What are Businesses doing in Response to the Coronavirus Outbreak?
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) predicts that the majority of American workers will experience either low or medium exposure risk to the Coronavirus at their place of employment. As a business, it’s important to protect your employees and lower the risk of infection by working closely with state and local health officials. Local officials will have the accurate information to guide appropriate actions that are relevant to your community and the conditions in your locality. The CDC has provided guidance strategies to mitigate the transmission and impact of Coronavirus. All businesses need to consider taking actions that will:
- Reduce transmission among employees
- Maintain healthy business operations
- Maintain a healthy work environment
Your state may have mandated staffing procedures already, but if not, use common sense. You can reduce transmission among employees by encouraging sick employees to stay home, identifying where employees might be exposed, separate sick employees, and educate employees on how to reduce transmission. Businesses can maintain healthy operations by implementing robust sick leave and other supportive policies, assess what essential functions are and who/what they rely on, develop a plan on how to continue operations with absent workers, and consider pushing policies that encourage social distancing. Lastly, businesses can maintain healthy work environments by improving the ventilation system, support employee respiratory and hand hygiene, perform routine cleanings and start intensive cleanings, advise employees to reduce or eliminate travel, and use electronic alternatives to traditional meetings and gatherings.
Has Staffing been Affected at Different types of Businesses as Coronavirus spreads in the US?
The Coronavirus outbreak has quickly taken a toll on the US economy with hundreds of layoffs, drastic increases in numbers of unemployment claims and all non-essential businesses cutting hours of operation if not shutting down completely. This means supply chains will be slowing or halting in the coming months as demand for products freezes. Everyone who can work remotely is encouraged to. Tech businesses in particular, like Facebook, Amazon, and Google, have implemented remote working policies. Meanwhile, staffing needs are not being met by healthcare facilities due to the increase in healthcare needs and school closures forcing parents to stay home and homeschool their kids. For those organizations requiring staff, they’re taking an “all hands on deck” approach. Many facilities are also re-purposing employees to a more prioritized sector. With this need in mind and less foot traffic in their building, many companies are taking human resources from reception and plugging them in elsewhere….leaving incoming calls un-manned OR to the responsibility of an outside call center service.
Consumer questions around Coronavirus are on the rise
There are a myriad of questions circulating due to the Coronavirus outbreak including the availability of food and drugs and the possibility of further business closures. As demonstrated by huge lines at the grocery stores, consumers are concerned about the food supply and the availability of certain products. Additionally, there’s a concern about the nation’s blood supply at medical facilities due to the halt of blood donations, and the shortage of essential medical supplies such as face masks, ventilators, and other personal protective equipment (PPE). The FDA has been closely watching the disruption of the medical supply chain with the expectation that Coronavirus would disrupt supply or create shortages of critical medical products. Many organizations are still receiving high levels of call volume, thus the need for a business answering service.
How can a Business Answering Service help US Businesses during the Threat of Coronavirus?
Anserve provides critical phone answering services for businesses that want to be available for every phone call but are not able to make employees available. At this time, businesses will certainly miss calls, whether during or after business hours. When this happens, they are not capturing data and the client experience is degraded. Anserve is the premier call center solution for businesses experiencing an uptick in calls from clients or customers asking questions due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Anserve is a business answering service that can help prioritize phone calls and emails for any operational organization. Providing your clients and customers with a live agent makes everyone feel more comfortable. After following your approved script and dispatching messages according to your protocol, Anserve will ensure your team to be accountable to all incoming priorities. This course of action during the Coronavirus outbreak will increase the likelihood of survival for your business. Anserve is the solution and business answering service to help in doing so.
