Realize and COVID-19: An Open Letter From Our CEO

It is currently a challenging and nebulous time for both the world and Canada, and we want to update everyone to maintain transparency and clarity with our Realize Strategies community. Our entire Realize team is committed to doing our part to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. The health and safety of our staff, clients, partners, and community is our top priority, along with delivering top-quality insights and results.

Realize will remain open and in operation with the majority of our staff working remotely for the next few weeks. We will work with our clients and partners to hold any scheduled in-person meetings electronically or defer them until further notice if necessary. We are closely monitoring the status of the outbreak and will continuously adapt our practices to follow the guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO), Government of Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), provincial government, and local health authorities.

Here’s what we are doing to ensure Realize remains a safe work environment:

• Cleaning: We have enhanced our existing hygiene and health practices, including frequent additional disinfecting and sanitizing throughout our office and in particular high-touch areas.
• Remote Work: Realize has operated with a flexible work from home policy and provided the infrastructure to allow for successful remote work for many years. As we listen to updates regarding the overall Canadian situation, our projects and work will continue as normal and all staff can be reached through email during regular business hours.
• Illness: We have implemented an illness policy asking that staff who feel ill or display symptoms (including fever, cough, or sore throat) do not enter the office. Additionally, any staff who have recently travelled to high-risk locations or otherwise come into contact with those displaying symptoms similar to COVID-19 are to disclose this to the team immediately so that proper testing and precautions can take place.
• Travel Policy: All work-related travel for our staff has been eliminated. We ask that any staff member who has recently visited any location outside of Canada to disclose their travel to the team and monitor their symptoms closely. Any staff member who chooses to travel to high-risk locations (as determined by the Canadian Government) are asked to disclose their travel to our team, Public Health Canada, and to adhere to a 14-day period of self-quarantine upon their return to Canada.

During these times of uncertainty, we remain proud and positive in knowing that Realize’s progressive and adaptive approach has equipped us with the ability to not only to cope with change but to also serve as an example of resilient and adaptive practices. We will continue to be proactive in our efforts and would like to thank our entire Realize community – our staff, clients, partners, and friends – for supporting each other during this time.

Keep an eye on our blog for any subsequent updates, and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any concerns.

Sincerely,
John Kay
CEO