Strategic Guidance During COVID-19 Crisis

Implement a crisis management committee

❏ Implement a multidisciplinary crisis management team (e.g. leaders from Sales, Planning, Operations, QA, Logistics, HR, Legal, Finance, Communications, external Advisors) and meet daily or in no longer than 72 hrs.
❏ Follow a plan and an agenda. Download plan and agenda example.
❏ Track action plans in a collaborative file such a Google sheet, One-Drive Microsoft Excel or web-based platforms like Asana. Download tracking tool example.

Model your P&L and define action plans

❏ Build a tool to model your P&L, and use an ABC approach to ease decision making on the following:

• Expense accounts to focus on such as direct or indirect labor (key staff, overtime, layoffs, furlough, compensation, benefits, insurance) marketing, services, outside storage, traveling, training, subscriptions, G&A.
• Work with key suppliers to extend payment terms
• Prioritize/postpone investments
• Prioritize collecting

Communicate and strengthen your partnership with customers and suppliers

❏ Stay in constant communication with your customers, suppliers and service providers. 

• Keep in mind the following structure when writing a letter or e-mail to your customers, suppliers and service providers. Download example.

❏ Having your employees informed about the crisis in your company with transparency and targeted information to their immediate needs, will improve communication, reduce the level of uncertainty and will help you get the support that you need from them.

• Consider verbal communication meetings for all employees by top management.
• Here is an example on how you can approach your employees. Download example.
  
  

Look after your employees

❏ Consider layoffs a last resource to keep employees committed and to improve your chances at forgiven loans offered by US SBA office.
❏ If possible, focus instead on salary reductions (at all levels), eliminating overtime, reducing benefits.
❏ Work to protect your most vulnerable employees (e.g. age over 50, chronic medical conditions, pregnant women) and define a separate process for them.
❏ Talk to your insurance and ensure your employees are covered.
❏ Avoid in-person meetings of more than 2-3 employees.
❏ Identify if any of your employees (from US or Expats) is stranded in the US or abroad. If they haven't traveled home prepare a plan for them to stay in place at least until end of April 2020.
❏ Track immigration status of your employees in the US and work in advance of normal timelines for renewals, updates, status changes, etc.
❏ Identify employees who have traveled in the last 14 days and define actions to contain any risk they may pose. Authorities are including domestic travel as risk. Limit traveling according to CDS’s recommendations.
❏ Have guidelines for employees on the following:

• What to do if you recently traveled in the last 14 days? Download guideline.
• What to do if you show symptoms? Download guideline.
• What to do if a family member of your employee is sick? Download guideline.
• What are the work-from-home guidelines and tools? Download guideline.

Define and communicate how your business is supporting mitigation efforts

❏ Support a cause to further your corporate citizenship and communicate your advocacy to customers, employees, suppliers. Download example of letter.