How You Can Prepare Your Business for a Possible Coronavirus Pandemic

Preparation over fear and worry is always our focus. Here’s how we’re advising our clients to prepare their businesses for a possible coronavirus pandemic: 

According to CDC guidelines for businesses about the coronavirus COVID-19, “The following interim guidance may help prevent workplace exposures to acute respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, in non-healthcare settings. The guidance also provides planning considerations if there are more widespread, community outbreaks of COVID-19.” 

Here’s a link to the full CDC guidance report: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/specific-groups/guidance-business-response.html

In addition to the CDC guidelines, here are our recommendations for steps your business should take internally to protect against a possible pandemic: 

1. Review Work-Remote Possibilities: identify any employees with the ability to work remote should this become a necessity. Consider other employees you may be able to prepare for work remote potential. 
2. Perform a Test Work Remote Day: any employees who can work remote, establish a day where you practice and work out any inefficiencies in advance. 
3. Review your business continuity plan: this is the systems of prevention and recovery to deal with potential threats to a company.
4. Review and update emergency contact numbers and emails as needed. 
5. Review Web Conferencing capabilities: does your current system have the ability to accommodate your entire team if you were all working remote? 
6. Stockpile necessary office supplies such as hand sanitizer, soap, toilet paper, etc. 
7. Review supply lists related to business operations and stockpile if possible (many overseas shipping is already being affected so the sooner you do this, the better, especially if it directly impacts your business operations).
8. Inventory which employees have laptops and consider purchase of additional laptops in the event all employees need to work remotely.
9. Review warning signs for phishing attacks with your entire staff: there is already an increase in these types of attacks, so staff members should be extra aware. 
10. Discuss potential emergency work remote plans with your entire staff with an estimated timeline so they are prepared if it goes into effect. 

If you have additional concerns about the coronavirus please refer to the CDC website for guidelines and updates. For additional questions about preparing your business, don’t hesitate to reach out to PK Tech. Contact PK Tech