Université de Sherbrooke
EN-7: Employee Educators Program

Peer helpers are trained and equipped to welcome, support, and guide, in complete confidentiality, colleagues who are experiencing difficulties and showing signs of distress. For example, they can help demystify psychological health problems, help clarify the elements involved with a specific problem, or facilitate the return to work of employees who have been absent from work due to a psychological health problem. They also encourage listening, mutual support, and recognition among colleagues, thus making them effective outreach agents in the area of psychological and overall health at work. The Peer Helpers program is based on the establishment of an ongoing university-wide permanent psychological health "vigil" that builds on internal strengths.

Peer helpers are university staff members who are initially identified (often by their colleagues) because of their special qualities in their relationships with others; they are natural caregivers. They are in a position to identify individuals who may be experiencing personal difficulties and know how to intervene appropriately. On the other hand, staff members seeking support from peer helpers can do so by accessing the program’s website (by consulting an alphabetical list of names, a list by administrative units, a list by pavilions, or a list by employment category).

Peer helpers are supervised and supported to act effectively with their colleagues. The initial training offered to new peer helpers provides them with knowledge and skills related to their role. This training is designed to optimize and properly coach their personal abilities. They are also trained to detect signs of distress in colleagues, to intervene more specifically when the situation requires it, and to effectively guide and refer their colleagues to the appropriate resources. They have access to an authenticated internal communications network (intranet) that provides them with support materials, resources, etc.

Approximately four to five times a year, small group discussion meetings allows peer helpers to share their experiences, attend continuing education activities, and support each other. These meetings provide them with the support and assistance they need to fulfill their role. Peer helpers also have access to training on suicide prevention with the organization JEVI - Centre de prévention du suicide – Estrie [EN: Suicide prevention centre] or training in synergology, i.e., non-verbal communication, to better perceive, decode, and know how to intervene. These trainings are offered by the coordinator of the program, by professionals and workers of mental health.

According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), “psychologically healthy workplaces and mentally healthy workplaces both describe the same high-functioning, respectful and productive workplace.” (https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/mentalhealth_intro.html) In this regard, the University supports services for its employees that have a positive impact on their lives. Therefore, providing and encouraging a program such as the Peer Helpers demonstrates the commitment of the University to working towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Good Health and Well-Being, which is to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.”

A healthy workplace is a collective responsibility that everyone can help improve. Peer helpers become agents of mutual support, collaboration, and recognition, creating by the same token a virtuous circle, where those who are helped and supported become part of the process which generates in turn positive outcomes such as contributing to a good health (i.e., psychological health) and well-being in a sustainable manner, while strengthening the community spirit throughout the University.

All employees of the university.

The Waste Management Ambassador Team of the Université de Sherbrooke has a key role in training and raising awareness of good practices in this area within the university community.

All individuals who act as waste management ambassadors are required to take a detailed training course offered by the Université de Sherbrooke, which covers the principles and issues of waste management, the state of the art in Québec in this area, specific waste sorting practices on campuses bins, as well as information and tips for raising awareness among peers.

This training is offered three times a year in order to facilitate the integration of new people into the ambassador team. The Waste Management Ambassador Team is present on all university campuses, where they accompany and answer questions from their peers regarding the proper management of residual materials. They also organize awareness and educational events for all staff members, and support employees who organize events in order to encourage the implementation of good practices.

All employees of the university.

RÉSEAU DES ALLIÉS DE L'INTERCULTUREL [EN: INTERCULTURAL ALLIES NETWORK]

The Intercultural Allies Network is made up of Université de Sherbrooke staff members who have been designated on the basis of their openness to cultural diversity, their ability to influence, and/or their front-line functions with members of the university community who are culturally diverse. It is present in the faculties and services of the three campuses.

The people who are part of this Intercultural Allies Network receive training in intercultural competencies, which focuses in particular on key concepts of interculturality, on knowledge of the issues and frameworks related to interculturality, on strengthening communication skills in intercultural situations, on awareness of the influence of one's own culture in intercultural dynamics, on deconstruction of prejudices, and on the development of empathetic attitudes. This training consists of an initial 15-hour course and a program of varied activities that allow for the regular consolidation and deepening of acquired skills: co-development sessions to bring solutions and perspectives to intercultural situations in the field, thematic workshops to reinforce a concrete dimension of the actions of allies, encounters with cultural diversity through living library activities, etc.

The Université de Sherbrooke employees who are allies to interculturality act as vectors of influence and knowledge in their environment and provide peer education on several levels. On the one hand, they offer support to their colleagues, enabling them to develop the right referents and attitudes, as well as the ability to become aware of the intercultural issues they deal with on a daily basis. Intercultural allies help their colleagues to identify the enabling and disabling elements in order to achieve adequate communication in intercultural situations, and thus contribute to the overall opening of intercultural perspectives in their environment. These allies also work with new members of the university community from other cultures. They are equipped to accompany them and support their integration into their new environment, so that these people feel welcome and develop the references they need. They thus contribute to the vitality of several important social aspects of sustainable development.

https://www.usherbrooke.ca/international/fr/actualites/nouvelles/details/47937

PROGRAMME DE MENTORAT DES PROFESSEURES ET PROFESSEURS [EN: MENTORING PROGRAM FOR PROFESSORS]

The Programme de mentorat des professeures et professeurs de l’UdeS [EN: Mentoring Program for Professors] aims to ensure the successful integration of new professors and to provide them with the support they need in terms of teaching and research. Thus, newly arrived professors are systematically paired with a mentor or a team of mentors proposed by the department's management, who accompany them in order to facilitate their integration into the university community in every respect. The program is in place in all faculties and on all three campuses of the University.

The human dimension is a key element of the mentoring relationship. Thus, the mentor is available, open, and attentive, and works to establish a climate of trust. The mentor offers assistance, shares their experience, introduces the mentee to the university's services and authorities, and refers them to key people as needed. They plans regular meetings with the mentee and plays an informative, guiding and advisory role, for example, with regard to work-life balance and the student-teacher relationship.

Individuals identified as mentors are senior faculty with a strong background of experience and expertise. A new faculty member's mentor or team of mentors is identified at the time of hire, based on mechanisms provided by individual departments and faculties.

Occasional meetings are organized by the University as part of this mentoring program. On the one hand, these meetings allow for the exchange of best practices in mentoring. On the other hand, they constitute a recognition activity to underline the participation of the mentors and their commitment to the mentees and the development of the University.

Through this mentoring program, the University is having a positive impact on the lives of its professors by helping them better understand their environment, improving their well-being, and reducing their stress. Therefore, providing and encouraging such a program demonstrates the commitment of the University to work towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of Good Health and Well-Being, which is to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.” Moreover, the Université de Sherbrooke is firmly committed to ensuring that all training programmes integrate the dimensions of sustainable development (See the institutional 2022-2025 Strategic Plan, objective 1.2: https://www.usherbrooke.ca/planification-strategique/fileadmin/sites/planification-strategique/documents/udes_plan_strategique_22_25_AN.pdf). Such a context, and the specific resources that are deployed to this end, are also reflected in this mentoring program.

Only half of the hours worked by the mentors were included in this credit to avoid counting hours that are not related to sustainability.

https://www.usherbrooke.ca/personnel/soutien/mentorat

PROGRAMME DES AMBASSADRICES EN SECRÉTARIAT [EN: SECRETARIAL AMBASSADORS PROGRAM]

The Secretarial Ambassadors Program is a brand-new peer education program that specifically targets new employees at the University, including Secretaries, Executive Secretaries, Academic Affairs Clerks, and Pedagogical Activities Clerks. The human and relational dimensions are at the heart of the approach, which aims to foster a collaborative and motivating work environment.

The Secretarial Ambassadors are people who work at the Université de Sherbrooke in the secretarial field and who were chosen for their commitment, their openness, and the quality of the interpersonal relationships they have with their colleagues. They benefit from training offered in several formats, such as group meetings, presentations, and co-development, which allows them to develop skills in accompaniment and in coaching, in addition to perfecting their institutional knowledge. They appropriate and use several reference contents that are available online on the website of the University (https://www.usherbrooke.ca/decouvrir/ , https://www.usherbrooke.ca/decouvrir/campus/ , https://www.usherbrooke.ca/personnel/groupes-emploi/personnel-de-soutien/temporaire-seesus , https://www.usherbrooke.ca/personnel/rh/bienvenue/personnel-de-soutien/seesus-temporaire).

The Secretarial Ambassadors act as mentors by accompanying the people targeted by the program in order to facilitate their integration into the Université de Sherbrooke community in all respects. They provide them with information on the resources available to them and make them aware of the campus lifestyle, particularly with regard to the culture and values that prevail. For example, they can share tips and tricks with them, direct them to training tools or guide them in the workplace. In a very concrete way, and in relation to sustainable development, they address topics such as public transportation programs, good waste management practices, good printing and paper saving practices, and the development of green spaces on campuses.

By offering these people the support they need to feel comfortable in their new role and within their new team, they contribute to the well-being and quality of life on campus. In this way, they contribute in particular to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Good Health and Well-Being, which is to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.”

Only half of the hours worked by the Secretarial Ambassadors were included in this credit to avoid counting hours that are not related to sustainability.

The total number of employees (7878) considered in this credit was compiled for the financial year from 1 May 2021 to 30 April 2022, consistent with the information reported for this credit. The reference period used for this credit is not the same as the data presented in credit PRE5, which represents the year 2020-2021.