By Mike Sullivan, President, Utility Safety Partners
In 2019, Utility Safety Partners, then operating under Alberta One-Call Corporation, began seeking new office space. “The number of employees had been organically reducing over time as more locate requests were originating on the web, and we had updated our work policy permitting more personnel to work remotely,” said operations director, Sher Kirk.
Alberta One-Call truly was accomplishing more with less. Our Contact Centre services had expanded to Manitoba and Saskatchewan and yet, the number of agents required to provide those services was reducing. In addition, the nature of the work was changing. “Agents were doing less ‘phone’ work and far more assistance work through our chat channels and responding to inquiries submitted through info@utilitysafety.ca."
We secured new office space a short distance away; reducing our footprint by approximately 10,000 square feet; and, in Calgary’s unfortunate office space market, our five-year lease included one year of free rent. We moved in December 1, 2019.
Oh how things were about to change.
In the weeks that followed, news began to emerge of a severely contagious respiratory virus. Within a few short months, the words “global pandemic” began headlining all news sources. We watched, waited, and braced ourselves for what was about to come — and three and a half months after moving into our fresh new office space, we left. It was March 15, 2020.
At the time, everyone figured we would be back in a few weeks. Maybe a month. Regardless, we were ready. Our core services had been working remotely for quite some time so in that respect, it was business as usual. For others, it was an adjustment.
Weeks turned into months and months turned into years. While the initial throes of the pandemic created a considerable lull in activity, Alberta One-Call ended up processing the highest number of locate requests in corporate memory — and we managed it all while working remotely.
Fast-forward to this time last year and it was clear — remaining “in-house” staff had adjusted to working remotely and our empty office had become little more than a mailbox for Canada Post. Utility Safety Partners’ operations didn’t need to return to an office setting to be efficient and USP’s board of directors agreed. The search was on for a subtenant.
On June 21, 2023, the Utility Safety Partners board of directors held its first and last in-person meeting at our office. We’re closing the doors next week and shifting to full-time, 100% remote working conditions. Our mailing address has changed and future in-person meetings will be hosted by USP member companies who have graciously offered their space.
For a person like me in his late 50s who “went to work” for over 30 years, the change to remote-working conditions has been a considerable adjustment but I can’t deny the data supporting it.
Change is inevitable. Roll with it.
Utility Safety Partners new mailing address is:
PO Box 87131
Douglas Square RPO
Calgary, AB T2Z 3V7