In accordance with guidance from the government of British Columbia, the following policies will be in place for Connect Wealth team members and clients during Phase 2 of the B.C. Restart Plan beginning May 19, 2020. These measures may be in place for the next 12-18 months and will be revised as government regulations change.

Core Personal Measures for the “New Normal”:

1. No hand shaking.
2. Practice good hygiene (frequent hand washing with soap and water and use of hand sanitizers; avoid touching one’s face; respiratory etiquette).
3. Maintain reasonable physical distancing as much as possible and use a non-medical mask or face covering in situations where reasonable physical distancing cannot be consistently maintained. Engineering controls, such as plexiglass barriers, will be considered for front office staff.
4. If you have the symptoms of a cold, flu or Covid-19 including a cough, sneezing, runny nose, sore throat, fatigue you must stay at home. You should keep a safe distance from others in your family until those symptoms have completely disappeared.
5. Extra precautions may need to be considered for those at increased risk of a more severe illness because they are over 60 years old, or if they have compromised immune systems or underlying chronic medical conditions.

Connect Wealth Organizational Practices

1. Sick day policies: Any team members who have the symptoms of a cold, flu or Covid-19 including any coughing or sneezing should not come into the workplace. All team members will be expected to work safely at home during these illnesses as they are able or to take sick days as allocated.
2. Reducing Contact Intensity and/or Number of Contacts: The office shall not exceed 50% normal capacity on any given day or in any given area. We will assign in-office work days to accomplish this.
   1. For front-office team members, up to 3 administrative team members may be present if desks are arranged such that their workspaces are not adjacent. (3/6 desks occupied)
   2. Up to 3 of 6 advisors may work in the office on any given day.
3. Higher Levels and Frequency of Cleaning: We will require higher levels of frequent cleaning of “high touch” areas in the workplace. At Connect Wealth, these areas include the board room, the kitchen, the front office hallway ledges and the bathrooms.
   1. Any user of the boardroom will be required to wipe down all surfaces with disinfectant wipes at the end of use.
   2. All surfaces in the kitchen must be cleaned and disinfected once a day. A rotating schedule may be assigned.
   3. All bathrooms must be cleaned daily. A rotating schedule may be assigned.
   4. Front office team members will be asked to wipe the ledges at the end of each day.
   5. We will explore having the office cleaners come twice a week rather than once a week.
4. Lunch Hours: When enjoying lunch together, please maintain physical distancing and wipe down all common surfaces after eating.
5. Client Meetings:
   1. Any client meeting requests or reminders should include an offer to re-schedule the meeting if the client has any symptoms of a cold, the flu or COVID-19 (detailed symptoms above).
   2. Clients should arrive no earlier than 5 minutes before their scheduled meeting and be escorted directly to the boardroom upon arrival at the office.
   3. Only one client or family may be in the office waiting area at one time. Others should be asked to wait outside or in their vehicle.
   4. No beverages will be served to clients at the office at this time.
   5. All meetings with clients over the age of 65 must take place virtually or possibly outside at the client’s home in order to protect their health. As this is office policy, the responsibility of this decision is not placed on the advisor or client.
6. Hand sanitizer will be available at the front doors and should be used by everyone coming into the office.
7. We will explore installing plexiglass barriers in the front office if team members feel at risk when working there.

More information can be found at https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/bc-restart-plan

We value our team, our clients and their families.

We want to keep everyone safe and know that we have done all that we can to do this. Although these measures will cause inconveniences and extra work, we are committed to each other’s safety. This will not last forever.