DO B CORPS TREAT THEIR EMPLOYEES BETTER DURING TIMES OF CRISIS?

In the last several weeks, COVID-19 has disrupted communities across Canada with business closures and physical distancing orders. With these measures lasting for an indefinite period of time, businesses face the challenge of making their runway last as long as possible — resulting in job losses for many Canadians. Meanwhile, workers considered essential, like healthcare providers and grocery store workers, risk potential contact with the virus every day.

In a time of difficult decisions, B Corps across Canada are focused on living out the values that helped them earn the rigorous certification in the first place, and working to create safe and healthy environments for their employees. 

To be certified as a B Corp, companies must receive a score of at least 80 out of 200, calculated based on their social impact in five areas: workers, community, customers, environment and governance. In the workers category, B Corp evaluates whether companies pay fair wages, provide adequate health benefits, and consistently support professional development.

Thanks to this foundation, for many, the transition to a new workplace in the age of COVID-19 wasn’t difficult. 

In a time of difficult decisions, B Corps across Canada are focused on living out the values that helped them earn the rigorous certification in the first place

“I think it really prepared us,” said Shawn Young, CEO of Sherbrooke, Quebec-based Classcraft, a 45-person company that builds games for students from kindergarten to high school to help them be more engaged in education. “We already had a bunch of stuff in place that made it a lot easier than other companies.”

With employees based in both Sherbrooke and New York, and having adopted the B Corp mindset, the company already had remote processes in place to help all employees feel valued, even from a distance. In the midst of COVID-19, the company has ramped up virtual, company-wide socials, like ‘happy hours’ for staff to connect with one another, and spearheads informal challenges among employees — like virtual fitness challenges — to keep morale up. 

The company is allowing parents to work on a flexible schedule to account for their at-home child care situation, and its U.S. employees are already covered under Classcraft’s existing health benefits package. 

“We already had flexible hours, we already had a peer recognition system, we already had check-ins where we shared successes, and we already had really good health benefits and [gave] everybody a nice computer to work with,” Young said. “Our company values are more relevant than ever right now.”

B Corps that provide essential services are taking extra precautions to protect their workers physically, too. 

“There’s nothing specific B Corp has stipulated us to do, but [it makes it] a natural priority for us to look at ways that we can make our employees as comfortable as possible,” said Husein Rahemtulla, CEO of Vancouver-based Fresh Prep, which sells meal kits that prioritize local ingredients. Fresh Prep, which has 341 part-time and full-time employees, provides those who assemble orders for customers, with smocks, hairnets, disposable gloves and sleeve protectors. Additional break rooms in the production facility also give employees room for social distancing. 

Delivery drivers who must take sick time off don’t need to worry about losing income as contractors. Fresh Prep has set aside money to pay a full two weeks salary for any delivery employee who gets sick. Drivers will also receive raises — a $1 raise on their hourly $17, and an additional 30 cents per kilometre. For on-site supervisors and managers, the company is offering a monthly bonus. 

In the future, Fresh Prep is exploring car rentals for employees who can drive to work, but don’t own a car, as a way to help them avoid public transit. 

B-Corps are also tackling the mental health challenges emerging out of the crisis. In Calgary, MobSquad, which helps developers outside North America navigate immigration processes to find tech work in the U.S. and Canada, has a unique challenge.

Its nearly 20 full-time developers are all immigrants facing an unprecedented health crisis in a new country, leading to added stress. MobSquad’s community experience manager checks in with each member of the team daily to see if they need additional support, while CEO Irfhan Rawji hosts weekly Zoom calls to keep everyone updated transparently on the business.

“They already have a level of anxiety around being new to the country,” said Rawji.  “So we have to be particularly vigilant to make sure that they’re getting the right level of support.”

“Our company values are more relevant than ever right now.”

The company culture that naturally developed out of its social mission — taking care of each other — also shows up in how the team contributes informally; Rawji learned one of his employees delivered groceries to the door of a coworker who wasn’t comfortable going outside, for instance. 

In at least one case, employers have made this kind of mutual aid among employees mandatory. At the Sunshine Coast Health Centre, an addiction treatment centre in Powell River, B.C., non-medical staff have been assigned to pick up groceries for those who have direct contact with clients, such as health workers and housekeepers. Meanwhile, the health centre itself is providing personal shopping services to all staff, in order to reduce their exposure to the public. 

Many companies have stepped in to help their communities, from shifting to medical equipment manufacturing, supporting fellow local businesses and implementing measures to keep customers safe. For B Corps, taking care of the employees making that happen is a central part of that equation. 

“I want them to be able to look at us in the eye and know we really care,” said Rawji. 

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