Jason Cotter, Manager Ultrasound, Canon Medical Systems Australia and New Zealand
Opportunities at Canon Medical Systems Group
Apart from a variety of seminars and training courses, several career development programs are available in the organization. I participated in the Leadership Development program myself. In the meantime, I am manager of the Ultrasound Division of Canon Medical Systems Australia and New Zealand.
Having a background in medical imaging and medical ultrasound in several private and public hospitals in the world, I started working for the Canon organization 19 years ago, first as an application specialist in ultrasound, to tailor the equipment to clients and teach them how to get the best images.
Leadership development
After a selection procedure, I was selected, along with five other colleagues, to participate in the three-year leadership development program. It took quite some effort, especially in terms of the investment in time, time management and opening up to learn. But it was definitely worth it: it broadened my horizons after my specialist focus.
The program consisted of internal courses in developing leadership and management skills and enhancing business knowledge, which were provided by one of our own managers or an external trainer. Additionally, one had to participate in an external education program and I chose to get my MBA.
The leadership development program definitely helped me to reach my current position. I really like what I am doing and realize I am working with great people who are engaged and interested in working to achieve the best outcomes for patients.
2020 was an unusual year for our employees as regards COVID-19 - and this has continued in 2021. Many employees worldwide started working from home, with the necessary modifications to their home offices. In the case of others we were able to provide workplace facilities at the office and in the field to ensure safe, healthy working.
In order to remain in touch with everyone, additional digital meetings were organized, internal newsletters were produced, managers sought regular contact with their staff, and tips were given on fitness and health (both physical and mental).
All in all, our concerted efforts enabled us to continue providing services, satisfy our customers and work on new services to deal with COVID-19.
We are very proud of the flexibility and efforts of our employees, and to reiterate, we realize that health and vitality are a great boon to us all.
We intend to continue to do our best for our employees. The additional digital meetings even proved highly popular in many group companies, and they will therefore continue after the COVID-19 pandemic ends. Company guidelines were also revised to increase the options for working from home in some group companies and thus contribute to a good work-life balance. An additional advantage is the reduction of carbon emissions.
Challenges
Along with the rest of the world, we were suddenly faced with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and all of the measures taken specifically by the federal, provincial and local governments and hospitals in Canada. Especially challenging was ensuring whether we could continue delivering essential services and equipment maintenance to our customers - hospitals and medical clinics - as they were on the frontline helping patients suffering from COVID-19.
One of the first essential equipment installations we performed in the pandemic was an Aquilion Prime SP CT in April 2020 in a remote town in the northern part of Canada. Our specialist had to take three planes and a helicopter to reach the hospital. In addition to the traveling, it was challenging to arrange accommodation and food for her, while providing training to the hospital staff. I developed a step-by-step plan for her travel and visit, together with our team, to ensure that she could be kept as safe as possible, and just as importantly, to minimize the risk of transmission to the hospital and town. We remained in close communication with our employee and the customer during the visit, and we were happy that we managed to do the job! The plan that was developed was subsequently used as a template for other employees when traveling and working on site.
The majority of our employees are service technicians, applications specialists or sales persons, who are typically visiting, servicing or training customers. In addition to planning these essential visits during the pandemic, we increased the provision of remote service consultations and remote training courses.
The COVID-19 pandemic was challenging in other ways as well, both for our employees in the field and for other employees who usually work at the office. This varied between employees coping with isolation, especially in the case of those living alone away from their families, and employees coping with balancing work and looking after young children at home. We therefore set up a variety of online contacts: personal meetings, meetings with the team and company-wide virtual events. It was also possible for our employees to participate in courses focused on mental health or visit a company doctor.
Cheryl Silver, General Counsel and Head of Compliance, Canon Medical Systems Canada
The Canon ʻfamilyʼ
In some ways, the situation we have been in this past year has strengthened our connections with each other. Especially appreciated were the daily - subsequently – weekly COVID-19 updates and informal moments together. For example, the virtual coffees, Friday afternoon e-mail exchanges where people shared anecdotes about their plans for the weekend, and Friday night cocktails, where fun themes such as show us your hobby were shared.
We are known as an organization with a family feel. I observed this when I started working at the company two years ago. The organization focuses on the business, but at the same time the Canadian leadership models friendliness, a team player mindset and real interest during regular face-to-face meetings. In 2020, it was almost impossible to meet each other in person, but apart from the virtual meetings, we still managed, for example, to organize a baby shower for a pregnant colleague, with four persons maintaining a 1.5-meter distance and other safety protocols in place.
Once the COVID-19 measures are lifted, the team is looking forward to working in person again. That being stated, the pandemic has demonstrated the organization can manage with individuals working from a home office, so we will most likely move forward with a hybrid working model providing commuting flexibility and reduced environmental impact.
© CANON MEDICAL SYSTEMS CORPORATION
© CANON MEDICAL SYSTEMS CORPORATION
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