenges for suppliers and providers but also huge opportunities. If the way we had to interact with our customers didn’t change if they were down the block or on the other side of the country, the role of geography became instantly less relevant. “Early on, we were really familiar with technology,” says Dawes. “And so being able to pivot clients into the cloud or into a passive revenue stream or selling online was a big piece of that as well. We’ll probably see that continue in the future.” ■

TIPS FOR WORKING EFFECTIVELY FROM HOME TO READ MORE VISIT vimeo.com/amirahealth

1 Establish a physical boundary

between work and home by carving out a separate space for work, saving your bed for rest and turning off Slack in the evenings.

2 Create a schedule to provide

Working with colleagues and leaders by focusing on your human resources, acknowledging fear and anxiety and being flexible.

5 Coping with your partner

and kids means extra patience, empathy and compassion. It also requires deliberate time management and coordination to manage schedules and plan time together and time alone.

structure for your days. Try the two minute rule, immediate actions for tasks under two minutes, and the Pomodoro technique, setting a timer to manage longer tasks.

6 Create and maintain social

3 Allow space for emotional

signs of anxiety, depression and substance abuse.

processing. The 20-minute rule can give structure to big emotions: set a timer and give yourself 20 minutes to “feel” your feelings.

connection during isolation with colleagues and friends.

7 Learn how to recognize early

8 Know when and where to reach out for professional support.

The path ahead In our dynamic world, your challenge as a business owner is to anticipate and adapt to change. That’s why it’s more important than ever to look at your business from all angles. With five offices across Vancouver Island, MNP delivers straightforward business advice to help you navigate the path ahead.

Steve Wellburn, CPA, CA | steve.wellburn@mnp.ca | 250.388.6554 MNP.ca

DOUGLAS 47

How to Build an



Evolutionary Several Cascadia-based organizations are leading the way toward a world where employees are empowered to make decisions and set strategy, where everyone’s work matters and is amply valued, and where mindset counts more than skill set.

Welcome to the evolutionary organization.



In 2015, Dan Price, Seattle-based CEO of Gravity Payments, flipped standard business practice on its head when he raised minimum salaries to $70,000 per year. Price made the shift after learning one of his employees had to work a second job to make ends meet. He reduced his own salary to more equitably distribute resources among his team. Since then, revenues have soared. A senior executive from Yahoo even signed on, announcing that she had spent her entire career chasing money instead of pursuing “something fun and meaningful.” Paradigm-smashing choices like Price’s are at the centre of the work Aaron Dignan does with his organizational consultancy, The Ready. In his 2019 bestseller, Brave New Work, Dignan examines the critical differences between our old “legacy” organizational structures and the “evolutionary” organizations that are better suited to today’s economic roller coaster. These responsive companies are marked by teams that make better decisions faster, form and disband working groups fluidly, work fewer hours and get more done, set clear targets and share information transparently, and protect the planet while contributing to customer prosperity. “They use purpose, transparency and reputation to create cultures of freedom and responsibility,” writes Dignan, characterizing the evolutionary organization as people positive and complexity conscious. Here’s a look inside some local companies that are deliberately choosing to build with the future in mind. 48 DOUGLAS

Inqli

Author Clothing

A social marketplace connecting the curious to the experienced, Victoriabased Inqli democratizes access to professional networks and opportunities. Inqli operationalizes a culture of trust and autonomy through its organizational structure, recruiting, decision-making and strategy. “We don’t have to get buyin to a new strategy or process from our people,” says CEO Rebecca Kirstein Resch. “That’s because they are engaged in making key decisions and empowered by individual autonomy and by a shared sense of purpose to execute on those decisions.”

With a passion to create living-wage jobs in vulnerable communities as the foundation of its business model, North Saanich-based Author Clothing takes a different perspective on work, viewing it as a gift. “A business or organization operated in service of others is simply way more fun,” says cofounder Lee-Ann dos Santos. “Challenges are not just a threat to your bottom line but to your mission. That sense of purpose brings a different level of creativity and determination.”

TIPS FOR EVOLVING

●

Making meaningful change is complex, and staying true to your purpose at any cost is hard. Know your true north, and keep asking for help as you learn, recalibrate and integrate.

● Do the hard work of finding a purpose — a cause through which to devote yourself in service to others. You will find yourself becoming a leader in the process.

● Doing things differently requires resilience. It means signing up for constant ambiguity and uncertainty. You’re not always going to get it right. Be gentle with yourself; making mistakes in an attempt to do better is courageous work.

● Once you’re clear on your purpose, hold loosely to what that looks like. What forms out of the journey will be more exciting than what you started trying to create.

Find your clan. Naysayers abound; don’t listen to anyone who isn’t doing the work. Find people who are doing it, learn from them and share your learning. Build community around the change you seek to make. ●

● Don’t hire to fill roles. Give employees the gift of loving their work. Partner with them to find the work they would do “for free.” It may take longer. But happy people working from their gifts create a win for everyone, including customers.

‘‘

No matter where I go in the world — and my work has taken me to fifteen countries and five continents — I meet leaders and teams who are frustrated. We are all confronted with the fact that the scale and bureaucracy that once made our organizations strong are liabilities in this era of constant change. We are beset on all sides by pressure — to grow, to deliver, to execute at all costs and to do so with our arms tied behind our backs. We are being asked to invent the future but to do so inside a culture of work that is deeply broken.

Organization — AARON DIGNAN, BRAVE NEW WORK

BY ALEX VAN TOL

Futures Forward

Spotlight Trust

Work for Humanity

Futures Forward is a Victoria-based international green development company that takes a regenerative, circular, biomimicryinformed approach to co-creating inclusive, low-carbon communities. In addition to eliminating “externalities” where the public and the Earth must bear the cost of cleaning up the by-products from its work, Futures Forward also strives to create value streams from its waste. “Actually, we don’t think of it as waste but rather input for the next part of the cycle,” says founder Chad Thiessen. For Thiessen, it’s about positioning his people and watching them blossom with the knowledge that their work is making a tangible impact.

Work isn’t transactional, it’s relational — and relationships all come down to trust, say Spotlight Trust founders Lisa Lambert and Rick Kitagawa. With one partner based in Vancouver and the other in California, the duo, who also coach in Seth Godin’s altMBA program, consults with companies to build trust and efficacy. “Flexible and adaptable organizations embrace wisdom and anchor themselves in trust,” says Lambert. “This relationship-centred foundation provides formidable grounding for a resilient culture that makes it possible for the organization to effectively change directions, evolve, and navigate uncertainty and adversity.”

While Seattle-based Work for Humanity is still small, its advisory impact will be felt across the world in the coming years. Fuelled by the conviction that competent and enthusiastic learners are as valuable as impressive resumes (if not more), executive director Jennifer Gresham and her team author reports, guide experimental cohorts of change-forward businesses, and work with employers to level people up in the skills needed to navigate the 21st century. As revenue in these future-forward companies grows, so will the salaries of the employees. “In this way, we hope to transform low-wage jobs into more financially rewarding and fulfilling jobs,” says Gresham, who splits salaries equally with her team. “If we can do it at scale… it results in a stronger economy and society.”

TIPS FOR EVOLVING

If you measure and reward the things that contribute to a strong triple-bottom line, people will automatically lean into those.

●

Go beyond organizational values by making and being accountable to community agreements — a concise set of four to six clear commitments about how to show up as leaders and teammates. They involve setting clear expectations, making promises and keeping them.

● Believe in the organization you want to create. Studies show if you trust people to do the right thing, to do a great job, to innovate, that’s the organization you’ll get. If you believe people will cheat the system for their own gain, are lazy or are looking for reasons not to work, that too is the organization you will create. Mindset is key.

● Cultivate the conditions for your people to feel seen, heard, trusted and valued. Consistently show that you genuinely care — about your people, your customers, your communities, your purpose.

● Make every employee a strategic partner in your business, and pay them accordingly. Your organization can’t flourish in a fast-changing world if only a few players can make decisions. Moreover, your workers won’t be able to tap their fullest contribution if they’re worried about making ends meet.

●

● Create a clear and supportive infrastructure that allows individuals to work from a place of purpose. This delivers a highly engaged, productive workforce with a growth mindset and strong internal motivation to excel at their jobs. ● Share the wealth. Create cooperatives, employee ownership and credit union models. Even traditional corporations can share profits and decentralize leadership for better engagement and equity, and more balanced impacts.

● Celebrate your people’s strengths and empower them to share their ideas and unique perspectives so that you are evolving the organization for the better, together.

● Hire those who can hit the ground learning. Tasks, contexts and best practices change rapidly. What will put evolutionary organizations ahead of the curve is whether they have talent who know what to do… when they don’t know what to do.

DOUGLAS 49

INTEL

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

MINDSET BY ERIN SKILLEN

Connecting Through Questions Interviewing techniques used by documentary filmmakers can help a leader to get the best out of conversations with their team, encouraging authenticity and depth of communication.

Skillen’s advice to leaders draws insight from her time as a documentary filmmaker, where questions can determine the quality and depth of an interviewee’s response.

any of my days are spent helping leaders develop empathic leadership skills to support their team’s mental wellness. While the work is very different from my past as a documentary filmmaker, I’m seeing intersections that are increasingly relevant to what today’s workforce needs from its leaders. Whether it was competing in a camel race, filming illegally in Times Square or flying around the entire globe in a month, making documentaries with my team was never dull. While some reality TV shows are designed to manipulate interviewees and stir up drama, documentary interviews are different. You’re 50 DOUGLAS

creating a connection that enables the interview subject to authentically communicate their perspective and experience. The director’s voice and the questions they ask are usually edited out. It’s those questions — and the way they’re asked — that can determine the quality and depth of the response. It’s active listening in practice and here are some of the ways it’s done:

■ Location, Location, Location When planning interviews, we had to consider the potential pitfalls of a location. Is it noisy? Are there people walking in and out of the space? Is it a comfortable place for the interviewee to speak openly? If someone

is worried about being overhead or gets interrupted, they may not speak as honestly as they would if they were in a safer space. This is especially relevant if team members are working from home and have partners, children or roommates around who may be part of what’s causing them strife. Privacy is key and may require advance planning.

■ Meet Them Where They’re At Sometimes my colleagues and I would interview people who had been through something terrible. We would ask questions about that horrible time and film it, which required compassion and sensitivity. Today, our work teams are extremely fragile. They too

require empathy and kindness as they cope. Tough “stiff upper lip” style conversations won’t resonate with the majority of employees now (if they ever did). Be respectful, considerate and let them tell you what they’re experiencing and what they need.

■ Prepare but Remain Curious If you have an intention for the conversation, it can be good to have some questions planned in advance; however, simply reading them one after another is more likely to create an interrogation rather than a healthy conversation. Listening clearly means you can absorb what is being said and ask follow-up questions on the fly. This helps create a flow state for the communication that elicits more honest responses and can build a rapport. Chances are you’ll learn something that a rote, prepared list never would have discovered.

■ Demonstrate Engagement During an interview you give the subject your full attention. You can’t speak while they’re talking, but you can make eye contact, nod, smile when appropriate and maybe even take notes if they’re comfortable with it. Your facial expressions and body language clearly convey that you’re with them and they are being fully heard. Giving someone this level of engagement demonstrates that they are currently your top priority, and you’re fully focused on what they’re saying.

■ Ask Open-Ended Questions The toughest interviews are when someone is shy or nervous or just not much of a talker. “Yes” or “no” responses don’t work in most documentaries because there’s no way of knowing what the question was. In the business world, these short answers don’t give you much insight into what the team member is actually feeling or thinking. Using open-ended questions can help create the space for someone to say more in their own way. “Tell me about” is a great way to invite more in-depth responses. Sentences starting with “what” and “how” can also open up communication, while “why” and “who” can be trickier to navigate.

MONEY

“Whether it was competing in a camel race, filming illegally in Times Square or flying around the world in a month, making documentaries with my team was never dull.” Skillen saves her tips for competing in a camel race for another time.

■ Silence Can Be a Good Thing When filming, you need to leave a healthy pause after the interviewee stops speaking to ensure they are in fact done, and you don’t accidentally speak over them and ruin a take. This is very similar to virtual meetings where you’re dealing with some digital lag time. Sometimes people need a moment to

think something through before they continue speaking. Jumping in on a pause may prevent you from hearing that next well-considered thought. You may also be inadvertently signaling that their time is up and accidentally close down communication. Wait a moment before speaking and see what happens. This can also help you collect your thoughts about what you want to say, rather than filling air.

■ Remember the Big Picture It’s the director’s job to have the full story of the film in their head and collaborate to create the elements that fulfill their vision. Sometimes things go as planned and other times a single interview can change the trajectory of the story. As you listen to your team members, what are you hearing about the company, its vision and strategy? Are all of the moving parts working, or are some components sending up red flags? Start with the big picture, listen to what your team members have to say about it and then reconsider whether changes are needed to make the overall vision work. Active listening is a powerful way to improve workplace communication and allow teams to have a voice at a tough time. Leaders who listen will gain a greater understanding of their team members and their company. Competing in a camel race can teach you a lot too, but that’s a story for another time. ■ Erin Skillen is a writer, Creative + Ops at Amira Health, harried co-parent of two kids and six chickens, and co-host and producer of the new Demarried Life podcast.

BY STEVE BOKOR, CFA AND IAN DAVID CLARK, CIM CFP

Develop your financial literacy Balancing budgets in 2021 means a new financial blueprint for companies and individuals, regardless of where you fall on the spectrum of recovery.

he pandemic is a global economic shock like no other. A bifurcated recovery is emerging from the country’s pandemic-driven economic contraction. Some workers, businesses and geographic regions show signs of coming out okay or even better. The remainder are caught in a steep decline with an uncertain future ahead. The financial fallout from the coronavirus crisis is concentrated among certain groups, like minorities, lower-income earners and women. Meanwhile, others are experiencing feeling even more financially secure than they did pre-COVID, thanks to elevated cash flows directly related to working from home. Pandemic fatigue is also here, but many don’t

know what to do about it. Should we spend to quell our pent-up feelings of isolation or save for a rainy day? The economic restrictions and social distancing measures throughout the pandemic have caused major disruptions to Canadian businesses and individuals. Those disruptions are expected to have particularly large negative effects on small- and medium-sized firms, especially those tending to be concentrated in the travel and tourism-related industries. To overcome the issues you need a process (see chart on page 52). Everybody needs a certain amount of financial flexibility. The top financial priorities for 2021 should be: examining one’s spending habits, managing debt levels, followed by the creation of a budget and an

The top financial priorities for 2021 should be: examining one’s spending habits, managing debt levels, followed by the creation of a budget and an emergency fund. DOUGLAS 51

emergency fund. In order to accomplish this, you will need to develop your financial literacy. We recommend getsmarteraboutmoney.ca by the Ontario Securities Commission and the personal finance section on morningstar.ca, which provides tips, tools and calculators for managing your finances. For business owners, the pandemic has created numerous economic dislocations, but it has also brought forward a multitude of productivity-enhancing innovations and cost efficiencies for businesses, especially in the online world. For example Shopify assisted small- to medium-size businesses to reach customers in this non-face-to-face world by establishing an effective e-commerce platform for them. Food delivery platforms like DoorDash and SkipTheDishes have helped save some restaurants from going under by adapting to consumers who prefer or need to stay at home.

4 5

EXAMINE AND UNDERSTAND YOUR SPENDING HABITS

CREATE A BUDGET

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FREE AND LOWCOST ACTIVITIES

F I N A N C I A L PA N D E M I C C H E C K L I S T ANALYZE YOUR NEEDS VS WANTS

DEVELOP YOUR FINANCIAL LITERACY

2 3

IMPLEMENT AN EMERGENCY FUND

UPDATE FINANCIAL BLUEPRINTS The process for successfully navigating this new paradigm starts with updating your financial blueprints for both short- mid- and long-term goals. If you are a sole proprietor, is it time to incorporate? In the past, the answer was fairly straightforward with more tax, and other related benefits, accruing to incorporated businesses.

Unfortunately, the federal government has eliminated most of the financial advantages that were an incentive to incorporation. Between the tax on passive income over $50,000 and the cancellation of dividends to non-working family members that own shares of the corp, it seems that long-term strategies must be drastically altered for business owners.

Indeed, the first step should be to use an accountant that specializes in small- to medium- size businesses as well as a lawyer to effectively delineate the shareholder structure. This applies to new business owners as well as single proprietors contemplating a corporate reorganization. We know that many business owners are struggling in this environment, and

your world is changing, and we are too Have you heard the news? Field & Company LLP has joined Grant Thornton LLP. We’ve served the community for 90 years and look forward to continuing that longstanding tradition with the Grant Thornton family. Together, we’re bringing more to the table for our clients and our community. Under the Grant Thornton banner, you can now tap into a greater network of business advisors to help you tackle any business challenge – and stay ahead of the curve. Give us a call! We’d love to share the many ways we can help your business grow. © 2020 Grant Thornton LLP. A Canadian Member of Grant Thornton International Ltd. All rights reserved.

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while there is light at the end of the tunnel vis-à-vis vaccines, they should be talking to accountants that are well versed in all of the lifelines the government is putting out. They may not last long.

MANAGING PROFIT Then again we are also hearing about businesses that are booming like food delivery services and sanitation providers for masks, gloves and hand cleaners. Right now, you and your employees are probably being run off your feet, and unless you structure your business correctly, you could see a significant portion of profits going to Revenue Canada. Take the time to map out a strategy. The BDC has a great website (bdc.ca) for people who are thinking of starting or buying a business. Their site can answer a load of questions you might have and point you in the right direction. However, creating a blueprint and implementing strategies requires the use of other specialists. That applies for not just new businesses but for owners of longestablished companies as well. For example, if your business has a load of retained earnings attracting high tax rates, owners should look at various strategies that can offset the bite. Two in particular are worth mentioning. The first is a private health savings plan for you and employees if you are not yet offering group benefits. In effect, you can take personal medical expenses like prescriptions and dental costs through the use of a trust, convert them to a corporate expense. In addition, business owners can look at creating an executive pension plan, which can provide significant tax deferrals beyond RRSP’s. Other strategies to consider include Corporate Class mutual funds and the use of corporately held life insurance. There is no question the current healthcare crisis has caused unprecedented disruptions for business owners in general and more so for Victoria-based businesses dependent upon tourism and services. This makes it even more critical to seek out qualified professionals to help you navigate the climate we now face. With 2021unfolding, touch base with your accountant, and then seek out a certified financial planner that specializes in helping business owners map out strategies for the future. ■

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POINT OF VIEW

VICTORIA CONNECTIONS The Island is seeing more newcomers, through the booming tech sector and companies who are recruiting internationally for highly specialized skills. Remote work has also enabled people to make the choice to move to Victoria, bringing their employment from elsewhere. People place a high value on community engagement here, and there are numerous networks and meet-up groups in Victoria. Guiding newcomers into the community is something that Sue Maitland has made part of her coaching practice. What is unique about Victoria? I’ve never been into cliques — that was a part of England [where she was raised] that I didn’t like. This job market in Victoria is very much about who you know. Employers like to either know you, or know someone who knows you. And those referrals really mean a lot. They go a long way. So if you don’t know anyone here, you’re at a bit of a handicap. I advise people to take it slow. Victorians don’t overwhelm people with inviting them in for dinner right away. That would be something you do in the Maritimes, but Victorians are a little more reserved.

Why did you identify this area of need? I was meeting quite a lot of people who had not enjoyed their move. I just thought, that’s sad because I love the city so much. I wanted to give people as much information as I could — the stuff that it takes years to figure out on your own — so that they can be successful and find their people. 54 DOUGLAS

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How do you help people with this transition? I decided to put on a free information session [currently a monthly zoom meetup] called the Insider’s Guide. The document I share with participants started off as a one page guide [listing groups and networks in Victoria], and now I’m up to nearly three pages of places. There’s no one place where all these things are listed, and a lot of them are not posted. It’s me getting out there myself and networking, and then asking people, where else do you go? Sue Maitland on the steps of the Union Club, one of the many places she recommends for meeting new people, and where she hosts a new connections night.

25 YEARS AGO, WE DECIDED TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY. To establish a place of higher learning designed specifically for, and with, working professionals. To make the latest tools and techniques available to those who want to enhance their skills. And to challenge our students to approach the world with that same entrepreneurial spirit, enabling them to transform their careers, and lives, forever. Now, we’re looking forward to another 25 years, and every transformation to come.

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