Hello ASP! Hard to believe it’s been another quarter. I’m sure you feel like the most recent newsletter was only last week. It’s amazing how quickly times flies, isn’t it? It’s this that I want to speak to you about. At least for me, a day whizzes by at light speed, and there is never time to finish it all. Sometimes it tires you right out. I know that at YYC, it is always busy—we are like bees in a hive when we are getting the job done. All well and good, but what I want to discuss is how important it is to disconnect after work as much as it is to be engaged while at work.

We have a wide range of duties that we must perform during each shift, and regular breaks are a must. Whether it be access control, patrolling, escorting, you name it, when at work, we need to be 100% switched on so we don’t cause any errors. It’s not an easy task, especially when duties pull us in multiple directions, when deadlines are on top of us, requests, additional taskings—it’s the nature of our jobs that we are always doing something and there is extremely little down time, and even then, there’s something that we can do.

When the whistle blows at the end of the day, I encourage you to relax, put the phone on silent, curl up with a good book, watch a tv show, play a game, coffee with friends, time with family—whatever it is you like to do that isn’t work, do it! Schedule a part of day during your rotation that allows you to step away; take that break and go meditate, go outside, breathe deeply and ground yourself. Disconnecting from the work world at the end of the day, and taking time to decompress is healthy, it promotes positive associations with your schedule and most importantly, it refreshes you.

The idea is that we need to do everything in moderation which goes for work as well. I say this to you with the hope that it strikes a chord and reminds you to take your health seriously and take time to find balance. What do I do to disconnect and relax? I grab my favorite beverages, get some fresh ingredients from the store, cook up a storm and invite my friends over for games night. From me to you—the secret to balance is to visit your happy place every day. Until next time, take care of yourselves!

I want to nominate Gurdeep Aulja our senior guard on Airside for International Women’s Day.

Her dedication and long hours that she puts in for our company, and her willingness to make her work a better place, are a true inspiration.”

“If you want to follow, follow the footsteps of your women colleagues because they are the real heroes and real winners.

Managing home and work as a single mother, is never easy but she has always done it so effortlessly….. Wishing you all the success and prosperity on International Women’s Day.”

Thank you everyone for sending in your testimonials. As a company and as individuals, we must continue to champion and promote workplace diversity and gender equality, not just because it is the fair and right thing to do, but because gender diversity has a positive impact on the success of the company.

The ASP Diversity and Inclusion Committee is committed to promotion of workplace equality and diversity. For more information, please write to inclusive@security-asp.com.

“If you want to follow, follow the footsteps of your women colleagues they are the real heroes and real winners.”

Anoop K. Babra

As most of the world was shut down last Spring, I found ample opportunity to meet myself. From trying varieties of teas, mastering DIYs, cost-free beauty treatments from the kitchen to watching classics, “my to-do/undo list” has been endless. I happened to go for a long drive on rainy evenings with my alter ego sitting strapped snug in the front passenger seat. Those evenings when one’s heartbeat matches the rhythm of peaceful drizzle and one consciously surrenders to the atoms harmoniously put together with loving details & precision. Even though change is inevitable and there’s a consistent reflection, mystical & naturalistic learning seems to be occurring all the time.

These long drives through the serpentine country roads made me feel deeply content, calm and fulfilled. There was no rush or wish to do anything else, change anything or even learn anything. It was like a transition into a different state of being or at least a different way to “taste being”. Life is clear, relaxed and steady! Life is simple and it refuses to complicate itself. Driving past the thick & lush foliage of Alaskan Paper Birch, Red Pine, Maple & Arbutus I realized that after a lot of seeking, searching and exploring what one has been seeking for has always been around after all. Big & small raindrops created magical ripples in the freshwater swamps and were a good reminder that the repeated yet ever fresh recognition of the freedom and fulfilment hiding in plain sight is the essence of undiluted awakening all at once.

I love to read the same thing again and again, be it a note from a friend, a message on WhatsApp, some lovely random quote, a flyer, a notice, a billboard or a scribble that I may have hidden deep in a book long ago. There are times especially when I toss and turn in bed, I self-diagnose my symptoms for COVID 19, eventually, I fall asleep over them. I may not be the most upholding theist, an apostle of any faith, I am not a non-believer either. I believe in a higher realm of God, Universe to be more precise. My prayer is just a prayer. A good example is from the last snowstorm day, “Sarbat da Bhala” (blessings for everyone basically). Sometimes I simply pray for my friendships, peace or a safe drive home.

This is a dynamic universe. Human feelings transition like the weather- made of cycles and microcycles. Some cycles rather quickly, momentarily, others may have rhythms that spin over hours, years or even decades. The key to witnessing these cycles, winds, waves, tides and seasons of feelings, is to have patience and trust the process of life. Also, it is much more important to be good at feeling something rather than focusing on feeling good all the time. That’s not humanly possible. At least I have yet to meet anyone who can manage to feel good all the time, no matter how evolved they claim to be. Life is really too short to be insignificant! Let’s be ourselves, unmask and breathe!

In addition to this. ASP has also created 2 new Lead Specialist positions to support the Specialists with their crucial day to day tasks at the airport.

Well done to all employees who have been promoted within all ASP Operations. I am proud to highlight that most of the promotions have come from internal candidates which clearly demonstrates succession planning and depth of knowledge and ability the ASP family has by promoting employees from within.

Zaina Syed – Security Guard, TPIA

“I have been with ASP for 7 months now and I can confidently say that as a woman, I have never felt more equal to my male counterparts in a professional environment than I have with this company! Competency, performance, hard work, professionalism and respect are of the utmost value here. Women and men alike, we are all seen as equal power to keep this ship sailing. Happy International Women’s Day to all!”

We would like to recognize OSR Alfredo Tejada for going above and beyond. A passenger arrived from Istanbul and was connecting to the USA. Unfortunately, there was a problem with his connecting flight to Detroit and he needed to be rerouted to Chicago the next day. With limited options for dining at the airport these days and knowing this passenger would have to stay in the airport overnight, Alfredo took it upon himself to purchase a drink and something to eat for this passenger as he waited for his flight the next morning.

I would like to recognize the entire OSR team for their unwavering support for one and another during these c hallenging times and never losing focus of our purpose in providing our client and passengers with outstanding Customer Service every single day. This could only be achieved through teamwork and commitment to one another.

Reminder that if you wish to have your vacation accrual paid outside of the regular May and November payout, your request must be made by no later than the Friday before the payday. Just send an email to aspaccounting@security-asp.com. This is so the team has enough time to get it processed along with the regular pay. If your request is after this cut-off, then it will be processed on the following pay.

To better serve the employees and avoid potential payroll errors, we ask employees to check their online portal to ensure that the hours worked are properly reflected in the scheduling system. If you see something wrong, bring it up to your supervisor or manager immediately. Getting this fixed before payroll starts processing will avoid the need to rerun your pay stub and prevent frustration.

When you started working for ASP you should have received a welcome email or package explaining how to access the portal. If you do have an error in the number of hours you were paid, you will need to reach out to your supervisor or manager to discuss so they can get the correction made.

“ we ask employees to check their online portal ensure the hours worked are properly reflected”

Every pay the payroll team processes over 1,300 pay cheques. At our peak before COVID they were processing more than 1,600 pay cheques. Wow! Thank you, Sherrie and Yemisi.

We would like to hear from you: If you have any suggestions on how we can better serve you or improve our delivery to you, please send an email to aspaccounting@security-asp.com

I have had the pleasure to be with ASP Security for more than 6 years. Over this time, I have watched this organization grow immensely from our modest roots to the large company we are today.

Sometimes, when companies go through this type of growth, they forget how they got to this point. It is important to note that we are where we are today in this industry because of our dedicated employees who believe in our company culture and vision.

As I reflect on the last 6 years, I am always proud of the fact that no one within the ASP family has forgotten about our humble roots and continue to live and breathe the company’s vision as we continue to move forward.

Part of this process is that we always have an open-door policy for all our family in the field, especially during the unprecedented times due to COVID-19. It is extremely important that we are always available to our people out in the field so that they continually have the highest level of support when needed.

Without the dedication of our employees, we would not have the opportunity to grow and continue doing what we love.

I wanted to remind everyone that we have a full open-door policy and if there is a time that you would like to speak to your manager or would like to provide us with any feedback, ideas on how we can be better or even just want to talk, you can call us anytime. I look forward to having many more conversations with all of you in the future. 

“ we always have an open-door policy for all our family in the field”

The Communications Corner is an ongoing series of tips, tricks, and best practices for writing, creating PowerPoints and decks as well as the theories and best practices to be an effective communicator. Each time, we will look at a key aspect of communications. This week, it is writing effective emails.

We want our ASP family to understand that each call we These days, many of us are overloaded with emails – whether we are writing or reading them. And we all know the frustration of getting an email that is so confusing and convoluted it creates a chain reaction of more emails. None of us need this.

Good business emails are to the point, easy to understand, and give your audience the information they need. To write those great emails, start with the subject line. I like to assume that the person I am writing gets hundreds of emails a day. Imagine getting all those emails with subject lines that are one word or do not relate to the body of the email!

The subject line prepares your reader for the body of the email, and it should give a hint about why you are sending the message. If the email is about something in the future, I like to include that date in the subject line. For example, a good subject line about asking for time-off is “Vacation request– July 5-6, 2021”. In this example, a bad subject line would be “Away” because it could be about someone who is away from their post, which requires immediate attention. Think of how the read would feel if an email hits their inbox with the subject line “Away”.

In the body of the email, I like to clearly state the reason for the message and use bullets if I am covering many items. If the email is an update or instructions, I write one or two short sentences explaining the situation and then write “Please note:” before the bullets. For example:

Email overload in the workplace is often a fact of life, and this will not change anytime soon as businesses continue to rely on tool more and more to communicate both internally and externally. However, using email effectively can help you standout, be appreciated by your colleagues, and most importantly, be an effective communicator!

A few final tips:

• Imagine you are getting the email (don’t over communicate)
• Make subject lines informative and relevant
• Keep messages clear and brief
• Be polite
• Proofread, proofread, proofread

“Good business emails are to the point, easy to understand and give your audience the information they need. ”

It is our pleasure to introduce and welcome the following new members in our team. Please join us in providing a warm ASP welcome to all the new members. We are proud to have you all as part of our team.

Matthew Szajkowski

Matthew joined us in March 2021 as Interim Operations Manager – Calgary Airport. Matthew takes over Ms. Elizabeth Warwick’s position and role as Elizabeth left for her Maternity Leave.

Matthew has over 6 years’ experience in the Security Industry where he has previously worked with ASP as well as Gardaworld and G4S in various management positions. He has successfully completed the Police Foundations Course from Humber College. His experience in managing day to day large scale security operations, Client Management, Forecasting and Scheduling of frontline staff will be a definite asset and a good fit for the ASP family.

Harjinder Kaur, Love Osadebe, Nathalie Gallagher, Natalie McMohan, and Melissa Cowan

Our Resource Planning team is expanding! Natalie, Nathalie, Love, Harjinder and Melissa joined our resource planning team as Planners.

Harjinder has extensive security experience as she has worked as a Security Guard as well as a scheduler with GardaWorld for over three years.
Love has completed her post-graduate from the University of South of Wales, UK. Prior to joining ASP, Love worked as a Customer Care Associate addressing and resolving customer needs.

Nathalie has over 9 years of customer service / sales experience. She built and maintained customer relationships, managed their complaints and took ownership of their account.

Natalie has worked largely in the retail industry managing stores like RONA and Mastermind Toys. While being responsible for entire store operation, her focus was on delivering exceptional customer experience at all times.

Melissa is a homecoming employee who worked at ASP and supported the HR department extensively last year as an administrative support. She is now joining us as a planner and will support the scheduling team. Her extensive experience and skills will be surely instrumental in the growth of the newly acquired FedEx Canine Contract.

“Matthew has over 6 years’ experience in the security industry”

“Our Resource Planning team is expanding!

Please welcome the new members to our team.”

At ASP, we value and recognize the diverse religious beliefs of our employees. The world is rich in diversity and so is our workforce which is reflected in the observances celebrated by its various cultures. Knowledge of the following diversity holidays and celebrations can enhance our workplace diversity and inclusion efforts. Throughout the months of April, May, and June, a variety of religious holidays, festivals, observances, and spiritual commemorations took place. These events were celebrated and observed by many of us, so it is important that we recognize and respect each and every one of them.
We have compiled a list below of the many important religious events that took place throughout April, May, and June. We encourage you to review this list to learn more about some of the significant celebrations and observances that are meaningful to your colleagues and friends. Let’s celebrate diversity, together.

April

• April 1: Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday), the Christian holiday commemorating the Last Supper, at which Jesus and the Apostles were together for the last time before the Crucifixion. It is celebrated on the Thursday before Easter.
• April 2: Good Friday, a day celebrated by Christians to commemorate the execution of Jesus by crucifixion. It is recognized on the Friday before Easter.
• April 4: Easter, a holiday celebrated by Christians to recognize Jesus’ return from death after the Crucifixion.
• April 12 – May 11 (sundown to sundown): Ramadan, an Islamic holiday marked by fasting, praise, prayer and devotion to Islam.
• April 14: Vaisakhi (also known as Baisakhi), the celebration of the founding of the Sikh community as the Khalsa (community of the initiated) and the birth of the Khalsa.

• April 20 – May 1: The Festival of Ridvan, a holiday celebrated by those of the Bahá’í faith, commemorating the 12 days when Bahá’u’lláh, the prophet-founder, resided in a garden called Ridvan (paradise) and publicly proclaimed his mission as God’s messenger for this age.
• April 21: Ram Navami, a Hindu day of worship and celebration of the seventh avatar of Vishnu (Lord Rama). Devotees typically wear red and place extravagant flowers on the shrine of the God.
• April 23: St. George’s Day, the feast day of St. George celebrated by various Christian churches.
• April 24: : Lazarus Saturday, a day celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy to commemorate the raising of Lazarus of Bethany.
• April 25: Mahavir Jayanti, a holiday celebrated by the Jains commemorating the birth of Lord Mahavira. It is one of the most important religious festivals for Jains.
• April 28: Ninth Day of Ridvan, a festival of joy and unity in the Bahá’í faith to commemorate the reunification of Bahá’u’lláh’s family, and by extension the unity of the entire human family the Bahá’í faith calls for. It permeates the symbolic meaning of the Ninth Day of Ridvan.
• April 29 – 30 (sundown to sundown): Mahavir Jayanti, a holiday celebrated by the Jains commemorating the birth of Lord Mahavira. It is one of the most important religious festivals for Jains.
• April 25: Lag BaOmer, a Jewish holiday marking the day of hillula of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.

May

• May 1: Orthodox Easter (also called Pascha), a later Easter date than observed by many Western churches.
• May 3: Saints Philip and James, a Roman Rite feast day for the anniversary of the dedication of the church to Saints Phillip and James in Rome.
• May 9: Laylat al-Qadr, the holiest night of the year for Muslims, is traditionally celebrated on the 27th day of Ramadan. It is known as the Night of Power and commemorates the night that the Quran was first revealed to the prophet Muhammad.
• May 12-13 (sundown to sundown): Eid al-Fitr, the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal, marking the end of Ramadan. Many Muslims attend communal prayers, listen to a khutuba (sermon), and give Zakat al-Fitr (charity in the form of food) during Eid al-Fitr. May 13: Ascension of Jesus or Ascension Day, is celebrated as the ascension of Christ from Earth in the presence of God within most of the Christian faith.
• May 16 – 18 (sundown to sundown): Shavuot, a Jewish holiday that has double significance. It marks the all-important wheat harvest in Israel and commemorates the anniversary of the day when God gave the Torah to the nation of Israel assembled at Mount Sinai.
• May 22 – 23 (sundown to sundown): Declaration of the Báb, the day of declaration of the Báb, the forerunner of Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í faith.
• May 26: Buddha Day (Vesak or Visakha Puja), a Buddhist festival that marks Gautama Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death. It falls on the day of the full moon in May and it is a gazetted holiday in India.
• May 29: Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, commemorates the ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í faith.
• May 30: Trinity Sunday, observed in the Western Christian faith as a feast in honor of the Holy Trinity.
• May 30: All Saints’ Day, celebrated by many Eastern Christian churches on the first Sunday after Pentecost, in recognition of all known and unknown saints.

“we value and recognize the diverse religious beliefs of our employees. ”

June

• June 3: Corpus Christi, a Catholic holiday celebrating the presence of the body and blood of Christ, in the Eucharist.
• June 11: Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart is a solemnity in the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church.
• June 15: St. Vladimir Day, a Roman Catholic feast celebrating St. Vladimir.
• June 16: Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev, observed by members of the Sikh faith. Guru Arjan Dev was the fifth Sikh guru and the first Sikh martyr.
• June 19: New Church Day, according to Christian belief, on this day the Lord called together the 12 disciples who had followed him on earth, instructed them in the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, and sent them out to teach that “the Lord God Jesus Christ reigns, whose kingdom shall be for ages and ages.” This was the beginning of the New Christian Church.
• June 21: Litha, the summer solstice celebrated by the Wiccans and Pagans. It is the longest day of the year, representing the sun’s “annual retreat.”
• June 29: Feast Day of Saints Peter and Paul, a liturgical feast in honor of the martyrdom in Rome for the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul in Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

Do you feel we have missed anything? Let us know! Contact our Diversity and Inclusion committee at inclusive@security-asp.com.