Janine Allen
As a communications agency which regularly advises clients in crisis situations, we’re used to being the “objective observers”, providing counsel on how to navigate internal and external communications. But once the support is delivered, and things are under control, we typically have the ability to shift gears, work on something else and remove ourselves from the situation.
But these days, we’re all in this together. Just like our clients, we’re managing our own internal and external communications, taking care to support the health of our team and their families and make sure everyone has what they need to do their jobs (which, in my opinion, also includes feelings of connection to their teammates and culture!).
So, in light of the rapidly changing situation around the COVID-19 virus, our recommendation to our clients, is to continue to over-communicate. That good advice is something we are doing for our own business as well. Remote work environments require more investment in communication in good times; even more so in challenging times.
KLC has had a flexible, remote work policy in place for many years. Our team members have the tools and technology to ensure secure access to our server, client files and each other when away from the office. As with any public health matter, we are guided by the recommendations of responsible government health authorities and will implement additional measures accordingly.
Effective Monday, we began to implement common-sense policies throughout the office. These include:
– Working from home
– Testing any applications we use on a regular basis
– “Social distancing” strategies such as:
– Using tele-and video-conferencing solution
– Avoiding travel
– Avoiding nonessential face to face meetings (external and internal, including training and conference attendance)
As always, the ability to keep our clients’ sensitive information secure is an utmost priority, so remote work will always be from locations where our teams have access to a private and secure network.
On the culture and connectedness front, here are some other things we’re doing/have done to keep the #KLCBestTeam connected:
– Virtual St. Patrick’s Day party with photos from our own workspaces
– A new Google Doc to keep a running list of available virtual resources (everything from webinars and tech tools, to free fitness streaming sites and binge-worthy TV shows after the workday)
– Encouraging phone calls and video calls
– A new Slack channel for sharing our daily workspace updates (cats, kids and lunches)
– Reminders about our own health resources, including EFAP
We are working hard to ensure everything is as close to business as usual as possible. We will continue to demonstrate informed, good judgement and operational excellence while also taking care of our people, our clients and our work without disruption.
Stay healthy. Stay safe. Stay home. But stay connected with your team, friends and family as well. Pick up the phone. Video chat. Organize a virtual hang out or attend a virtual event (check out Facebook for free concerts and global isolation parties!).
And if you need anything, call us. We’re in it together, and we’ll get through it together.