Elaine Grace and her fellow Stryker Canada ULC employees are on the front line – virtually and literally – in the battle against COVID-19, even giving their own blood to help fight the pandemic. But when you work for a company whose mission is to make healthcare better, going that extra mile is in your veins.
“Our mission really stands out more now than it ever did because of this pandemic. It’s really opened our eyes to what we do and how important every single role is here no matter what it is,” says Grace, inbound team lead materials at Stryker’s Waterdown, Ont., distribution centre.
“Pandemic or not, our business has to continue in a safe manner. It was it was never an option to close our doors.”
Stryker Canada is headquartered in Hamilton, Ont., and has over 600 fulltime employees across Canada. It’s part of the larger Stryker group, one of the world’s leading medical technology companies, offering innovative products and services in orthopedics, medical and surgical, neuro-technology and spine treatments. By its very nature, the company helps in the fight against COVID-19.
Pre-pandemic, the company culture was close-knit and team-oriented. Employees’ views and ideas were valued and implemented. Some of that feedback was provided by employee resource groups like the Stryker Women’s Network, Stryker’s Allies for Equality and Stryker Black Alliance Network.
While the way they connect has changed due to COVID-19, the company and its employees continue their constant communication, working on internal and external relationship-building, continuing mentorship and other development programs, promoting work-life balance and supporting community programs like blood donor clinics.
“Pre-pandemic, we partnered with Canada Blood Services so people could give blood and do our part to ensure there wasn’t a shortage,” says Lindsay Williams, Stryker’s senior director government affairs.
“We couldn’t continue at first, at the beginning of the pandemic, but when it emerged we could, we encouraged our people to do that. They’re proud of that contribution and that’s just one example of our employees’ community engagement across Canada.”
Stryker has always had a strong suite of employee benefits, including 26 weeks of maternity leave top-up pay, up to six weeks of vacation allowance and extensive health benefits. That’s all still in place, but when the pandemic hit, it was corporate culture to go above and beyond even that.
Employees were given two paid weeks off to allow for family/life transition. Office employees were allowed to take home their equipment, including their computers, to set up remote office spaces. In Grace’s warehouse, personal protective equipment was issued, masks were mandatory before provincial guidelines mandated them and shifts were changed to reduce the number of employees in the distribution centre at any one time.
Out in the field, representatives who had in the past been present in operating rooms to guide healthcare professions in using new technologies found ways to adapt.
“They had to do a lot of that virtually. Sometimes a crisis spawns innovation, so there was a lot of camera virtual guidance, talking over an iPhone and using embedded cameras to watch what was happening in the surgery,” says Williams.
While activities like weekly get-togethers and social events have gone virtual, Stryker employees continue to find original ways to keep connected and positive. “Our well-being committee set up a team site where people can sing music to each other. They even write songs and it really helps with your mental well-being,” says Grace. “We’re like one little small family. It’s my second family – I have my family at home, but I also have my family here at Stryker.”
