A sign on the floor of a shop, advising customers regarding social distancing guidelines.

Be kind, be calm, be safe – remember to adhere to pandemic safety protocols

No doubt you must be getting a little tired of the daily news about COVID-19 from so many sources, including self-declared experts and more credible sources such as health professionals and government officials. The added stress on so many levels during a pandemic is not easy for anyone.

However, we wanted to reach out to remind you of a couple of things. First of all, you are not alone. Connect with others in your profession you haven’t heard from in a while to find out how they are doing (along with your family members and friends). Maybe you can exchange some tips and experiences with other Realtors that would be mutually beneficial and supportive.

As you know, we recently launched the Fraser Valley Realtors Network, a closed Facebook group for members to share insights on real estate related topics, communicate key issues, and engage with other members and the Board. Click here to find out how you can join this new community.

Ask your Broker what materials they may have to help you. Make sure your social media content shows that you care, and that you have plans in place to protect anyone working with you or showing your listings.

Secondly, no matter how busy you are, you need to adhere to the health and safety guidelines that have been provided to the real estate industry.

As a recent news story in Ontario demonstrated, we cannot be overly careful about how we guide, advise and protect clients. None of our members have made it in the newspapers as contributors like the Ontario Realtor in this article. However, please, do not let your guard down because this could have been a lot of different agents from anywhere in the country. Open houses, as well as regular individual showings are potentially dangerous. You need to remember to have the appropriate precautions in place if you are out there doing business. As you are showing real estate in any capacity remember to ask yourself, “If I was watching from across the street, would I be satisfied that proper protocols were being followed?”

Here’s the link again to the health and safety protocols from WorkSafeBC. Now is a good time to review them to ensure that we are doing all that we possibly can to protect others and ourselves from the risks of COVID-19. Share this link on your social media.

Unfortunately, we are not out of the woods yet, not even close, despite the readily available news about possible vaccines being tested worldwide. The number of new cases of the coronavirus, deaths, and hospitalizations are rising across the country and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau just announced a few days ago that the second wave of COVID-19 isn’t coming, it’s here.

Let’s all do our part to try and prevent the need to go back to the restrictions we became familiar with in March.

Thank you all for caring. It’s the little things that make a professional.

Source: Professional Standards