COVID Policy and Protocol for Attendance at the RE/MAX of Nanaimo Office

Posted COVID-19 Safety Plan December 1, 2020

COVID-19 could be introduced to our workplace from a number of sources including:

• Staff
• Delivery people and suppliers
• REALTORS
• Clients/Visitors/Guests

Every person with exposure to outside elements has the potential to introduce COVID-19 into our workplace.

There are some constants to be considered with this plan.

• Sanitizing supplies are on hand at all times. Near reception, outside the front door, in spots around the

  offices, and in bathrooms.

• We have supplied staff with reusable/washable masks, and gloves will be onsite.
• We have paper masks at reception for clients who do not have one with them and wish to visit the office.
• We recommend that REALTORS, staff wear masks whenever in public before and after work, and

  REALTORS in their day-to-day activities such as showing homes and meeting/communicating with clients

• Encourage considerate behavior and respectful distancing when moving around the offices.

o Use “rules of the road”, the first person in a hallway has the “right of way”.

• We encourage all staff and REALTORS® to de-clutter and clean their workspaces regularly.
• We respectfully will ask REALTORS to avoid all face-to-face contact with staff for the foreseeable future.
  • Please avoid entering staff work areas and,
  • Please use phone or email options.

• Staff, please qualify yourself and avoid the office if;

• COVID-19 symptoms are evident (awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test), o Travel outside of Vancouver Island has taken place in the last 14 days,
• You are exposed to persons confirmed to have COVID-19.

• REALTORS, we require you and your clients avoid the office if;

• • COVID-19 symptoms are evident (awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test), o You are exposed to persons who are confirmed to have COVID-19.
• REALTORS, we would recommend you and your clients avoid the office if you have travelled off Vancouver Island in the last 14 days.
• All REALTORS and Staff must avoid the office and self-isolate if they have travelled outside Canada in the last 14 days or have been exposed to a person with COVID-19.
• There will be no in-person sales meetings or training events until further notice, however regular weekly meetings and training continue virtually through the Facebook Insider and ZOOM.
• REALTORS® should use and employ the resources provided by the BCREA, RECBC and Worksafe BC to operate in a safe, and considerate manner.

o https://www.recbc.ca/professionals/knowledge-base/articles/trading-services-and-covid-19 o https://www.bcrea.bc.ca/practice-tips/covid-19-resources-for-realtors/
o https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/covid-19-updates/covid-19-returning-safe-operation/real-estate
• We have put up reminder posters throughout the office;

o Please wear a mask in all common areas,
o Please do not enter a staff workspace,
o Please DO NOT leave dirty dishes in sinks or on counters, o Please wash your hands regularly,
o Please take the time to sanitize an area you have entered.

• Office cleaners are on regular schedule,

Floor Duty

During this time, as it is critical to avoid non-essential travel, and so many are actively trying to work from home, we would encourage REALTORS to complete floor duty remotely. If a floor duty lead enters an office, a REALTOR who is on site will be asked to manage that lead. This change to floor duty requirements is temporary until it makes sense to require floor duty personnel to be in the office.

Communications

• Staff are informed of next steps in our policies and safety plans at the earliest practicable time. We will employ verbal, and written updates as they apply.
• REALTORS will be informed of any changes at the sales meeting and by company memos.
• We will provide reminders of “good” prevention behaviours and our policies to staff and REALTORS

  regularly.

• We encourage dialogue around “next steps” from staff and REALTORS. If you have suggestions or

  recommendations, please share them with the leadership team.

• We will continue to do regular “check-ins” with staff and REALTORS. How are we doing?

  Office Hours

Staffing

o 8:30am-5:00pm Monday to Friday o 9:00am-4:00pm Saturday
o Closed Sunday

Each staff member will be required to complete and initial the daily “Self-assessment Checklist: required under the Public Health Order.
We have renewed our commitment to staff by reducing the numbers in our main conveyance office, and continuing to maintain isolated offices or distance for;

Conveyance (2 only)

Accounting,
Bonny
Erin

Tom
Agent Services (Graphics and IT)
Plexiglass shields in place at reception in main office and property management.
There are posters on doors requesting no face-to-face contact and providing alternate contact information.
If you require the assistance of IT to address hardware issues, they will make arrangements with you to either;

1. Deliver the hardware to the IT office in a drop-off manner which is safe and secure,

2. Make arrangement to visit your office with you either vacating or spacing (at their request) while the work is underway.

Staff locations have been affixed with a cord blocking the entrance to remind others that this is an isolated work area.
**All staff are providing all services to our REALTORS, but still minimizing direct contact where possible.

Fighting Bacteria

Reception Staff are adhering to the following disinfecting in all offices throughout the day:

• Copier keypads,
• Phones in common areas,
• Keyboards on common area computers,
• Door handles, counterspace on client rooms,
• kitchens & bathrooms.
  

  Washrooms

  Upstairs women’s washroom and 1 downstairs women’s washroom are isolated for staff use only. We have posters place in each washroom and posters to encourage above average hand washing.

  Kitchen

  Is operational, but on a user-clean basis. We ask that every person conscientiously clean up after themselves, and that NO dirty dishes are left for another person to have to handle.

  Communications

• Offices are open to the public with posters asking that face masks be worn in common areas.
• REALTORS® are able to access their offices, with communication and agreements in shared offices

  regarding expectations and access times to accommodate one another.

• Client rooms are available to use.

o We would ask that REALTORS® are on site to accompany any clients while they are in the offices.

• REALTORS® should ask reception for spray cleaner to wipe down room when finished with it.
• We would ask that REALTORS® not use the client rooms for general work at this time, but rather use the

  common areas in each office for this purpose. Remembering to employ proper social distancing.

• We recommend REALTORS follow the suggestions of VIREB, the BCREA, CREA and the RECBC by not

  hosting open houses and using virtual means for clients whenever possible at this time

• No large gatherings (sales meetings and training sessions) until further notice.
  

  Contact Tracing

  Reception at each office to track REALTOR® traffic into the offices each day.
  Client contact information MUST be provided if entering office (name/date/phone).
  ***If we become aware of any person who has been infected, and was in any of the offices;

• We will advise each person in the office AFTER the party deemed to have been infected was,
• We will advise cleaners and have them do a “special clean” of common areas and washrooms,
• We will reassess current office situation to determine if;

o Further restrictions need to be imposed,
o Staff or REALTORS need to isolate for 14 days if exposed,Any other extraordinary measures need

• Any affiliate, staff member, or REALTOR® of RE/MAX of Nanaimo who has tested positive for COVID-19, or who is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 should advise a leadership team member immediately and NOT enter the offices.

Managing Brokers

Tom Garvey available by phone/email/text/zoom.
We would respectfully request NO unscheduled meetings if avoidable please. We would request that Managing Broker contact be limited to phone, email, text or zoom whenever possible. Please always Touchbase the Managing Broker first and they will call be as soon as possible.

Illness

In the event that staff are uncertain of their health, they must consult with the Managing Broker to determine;

• whether it is safe to enter the workspace,
• what conditions must be placed upon them,
• and for how long.

  We are encouraging staff and REALTORS who present with symptoms to be tested for COVID-19.
  We are trusting staff and REALTORS to be responsible for their health and the health of all who are around them. If you are presenting with symptoms, please do not come into the offices.
  Each REALTOR will be required to complete and initial the daily “Self-assessment Checklist: required under the Public Health Order.

  The BC CDC lists the following as symptoms of COVID-19 and provide a self-assessment tool at https://bc.thrive.health/covid19/en;

Travel

Any staff member who has travelled outside of Vancouver Island will be asked to work in an isolated workspace for 14 days, or until results of a COVID test confirm they are negative for the virus.
Likewise, we would recommend that any REALTOR or their clients who have travelled outside of Vancouver Island NOT enter the offices until they have completed a 14-day isolation or can confirm with the results of a COVID test that they are negative for the virus.

We strongly encourage all REALTORS and Staff to regard the request of the Provincial Government to limit themselves to essential travel only.

Preparations

We are constantly engaging in a risk assessment of our office spaces and staffing to avoid COVID-19 infections spreading.

For the remainder of 2020, we must consider the steps necessary to reduce the potential spread of COVID-19 to our REALTORS, Clients and Staff. If necessary, the leadership team will consider the following steps if case numbers continue to climb;

• Weekly email COVID updates from Charlie
• Close the kitchen including availability of coffee and tea,
• Isolate some washrooms for staff use only,
• Further isolate staff in safe working spheres,
• Consider a redeployment of staff to “at home” work environments,
• Limit client appointments in the office to scheduled appointments only,
• Close doors to deliveries (packages to be left outside),
• Restrict public visits and other brokerage REALTORS to “by appointment only” scenarios requiring direct

  supervision,

• Ask REALTORS to work from home when possible,
• Require REALTORS travelling off Vancouver Island to refrain from visiting our offices,

  We will only close our offices entirely if the Provincial Government requires us to do so, or we deem it no longer safe to REALTORS, Staff and clients to enter at all.

  We continue to monitor the Public Health Advisories provided by the Province of British Columbia, and monitor the statistics at http://covid-19.bccdc.ca/ for up to date information and guidance.

  Any questions or concerns regarding this document can be directed to any member of the RE/MAX of Nanaimo Leadership Team, or General Manager Justus Edmundson.

  Available COVID-19 Resources:

  WorkSafeBC:
  – COVID-19 information and resources: https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/covid-19-updates
  – Preventing exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace A guide for employers: https://www.worksafebc.com/en/resources/about-us/guides/preventing-exposure-to-covid-19-in-the- workplace?lang=en
  – Guide to reducing the risk of COVID-19: https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/covid-19-updates/covid- 19-returning-safe-operation
  – COVID-19 Safety Plan template: https://www.worksafebc.com/en/resources/health-safety/checklist/covid-19- safety-plan?lang=en
  Government of BC:
  – BC’s Restart Plan: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response- recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/bc-restartplan
  – COVID-19 Orders, Notices & Guidance: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care- system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/current- healthtopics/covid-19-novel-coronavirus

– Managing COVID-19 Stress, Anxiety & Depression: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/managing- your-health/mental-health-substance-use/managing-covid-stress
Other:
– BC Centre for Disease Control: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19

– HealthLink BC: https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/
– Canadian Mental Health Association Stay Well in Uncertain Times: https://cmha.bc.ca/covid-19/
-Province of BC Restrictions: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response- recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/restrictions

December 1, 2020

Phone 250.751-1223 fax 250.751-1300 1-5140 Metral Drive, Nanaimo BC V9T 2K8