Virus Vigilantes: Emterra’s Efforts in the Fight Against COVID-19 and the Importance of Leading with Compassion

December 16, 2020

“Hello Virus Vigilantes!” This is how our company-wide, weekly pandemic emails start these days. Our team has been fighting the fight for nine long months with three guiding principles: Calm, Care, and Continuity.

It was clear from day one that ‘business as usual’ would not be an option. As an essential service with 1,100 employees across 30 locations and two countries, we knew instantly that we would need to take swift action to protect the safety and welfare of our workers. While our efforts have been efficacious and steady, the threat of COVID-19 impacting our workforce continues to take precedence in our minds and actions on a daily basis.

In March, we put in place a Pandemic Action Committee led by our Director of Human Resources, Taura Caroscio, that involved leaders across our organization from health and safety, risk management, communications, executive and operations leadership. Our efforts include implementing daily workplace screenings, mandatory masks, staggered breaks, and physical distancing measures at all facilities and offices, as well as a weekly newsletter to employees and managers covering topics ranging from public health announcements and mitigating measures, to tips on healthy living that include a focus on mental health. “If we hadn’t jumped on this when we did, if we didn’t implement mitigating strategies, if we didn’t have manager and employee buy-in, we would be in a very different place right now,” says Taura.

Taura Caroscio is one of the strong female leaders in Emterra’s senior management team who have led with care and humility throughout this pandemic. Our diverse team of leaders across the organization have been decisive in their actions to keep employees safe at all levels while acting with authenticity and compassion – qualities that have been tied to female-led countries with the strongest initial response to the global crisis. As Emmie Leung, CEO and Founder of Emterra, has said, “It is with our resilience, resourcefulness, and dedication that we are able to stay calm, take care of one another, and continue our business.”

Our workplace has and will continue to change, and be noticeably different than before. Our proactivity and dedication have communicated to our customers that they can rest assured they will receive reliable and continuous service from all of our business divisions, while our employees can take comfort in knowing that their health and safety is Emterra’s top priority.

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