Methanex - Listening and Learning

How Methanex is engaging employees to find sustainable solutions during – and after – the pandemic

The world is still reeling from the massive disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies had to adapt on the fly, and in many instances, implement technological solutions that had been on the drawing board but now had immediate real-world implications. As widespread availability of vaccines offer hope to a return to pre-pandemic life, companies are realising that the future of work will require a hybrid approach of the new normal and traditional office culture. Most importantly, though, they are understanding that the only successful solution will be one that involves collaboration with employees, and which seeks to bring balance between work and well-being. Methanex pays particular emphasis on employee engagement and being open to receiving feedback from employees – positive or otherwise.

Methanex has taken a lead in this consultative approach to the new business reset. From the onset of the pandemic, the company has employed channels to keep connected with employees – leveraging technology to making this work. Using virtual platforms and corporate channels, Methanex has conducted regular organisational town-halls and department meetings as well as on-line wellbeing surveys to provide continuous and open access to two-way conversations, work tools, information exchange and general support. By fostering healthy dialogue, the company benefitted from the direct input by employees, into the policies designed to keep them safe, secure, and well during this challenging period. Services extended to employees included regular health and safety briefings; resilience building workshops; access to independent expert medical advice and mental health services; flexible working times; virtual family day and team builders; virtual yoga sessions and digital tools to build and sustain community – even as the pandemic kept people physically apart. The result, according to Communications Specialist Taryn Samaroo, is a workforce that, as far as reasonably possible, was able to face the pandemic – and to journey through the transition.

The Human Element

“The shifts in the ways that employees are working are very much linked to business viability and community sustainability,” so says Ms. Samaroo, when she spoke to CSR Review. Manager Commercial and Stakeholder Relations Ms. Leiselle Harripersad reinforced this ideology - “It’s not just in an operational sense, but in a philosophical sense. When we speak of community, it’s about those who work in Methanex, our fence line neighbours and the wider society. It’s about creating a sense of togetherness and fostering meaningful partnerships.” Harripersad explains that as a Responsible Care company, Methanex is always cognisant of working in ways that improves the quality of life for all its stakeholders – internal and external.

What is becoming increasingly obvious, is that in the face of so much unpredictability fuelled by the pandemic, that companies now need to go beyond the traditional compensation and benefits arrangements, to meet the psychosocial needs of employees in a very fluid business environment. “We regularly have sessions on resilience and personal development,” says Samaroo. But, she explained, the company increased these at the height of the pandemic and has since included coaching on self-awareness and leadership for all levels of staff from frontline to senior management.

In addition to the ongoing sessions, the company had to pivot very early on into the pandemic during the Atlas Turnaround in 2020. A turnaround, on its own is no easy feat – include into the equation Covid-19 and it was a totally different ballgame. Manager Turnaround, Mr. Theron Alexis noted that “The company’s top priority never changed – safety, however there were now several additional layers of personal safety that had to be swiftly and effectively addressed.”

Methanex relied on the power of agility to implement health guidelines, policies and procedures. With global guidance and support, technological solutions were implemented to conduct remote (international) assistance during the turnaround, pandemic protocols and Covid-19 Safe at Work guidelines were mandated, detailed Risk Assessments were regularly conducted and of course, via Employee Assistance Programmes - wellbeing services were provided to all staff and contractors for the duration of the project. With the proper planning, a one-team approach to safety and reliability, and a consistent focus on people - the Atlas turnaround was concluded in November 2020 without a single Covid-19 case contracted on site.

Wellbeing and two-way communication are recurrent themes within Methanex. They set the stage for collaboration and innovation and continues to play a fundamental role in the way in which the company meaningfully responds to change.

Into the Community

Methanex’s distinctive “collaborative leadership” leadership by collaboration also governs its CSR footprint. Employees and stakeholder groups have a say in how CSR is delivered in the local community. Methanex operates in the Couva/Point Lisas area, and it is grateful for the acceptance and support it receives from the local community. As such, the company makes it a point to reach out to the community, by facilitating frequent and meaningful discussions on ways to best engage positively. Community engagement is not ad hoc or nice to do at Methanex. The company measures the impact of its CSR investment programmes and audits its social performance. This requires input from representative community groups who form a Community Advisory Panel, and who advise on the best or most relevant programmes needed by the community. Every three or so years, the panel is refreshed. The panel comprises diverse persons such as teachers, coaches, religious leaders, businessmen – people who know the area well and who all submit to a background check by an independent agency. One such person is Mr. Keith Williams, who coaches a community-based football group targeting persons within the 12–18-year-old age group. This interaction gives him access to the needs and priorities of this subsection. Teachers provide insight into educational needs, and religious leaders into some of the psychological and social needs of the community. Collectively, the information feeds into the annual CSR strategy of the company. .

Adapting and Evolving CSR

CSR strategy is integrated into the way Methanex does business and to its culture of ‘Responsible Care’. The company subscribes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) as part of its blueprint for sustainable practices and that is now a feature of how people work and how that work is done. The company’s flagship community outreach programme, Mentoring Our Children, is the brainchild of an employee who has since retired but remains part of the programme. The programme which runs every two years, pairs 15-20 Methanex employee mentors with about 25 mentees who are students from the neighbouring six high schools in the host community. Employees volunteer their time – weekends and holidays included – to spend time with their charges, helping them with homework, sharing their experiences, or just being there to listen. There is a learning element as the company promotes STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) subjects, especially for girls, and also emphasises life skills, resilience and motivation, however, with COVID-19, the programme has had to adapt. Meetings and mentorship have moved online, with new virtual activities, like an online robotics class, but, Samaroo noted, that hasn’t stopped the impact and the bond between mentor and mentee. “We’re still doing the normal classroom meetups and mentorships in the evenings, just now over WhatsApp or social media. We’ve learned that we must adapt. We challenge ourselves to think and engage in new ways of working that maintain growth and development without compromising the human element”. And it doesn’t just stop after the two years – some of the mentees even go on to apply to Methanex’s graduate programmes.

Looking to the Future

Methanex is now looking at ways to incorporate a hybrid strategy as the company adapts to a post-pandemic world. And listening and learning from all its stakeholders – especially its human capital – is fundamental to purpose-driven growth. According to Manger Human Resources Mr. Adrian Vincent “It’s going to be flexible. That’s something that was always in the cards. We’ve really seen how and where employees need support – for example, we have a younger workforce, many with small children or teens in high school who have been doing online classes for almost 2 years. We must be cognisant of that.” During this time, the company has invested in upgrading its information communication technology systems, including cyber-security, to keep people connected even when they are out of office. And for those who have to work from home, it is also about open lines of communication between employees and managers. But the company isn’t discounting the value of the personal touch – even in an age of social distancing. As Vincent shared, “We like that our employees can connect to each other globally, but we would still – when we can do so safely – like to have that faceto-face interaction. So, we look forward to also being able to get employees back travelling to meetings, international assignments and site visits as these are all useful experiences in their personal and professional development.”

Responsible Care is also making sure employees have accurate information to make personal choices, especially as the country encourages people to get vaccinated to reopen the economy. For Methanex it’s about dialogue and access to information. Facilitation of this two-way communication enrols employees and contractors into making choices that keep the organisational plan operating rather than receiving a directive. The company added COVID-19 information to its Employee Assistance Programme, and shared statistics, official updates and scientific articles, tips to stay safe and data on the internal network, as well as held town hall meetings where everyone had a chance to ask medical professionals about COVID-19 concerns. The company also enlisted the support of Dr Maryam Abdool-Richards, the Principal Medical Officer who participated in an internal virtual meeting and answered any follow-up questions. Externally, Methanex hosted its first public live event in August 2021 whereby members of the community were invited to participate in a COVID-19 information sharing session hosted by a live panel of experts in the medical and mental health fields. Methanex then went a step further by (1) facilitating in-house vaccinations to employees, contractors, and their families at the company’s Medical Centre on site, (2) sponsoring vaccines for the wider community via the Point Lisas Energy Association and (3) providing volunteers to the Ato Boldon Mass Vaccination site in September 2021.

The approach has been working well. Today many of the employees have voluntarily participated in the national Covid-19 vaccination programme and have met the company at the table to engage in open conversation about the pandemic, its impact, and the way forward. This speaks powerfully to Methanex’s philosophy of inclusion and collaboration – that leadership is not top-down but driven by all the people who work for the organisation.

Methanex employees Recycle to Restore at the company’s August 2021 Team Builder activity titled Restoration Station.