One of our busiest teams over the last few months has been Facilities Management, who have played the key role in facilitating the closure of offices, implementation of new measures and now preparation to make buildings COVID-secure. We talked to JP Shanahan, Facilities Manager, this week about how his team have been getting on with the job. Edited highlights are below, but see his comprehensive and detailed interview on Yammer here.

Q. What have the last few months involved for you and your team?
A. It’s been an incredible journey to date. March seems 10 years ago and it’s an ever-changing landscape. Myself and Sean Patten (Head of FM) started discussing the potential impact of C-19 way back in January. I had floated a few “what ifs” and sadly my concerns were borne out. I suggested that I develop a programme that we could utilise if the virus was considered to have a wide reaching impact. I spent a lot of time out of work researching the models of previous pandemics. The responses, measures and controls, the impact, spread and I even joined an online epidemiology forum to further our understanding of envelope viruses and how we could protect the workplace. We enhanced our cleaning regimes and changed up the products used. We managed to secure PPE before the extreme shortages became apparent and we started looking at alternatives to using the office and infection mitigation. The FM team have been quite remarkable in their response though. Since the lockdown we’ve had to introduce further measures in an effort to minimise possible infection. I also must say that I have been particularly impressed by the collaboration between departments, and across the organisations as a whole.

Q. We have had some reports of too many people coming back into Colindale over recent weeks and breaching social distancing guidelines. What have you seen, and what is your message to staff?
A. Our message to staff is if you can work from home then you must continue to do so. We have seen a spike in numbers attempting to return to the office and, believe me, we understand that the constraints and frustrations of working from home can be a challenge. We truly do understand, and can almost empathise to a degree with those wanting a “break from the kids”, “the partner is driving me mad”, we get it. We do understand, however, COVID-19 remains a very real and very serious threat. The transmission of infection is robust and you don’t need me to tell you the seriousness of virus against mortality. It's tremendously concerning to see individuals ignoring the notices and posters and attempting to dismiss the measures we’ve introduced. They are for the good of everyone in the office (and beyond). We’ve seen individuals sharing the same desks, we’ve seen people ignoring the one way system, not washing their hands after going to the toilet (yuk), not sanitising their hands, openly coughing or sneezing without using tissues, and a few other instances. Again, we understand being home is hard, but there are massive changes to the working environment, and we all need to learn to abide by them. I probably sound very draconian, but I know that the measures we introduced already have played a large part in minimising the potential for infection in the office and we’d like to keep it that way. Whilst the general mood seems to be one of easing of lockdowns and returning to normality, the threat is still there.

Read the rest of JP's interview on Yammer here.

Although the world-famous London Pride parade will not be taking place this year, it’s still Pride Month during June and the Rainbow Flag is flying from Hendon Town Hall for the rest of the month.

Earlier this year we held a rainbow-themed event at the Colindale office. For the month of June, there is a number of LGBT events all staff are invited to engage with.

This is also an opportunity to share experiences of being LGBT in the workplace. Ashley Hughes, our Assistant Director of Finance, is going to start us off by sharing some insight into that in next week’s First Team.

Events next week include:

- Wednesday 24 June from 5pm – LGBT-themed quiz evening. Join on Microsoft Teams at this link
- Saturday 27 June - LGBT film screening on Netflix (watch in your own time over the weekend) - The Life and Death of Marsha P Johnson. This will be followed by a discussion about the film on Microsoft Teams on Monday 30 June from 12midday - look out for the link for this on Yammer next week.

Monday 22 June also marks the 72nd anniversary of the HM Empire Windrush arriving at Tilbury Docks with some of the earliest Caribbean migrants to England.

We are appealing to anyone who has any parents or grandparents from that generation to share any photos they might have of their early days in England – so we can all share on Yammer on Windrush Day and learn more about their experiences.

Barnet Council’s diversity questionnaire

Please can we ask that you help us make sure diversity data is correct on our Core HR system. If these details are blank or incorrect, then we will have an incomplete picture of the make-up of our workforce. Even if you filled in a diversity questionnaire when starting at Barnet Council, please check that your details are still correct.

You can access Core HR through this link.

Please see below for instructions on how to change or add your diversity and disability information:

• Log in using your pre-set number (employee number) and password
• Once logged in, click on the button with your initials to go to your profile
• Scroll down to the diversity section and fill in your details
• Make sure to save your details before logging off or closing the window.

This week, we have launched a ‘thank you’ campaign to encourage everyone in the borough to take a moment to say ‘thank you’ to someone who has helped them through the COVID-19 crisis. Leader Councillor Dan Thomas recorded a message of thanks to everyone who has continued to work together to help keep Barnet safe.

Throughout the past 12 weeks, many of us have continued providing frontline support to those who need it most, as well as ensuring our essential services continue to operate throughout the crisis.

Many more of us have taken on new roles, accepting redeployment to completely new areas of work, and learning and working together as we go to ensure those who need it most get the vital support needed to keep everyone healthy and safe during the crisis.

There is still a long road to take as we navigate the coming months, but there is always time to extend our gratitude and thanks to those who have supported and helped us out.

If there’s someone you would like to thank, take a moment to recognise them by posting a video or message on your own Twitter or Facebook profile with the hashtag #BarnetTogether.

If you are a Barnet resident, keep an eye out for Barnet First magazine which lands this week, and features a pull out ‘thank you’ poster that you can display in your window to help spread a message of thanks across the borough.

Read more about our campaign here.

Yes, it’s another awareness week, but don’t look away just yet, it’s Loneliness Week. The concept of loneliness has taken on new meaning during the COVID-19 lockdown. And whilst the nation is easing into a new normal, the lockdown period is probably going to change the way we interact with the workplace for some time to come.

Many office-based staff have been working from home for over three months – having minimal contact with the office and little of the social interaction with colleagues that we would have had by the kitchens, lifts and stairwells. Our colleagues who are deployed are working with different teams and in some cases completely different job roles. Colleagues who are always working frontline, like Street Scene and social workers/housing officers who make lots of visits are further removed from a constant ‘hub’.

Teams have responded to this brilliantly by setting up WhatsApp groups, joining in with our growing Yammer community and taking up the challenge of video calls via Skype and Microsoft Teams. In spite of this, there are many people who feel lonely and isolated – and that’s ok. Human beings are social creatures, in general, by nature and thrive off contact with other people.

If you do fancy a 30-minute coffee break, please consider joining in with our Brewlette campaign. Every month colleagues who sign up are put into a ‘draw’ and matched randomly with a colleague. Usually Brewletters have a catch-up at a coffee shop close to the office, but are managing with a virtual chat – for now.

On a serious note, persistent feelings of loneliness can definitely affect our mental health – so this is a good time to remind staff we have a peer support group in our Mental Health First Aiders. The MHFAs have been trained to listen to staff who approach them with issues connected to their mental health and signpost you onto specialist advice if necessary. They operate on a rota to make themselves available to staff who need them.

There are is also a growing number of groups on Yammer, like Parent Talk and Women’s Health that you can join if you are feeling lonely and wouldn’t mind a chat with colleagues who are going through a similar situation – follow this link to join in and connect.