This is a difficult time for many businesses as we face this pandemic. The CDC has urged businesses to prepare for the worst as the situation develops, so we have come up with a list of things your company can do to prepare for the coronavirus.

Stay Up to Date on News and Developments

It is important you pay attention to what is going on and make sure the information is credible.

The CDC has a resource coronavirus.gov with information for business owners and US residents. You can find information about symptoms, protecting yourself, preparing your family, as well as information specifically for business owners and employees. They’ve released Corona Virus Guidelines for Businesses which is a resource updated as developments occur.

Additionally, the World Health Organization (WHO) has a fact sheet for businesses and an FAQ resource page.

Identify Risks and Important Functions

Recently, a lot of companies are being forced to employ work from home / remote work systems in an effort to prepare for the coronavirus. Either employ your disaster plan or start identifying key functions that need to be done in order for your business to continue running smoothly.

A few questions to ask yourself

What functions must be completed in order to keep the business running?
How will you continue work if your employees end up getting sick or need to care for their families?
If a critical employee is sick: Can you train someone quickly or outsource work that key employees are not able to complete due to sickness/family care?
Will you be affected if products imported are restricted? How will you face this?
Do you have a remote communication system set up? Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google hangouts are all great options.

Prepare your business and employees for the worst challenges so you can face them effectively.

Safety in the Workplace

If you are still working in-office, please keep these suggestions in mind:

Ask employees to practice proper hygiene: washing hands and cleaning their workspace.
Provide extra hand sanitizer, Lysol, and sanitizing wipes throughout the office.
Wipe down desks, counters, door handles, and high traffic areas regularly.
Re-arrange workspace so that employees are at least 6 feet apart. This reduces the spread of the virus.

Know the Symptoms

All business owners should understand the coronavirus symptoms so you can identify them if you or your employees show them.

Mild cold/flu send an employee home.
Sanitize sick employees’ workspace.
Keep in mind: you may have to increase sick leave and/or pay if you are preventing employees from coming to work due to illness.

Retailer Tips:

Since this is a global pandemic, all businesses are being affected. You have to be prepared for supply chain issues, product shortages, and the potential need for an alternative supplier.

Keep in touch with suppliers to stay aware of problems that might come up. Be prepared for your online orders to increase. Offer the option for customers to order via phone. Adjust your strategy so you can continue the business.

This is a very difficult time for many. At Modern Retail Solutions, we wish everyone health and safety as we endure this pandemic together. If you have questions or are in need of retail displays, please reach out to us and we are happy to help.