In mid-May, we launched the ‘COVID-19 Champions’ program, a global employee recognition initiative dedicated to celebrating those who are making a difference during the COVID-19 pandemic by finding innovative ways to support their colleagues, the Company and the community.
The program aims to recognize employees who are going above and beyond to make a positive contribution in the areas of health and safety, innovation, community support and increasing team morale.
This week, we recognize Alyssa Chin, an executive assistant in the legal department at our corporate headquarters in Toronto. Alyssa has been recognized for increasing office morale by hosting weekly ‘family baking’ sessions on ‘Zoom’ to keep employees connected during COVID-19.
At the start of April, Kinross’ social committee began weekly activities on ‘Zoom’ for employees to keep in touch with their co-workers. As an experienced baker, Alyssa was eager to get involved and volunteered to host family baking sessions. Alyssa provides participants with the recipe they will be making and ingredients needed at the start of each week, then walks the group through the baking process in one-hour video call where they can ask questions and share their creations.
Family baking sessions have received a lot of interest, going from a couple of scheduled sessions initially to a regular, highly requested event each week! Alyssa on average has 10 employees and their families participate in the sessions – including employees from Finance, Operations, IT and HR – baking almost 10 recipes together since April, including a special Mother’s Day baking session!
Alyssa takes time outside of her workday to plan special recipes based on employee’s requests. Her baking sessions have played an important role in increasing team morale during the pandemic while giving participants the opportunity to bake face-to-face, and stay in touch.
Aside from her weekly baking sessions, Alyssa also helped organize a ‘Quarantine Christmas’ for her team during COVID-19. Employees were asked to make ‘wish lists’ then virtually select a coworker to send a small gift to. The group then had a virtual ‘Quarantine Secret Santa’ celebration to help stay connected as a team.
We thank Alyssa for her dedication to keeping employees together, and finding interactive ways to stay connected during this difficult time. Make sure to check out some of her recipes below!
