Organizational Health, Safety & Wellness plan and budget
The Organizational Health, Safety and Wellness Service develops and implements policies, standards, and programs to advance a culture of safety in The Corporation. The service line delivers programs and initiatives such as: safety advisory support, health and safety systems, occupational health management, physical and psychological safety and wellness; to enhance the safety and well-being of our employees. In addition, the service line supports a safety culture of responsibility, productivity and accountability for employees and leaders at the individual, leadership, and corporate level, to ensure everyone completes their work without incident and goes home safe and healthy, every day.
Our customers
- Employees
- Leaders
- Contractors
- Volunteers
Our partners
- Health, Safety and Wellness partners with Human Resources, Collaboration, Analytics & Innovation
- All City services
- All City staff
Value to Calgarians
- supports the physical and psychological safety of employees
- provides for a safe workforce so that services can continue to be delivered
- increases productivity
- manages risk at City worksites and facilities
What we deliver
- Designs, implements, and evaluates systems, programs and initiatives for City services to enhance employee safety and well-being
- Contributes to a safe and healthy workplace in adherence to legislation.
- These programs include: health and safety advisory support, ability management, occupational health and wellness programs, and psychological health supports.
Budget breakdown
Operating and capital budgets explained
The budgets you see here are expenditures net of recoveries.
The City develops two budgets to create impact aligned with Council’s Strategic Direction:
- The four-year (2023-2026) operating plans and budgets
- The five-year (2023-2027+) capital plans and budgets
The operating budget includes revenues, recoveries and spending related to ongoing operations. These include:
- Salaries, wages and benefits.
- Day to day programs, maintenance and services.
- Administration costs (e.g., insurance).
- Fuel
- Utilities
- Capital financing costs.
The City's total net operating budget is zero. This means we budget to collect the revenue needed to deliver services to Calgarians — no more, no less. We collect this revenue through property taxes and other sources.
The capital budget pays for long-lived assets. These provide the foundation for the services Calgarians rely on. They include:
- Maintenance of current infrastructure (e.g., bridges, buildings and playgrounds).
- Upgrades to existing community infrastructure.
- New infrastructure to provide services in areas that are underserved (e.g., Green Line).
- New infrastructure for growing areas of the city.
Learn more about our 2023-2026 Service Plans and Budgets.
See how the budget has been adjusted since November 2022
Measuring performance
We are measuring our performance in five areas. Each value is the goal we expect to reach by 2026.
What we've heard
The service leverages the safety and Human Resources data metrics, including corporate employee survey results, to identify and respond to the safety and well-being needs of employees. Additionally, the Mental Health Index and Safety Climate responses are used for continuous improvement in safety and wellness programs, systems, and initiatives.
City employees are generally satisfied with the existing programs and services offered. The service continues to seek improvements, and increased employee engagement and safety and well-being training to improve the safety culture, reduce workplace turnover and absenteeism, while ensuring employees are better able to deliver high quality public services. The service continues to support open communication, work to advance technology, build trust, and create a safe environment for all employees.
Participate and view results of City researchWhat we're watching
The City has identified health, physical and psychological safety and wellness as priorities. Further, elevated health and safety risk, rising costs, and external pressures, legislative changes and the COVID- 19 pandemic are increasing organizational expectations pertaining to the promotion and advancement of physical, psychological, and social well-being of employees.
The service will continue to develop policies, standards, and programs to proactively promote a healthy and safe workplace, to address changing trends and risks. Other internal and external factors which may impact services include: psychological safety, the future of remote workplaces, mental health, injuries, lost time claims, resiliency, legislation, a changing workforce and emergency situations
These elements (for example) may impact employee physical and psychological safety, and hence the ability to deliver services and the resilience of our city as a whole.
The initiatives
What we plan to do
The City has identified health, physical and psychological safety and wellness as a key value. In the continuous advancement of physical, psychological, and social well-being of all employees, the Organizational Health, Safety and Wellness service will continue to develop policies, standards, and programs to proactively promote a healthy and safe workplace.
Organizational Health, Safety and Wellness' focus for 2023-2026 is to position The City as a recognized leader in safety, health, and wellness. The service will continue to support and implement programs and initiatives to reduce injury and promote well-being for all employees. This will include improving specialized safety and wellness support, coupled with the modernization our safety management systems.
How we're going to get there
- Enhance the employee experience by advancing corporate wide health and safety systems, programs and initiatives.
- Advance organizational psychological safety by promoting a corporate-wide strategic approach.
- Prevent and resolve safety incidents and issues by improving appropriate standardization and processes across the organization.
- Prioritize health, safety and wellness programs, services and initiatives by collaborating with and educating leaders.
- Strengthen risk mitigation to reduce incidents and costs by improving supports utilizing a risk management framework.