1.2 Staff Wellness to Support Student Wellness

    Welcome to the Louis Riel School Division’s Multi-Year Strategic Plan (MYSP) 2023-27 action pages. For each strategic action, we are diligently taking steps to achieve our goals. Together, these goals strive to create the best possible educational environment for students, staff, and community. On these pages, you will find answers to two key questions: What have we done so far? And where do we plan to be by 2027?

    What have we done so far? 

    • Refined our current Workplace Safety and Health Program. 
    • Engaged in regular consultations with the divisional Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) committee. 
    • Partnered with Well at Work by EdCan to evaluate the psychological state of our staff, set baseline data, and inform next steps. 
      • Reviewed Employee Assistance Program (EAP) data for non-teaching staff and Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Manitoba data to inform the decision to pursue Well at Work. Member and Family Assistance Program data is not available to us. 
      • Facilitated participation of more than 2,000 staff in the Guarding Minds at Work survey in February & March 2024.  
      • Conducted one-on-one employee interviews with our Well at Work Advisor in November and December 2024, to gain deeper perspectives on issues affecting well-being.   
      • Collaborated with the Leadership Team and Board to explore Guarding Minds and Well at Work on a national level to support next steps. 
    • Added additional resources to the “Wellness Resources” section of My Site and promoted them in the divisional newsletters to staff. 
    • Promoted the Member and Family Assistance Program (MFAP) for teachers and Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for non-teaching staff in the divisional newsletters and in any labour relations meetings or communications from Staff Services. 
    • Moved the Employee Incident Reporting system online, increasing access, transparency, and data analysis. 
    • Drafted a communication policy to support work-life balance. 
    • Provided annual training via Smarter U, including Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) and Managing Conflict, to increase accessibility.  
    • Drafted an Attendance Support Program, recognizing early intervention as an effective strategy to promote employee wellness. 
    • Recognized all retiring employees online in December and June to celebrate with the broader community opposed to just administrative staff. 

    Where do we plan to be by 2027? 

    • Develop a robust, data-informed Workplace Safety and Health Program that not only promotes and supports employee physical safety and health, but psychological safety and health.
    • Use concrete next steps drawn from the Guarding Minds survey.
    • Determine concrete wellness measures. 
    • Provide ongoing leadership training. 
    • Conduct employee awareness campaigns.
    • Gather and incorporate union feedback. 
    • Review the benefits plan. 
    • Maintain and strengthen our partnership with Well at Work by EdCan, implementing a schedule to administer the Guarding Minds survey every four years. 
    • Strengthen collaboration with our benefits providers (including but not limited to MTS Disability, Blue Cross). 
    • Develop and revise policies as needed. 
    • Implement and promote the Communication policy.
    • Attendance Support Program implemented and followed.
    • Further develop staff recognition opportunities beyond retirement announcements (e.g., board meeting presentations, broader promotion of Trustee and Senior Leadership Team news, recognition programs). 
    • Remove barriers and increase access to members of the Staff Services (e.g., introduce paperless leave forms for easier tracking and shorter response times).