76 Questions to Address Business Survival in a COVID19 World

COVID19 is the Godzilla of disasters – creating a wide swath of destruction around the globe. No area has been spared. This is not something that we have seen in our lifetime. There have been other pandemics in the past, the Spanish flu, the plague, but we haven't seen this in our lifetime. So this is new territory for us and it's a little tricky to figure out exactly how to address it because we're used to responding to what I would call normal disasters.

We have prepared for and dealt with fires with tornadoes, snow floods, earthquakes, cyber disasters. These events occur in a limited area, you respond, and you get back to normal. Previously, you may not have even included a flu in the list of disasters your organization might face because it was localized and short-lived. 

Whether you like it or not, COVID-19 is having an effect not just on individual health but on business health as well. You might not consider the coronavirus a traditional disaster the way we think of tornados or floods. But it does meet the definition of a disaster as "an unplanned interruption of normal business operations for an unacceptable period of time."

COVID19 was not something any of us saw coming. It is certainly affecting our normal business functioning and it's already well beyond an acceptable time period and going for longer.  Making it even more challenging is the widespread effect – every country, every business, every individual is affected.

Keep calm and start planning

Every business needs to have a plan to respond to the unplanned interruption. Playing the ostrich, hiding your head in the sand, will leave your business vulnerable. Smart businesses are proactive and will be prepared to survive and even thrive. My best advice is this: Stay calm and Start Planning!

Planning comes in two forms - disaster response and business continuity. Disaster response covers the immediate actions to contain and mitigate a disaster. What will you do if one of your employees is diagnosed with COVID-19? Business continuity planning refers to the steps you will take to resume normal operations. The response to COVID-19 will be a combination of the two.

Quick Tips:

• Don’t panic but do plan
• Show concern for your employees – give them an opportunity to share their concerns and ask questions. Consider having an education session with a nurse or doctor
• Show concern for your customers. For any customer/client meetings, offer the opportunity to meet virtually. For your business customers/clients, share your wisdom on protecting their business and planning a response.
• Communicate and educate frequently
• Brainstorm with every department – How might you be affected?
• Brainstorm possible options to mitigate the impact
• Document what you will do, when you will do it and who will be responsible
• Look for opportunities, how can you be part of the solution? 

Seventy-Six Pandemic Response Questions

Here is a list questions that you should address to help you prepare a comprehensive pandemic response strategy. The questions are organized in the following six categories:

1.     Employees

2.     Operations

3.     Finances

4.     Customers

5.     Supply chain

6.      Community

Questions about your employees:

1.     How can you protect your employees?

2.     Will you train your employees on how to identify coronavirus symptoms? 

3.     How do you make sure employees do not come to work if they are sick? 

4.     How will you respond if an employee is diagnosed with coronavirus?   

5.     Do you have a work from home policy?

6.     Will there be exceptions to who can work from home?

7.     How will your employees get access to the necessary information and documents they need to work from home?

8.      How will your employees get the necessary equipment and resources they need to work from home?

9.     Will you allow employees to travel? 

10. What methods of communication will you use: phone, text, instant messaging, video conferencing?

11. How will you keep you employees informed and up-to-date?

12. If employees must travel, what steps will you take to ensure their medical safety? 

13. How will you respond if an employee needs to care for an infected family member?   

14. How will you keep employees engaged and connected if working from home?

15. How will you track work hours?

16. How will you evaluate employee productivity?

17. How will you recruit and hire new employees virtually?

18. When the pandemic is over will you continue to allow employees to work from home?

19. What employment laws are changing and how do they affect your workforce?

20. Where are the opportunities to develop stronger relationships with your employees?

Questions about your operations:

21. What parts of your business are crucial to keep operating?

22. When should you exclude visitors from your offices?

23. How will you decide if you need to close an office? 

24. Will you close your business for the recommended 2-week quarantine or longer? 

25. How will you disinfect your office? 

26. How will you stay informed about changes in local, state, and Federal law? (especially in the area of employment law)

27. If you close your office, how will you get your mail?

28. If you close your office, how will you maintain security?

29. If your offices or locations are closed, can you take advantage of the situation to perform maintenance tasks?

30. If employees are working from home, how will you forward calls?

31. How will keep employees, customers, and vendors informed (especially if you close your office)? 

32. Should you postpone any meetings, events, or travel?

33. Is your IT system robust enough to handle the demand if more employees are working from home?

34. How will you maintain data security and data integrity?

35. How will you remind employees about cyber-security?

36. Will managers at specific locations be given authority to address their unique situations?

37. How will you manage your organization’s brand and reputation?

38. Are you willing to “bend the rules” and deviate from normal policy and procedure?

39. Where are the opportunities for new products and services?

Questions about your finances:

40. If your offices are closed, how will you collect payments? 

41. Have you updated your cash flow projections?

42. How long can your business survive without any new sales? (Hint: Calculate the Defensive Interval)

43.  How will you pay your bills and payroll if your office is closed? 

44. What expenses can be cut back immediately?

45. Do you have available lines of credit? 

46. Do you need additional liquidity?

47. What Federal and state aid programs can you take advantage of?

48. Are there any changes and/or extensions to regulations and compliance reporting?

49. Have you updated your budget/financial models for worst case scenario?

50. What are your loan, contract, and grant covenants?

51. Do you have insurance coverages that might apply - workers compensation, business interruption, dependent properties?

52. Do you need additional disclosures in your financial statements? Subsequent events, loss contingencies, asset impairment, risks and uncertainties, going-concern?

53. Can you have virtual meetings of your Board of Directors?

54. How will you hold shareholder meetings? Can they be virtual? What are the legalities?

55. Do you need to update your internal controls?

56. Where are the opportunities for the finance department to support the rest of the organization?

Questions about your customers:

57. How will you stay connected to customers if employees are out sick or the office is closed? 

58. How will you maintain relationships with your customers?

59. How will you provide excellent customer service if your locations are closed or short-staffed?

60. How will you deliver on contracts if the office is closed or there is a disruption in your supply chain? 

61. Do you have a “force majeure” clause in your contracts?  If so, do you want to implement it?

62. Will you notify all customers if an employee is diagnosed? 

63. How will you respond if a customer is affected by the coronavirus and wants to cancel orders or amend contracts?

64. How will you respond if a customer is affected by the coronavirus and does not pay your invoice on time? 

65. Are there ways you can assist your customers in addressing the coronavirus?

Questions about your supply chain:

66. Who are your mission-critical vendors?

67. Do you have any sole-suppliers?

68. Can you find alternate suppliers?

69. Which vendors should you call to discuss their coronavirus plans?

70. How would a delay in delivery of materials and products affect your production? 

71. Should you delay or cancel orders?

72. Where are the opportunities to work with our vendors that will be beneficial to both of us?

Questions about your community:

73. How is our community vulnerable?

74. Who in our community needs the most help?

75. What products or services do we have that can be of service?

76. What organizations can you work with? (charities – Red Cross, the United Way, disaster response organizations – United Nations, World Health Organization, governmental agencies – FEMA

Additional Resources:

·      Faster Disaster Recovery: Developing a Business Continuity Plan, Jennifer Elder, CPA, Wiley Publishing, https://amzn.to/32IT0NQ

·      Coronavirus and Business Continuity Planning, https://go.aws/2TvVyLc

·      Centers for Disease Control (CDC), cdc.gov

·      World Health Organization, https://bit.ly/2UaQTPc

·      Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) shrm.org

·      US Department of Labor, dol.gov

·      OSA, https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/covid-19/

·      National Law Review, https://bit.ly/3dau1YX

·      An employment attorney

·      Your insurance carrier – particularly their loss prevention department

If you would like assistance developing your coronavirus disaster response or business continuity plan, please contact me for a free thirty-minute consultation.