During the COVID-19 pandemic Council staff have had to look at how they work and make some big changes in order to deliver vital services and keep the city moving.
Social distancing
Some services such as building repair, and roads staff have been split into smaller crews as part of the effort to reduce social contact and help prevent the virus from spreading.
For bin collections, normally a driver and two crew ride in the truck, but for now only one crew member will travel with the driver in the cab and in some cases a second crew member will follow in a separate van to assist.
Refuse collection teams working on one of the city’s routes have lightened their (waste) load by making a short video showing how they are working with social distancing.
Aberdeen City Council operational delivery convener Councillor John Wheeler said: “Our front-line operations staff work hard all year round and have had to change their way of working quite considerably to ensure essential services are carried out.
“Our staff have really stepped up in the past few weeks, adopting different ways of working and they deserve a lot praise for work that often goes unnoticed and is taken for granted.
“We’d like to praise how they have adapted during this difficult time for everybody and particularly for keeping a sense of humour while adapting so quickly to the changes.”
Working from home
Over 3000 Council employees have been adapting to home working. Like so many across the UK our employees are faced with the challenge of remaining focused and positive as kitchen tables transform into desks, sharing workspace with their partners and the difficulties of juggling home schooling with work commitments. Whilst difficult, everyone has been dealing with new the normal incredibly well and embracing technology to keep in contact with customers and colleagues.
Staff volunteers
The Council’s responsibility to care for our most vulnerable has not changed. In fact, it has increased throughout the pandemic and we have successfully redeployed more than 500 members of staff to ensure that residents in our care homes are supported, keyworkers can access childcare, calls to our helpline are answered and bins get emptied and much more.