Working Through

the 2011

Postal Disruption • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Ron Andrews

Business Continuity Specialist

January, 2012

Timeline Overview

Canada Post

° January 31, 2011 - Contract expiration for 55, 000 carriers

° May 25th - Legal strike position as at 12:01 a.m.

° May 28th - First possible strike date with 72 hour rule

° June 2nd - Rotating strikes announced – Winnipeg first

° June 14th - Canada Post announces employee lockout

° June 15th - Federal government “back to work” news items

° June 20th - Legislation tabled in the House

° June 27th - Return to work – arbitrator appointed

° July 2011- Canada Post acknowledges mail backlog

Timeline Overview

Manitoba Government

° Jan 7th - MIT announces lead role, “essential mail” definition

and requests contingency plans and reps from other

departments

° Jan 10th - Manitoba opts out of CUPW one day/ week mail

delivery offer

° May 10th - Resumption of MIT lead working group, weekly,

to; share departmental updates and plans, inform of mail

distribution sites, resource these sites, troubleshoot and to

prepare communications

° May/ June - Continuation of MIT mail distribution sites,

resourcing sites and government communications to public

Timeline Overview

Family Services

° Jan 10th - Family Services (FS) forms inter-divisional

Working Group

° Jan/ Feb - Essential mail template revised – info plotted

° April 13th - FS meets with Canada Post management on mail

re-routing due to spring flood

° April 20th - FS continuity, executive and senior EIA staff plan

for the effects of a strike on all possible service recipients

° April 27th - FS staff plan for effect on child welfare agencies

° April 28th - Essential Mail information and contingencies

completed

° April 29th - Winnipeg and rural and northern alternate mail

distribution and pick up sites confirmed

Timeline Overview

Family Services

° May 6th - FS group re-confirms cheque printing, distribution

and pick up timelines

° May 17th - EIA advances cheque run from May 20th in view

of contingency plan (repeated in June)

° May 18th - FS Incident Command becomes daily mail

distribution site for Winnipeg and rural and northern areas

° May 19th - Additional resources for Aboriginal Centre (Wpg.)

° May 20th - Fourth communications update to dept.

° May 25th - Courier runs begin until strike ends

° June 1st - All contingency mail plans re-assessed and

revised where necessary

Working Through the Disruption

• Mapping

° Essential/ Non-essential

° Determining Service Priorities

• Assessing Impact

° 5 W’s

° Implications

• Contingency Planning

° Reaching Out

° Duplicating Business Lines

° Communications

Working Through the Disruption

• Resourcing

ₒ Staff

ₒ Technology

ₒ Supplies

• Managing Expectations

ₒ Executive, management, staff and collaterals

ₒ Service Participants and General Public

• Troubleshooting

ₒ Adaptability

ₒ Competency

Risk Mitigation & Preparedness

• The Benefit of History

° Previous strikes

° Templates

° Experienced staff

• The Benefit of Technology

° Communication scope and impact

° Direct deposit/ e-payments

• The Benefit of Being Large

° Re-purposing assets

° Redirecting staff

Response & Recovery

• The Benefit of Incident Command

° Dedicated resources

° Locus of control

° Senior, knowledgeable staff

• The Benefit of Public Sympathy

° Patience

° Allowance for error

What Worked Well

• Lead Department Coordination

ₒ MIT and use of existing government assets

ₒ Refining the response to essential mail

• Family Services Inter-divisional Group

ₒ Senior decision makers

ₒ Ability to direct actions and resources quickly

• Moving Up Payment Timelines

ₒ Cheques in offices for pick up/ delivery

ₒ No service recipient left behind

What Worked Well

• Provincial Mail Distribution Sites

ₒ Reaching all provincial areas

ₒ Assigned staff responsible for mail distribution at sites

• Cheque Sorting

ₒ Use of Incident Command as sorting and distribution station

ₒ Ability to refine delivery timelines and methods

• Courier Runs

ₒ Dependability - cheques in offices when expected

ₒ Ability to track movement

What Proved Challenging

• Extended Hours and some Community Locations

ₒ Tuesday &Thursdays evenings underused

ₒ Winnipeg - Aboriginal Centre underused

• Security

ₒ Orienting staff that rotated throughout locations

• Corporate Communications and Media Releases

ₒ Timelines for print/ media ads

ₒ Use of language and interpretation of meaning

ₒ Radio – message accuracy

ₒ The ability to offer timely updates during the response

What Proved Challenging

• Spring Flood

ₒ FS staff already engaged in emergency flood response

ₒ Need to involve/ train others in mail contingencies

• Cheques

ₒ Similar cheques for different programs

ₒ Distinctions and coding

• Ready IT Assets

ₒ Laptops with VPN ability for community mail sites

ₒ Staff familiar with the technology

Lessons Learned

• Knowing Service Lines and Complexities

ₒ Business line inter-dependencies

ₒ “The Devil is in the details”

• Messaging and Media Management

ₒ Accuracy, repetition and reinforcement

ₒ Political considerations

• Future Proofing Disruptions

ₒ Planning early and often

ₒ Communicating early and often

ₒ Expecting the unexpected

ₒ Remaining flexible and responsive