As many of us are counting down the days until the lock down is lifted, let us not forget to take note of the fact that everything wouldn’t be as us they use to be.
Businesses that would be allowed to resume should do their part in making sure that guidelines are in place and strictly enforced to make sure that a second wave won’t occur.
But how should the guidelines look like? What should be in it? We have enumerated a few but important things to consider in crafting it:
Health & Safety is #1
The Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Labor and Employment has issued out an advisory mandating businesses to put in place minimum health guidelines to ensure to minimize the spread of COVID – 19.
Below are some of the important points of said issuance:
- Maintain proper hygiene by washing of hands regularly. Sanitizing and disinfecting all common contact place such as door knobs, handles.
- Maintain physical distancing at all times with a distance of no less than 1 meter radius from each other or limiting number of persons in an enclosed space.
- Provide a measure for checking the temperature of every employee and/or visitors.
- Accomplishment of health checklist form.
- Work from Home arrangement is encouraged
- Employers are enjoined to provide the following:
- FREE medicines and vitamins
- Provide adequate resources such as face masks, water, soap ,sanitizer, disinfectant, thermometers and COVID-19 test kits.
- Designation of safety officers who will see to it physical distancing is enforced.
- Provide possible ways of transportation to reduce the possibility of exposure during travel.
- Putting up a COVID -19 Hotline
You may download the full advisory here:
Check your resources.
This will be the best time to call your accountants and HR person to check on the Company’s resources which includes :
- Cash – make sure you have enough cash to operate for the first few weeks .
- Inventory – inventory levels need to be checked what’s on hand so that your sales team would now what products needs to be pushed.
- For those in the service business your inventory could be your long list of back logs with your clients. Call your clients and reassure them that you are on top of it
- Receivables – time to make that phone call and check on people owing your business to augment your cash. Just be understanding also that your debtor might not pay your right away , if that is the case provide him/her a payment plan to settle the debt.
- Employees – they might not show up in your in your balance sheet but they are your company’s asset. Check on their status and advise them of the possible resumption of work
- Payables – all though not an asset it is better to check on this also. As their is a long list of payments that needs to be made, first on the list is Taxes (see our previous article on tax deadlines ).
Expect to operate at Minimum Capacity
Everything is not back to normal, expect major disruptions affecting your operations such as employees having a hard time getting a ride on their way to work, deliveries will still be hampered and work in the office would be minimized.
Put it in writing and Communicate
Take all these 3 factors into consideration and you may now prepare your guidelines. Remember to put it in writing and communicate to the people who will be affected by such policies.
Things would no longer be normal again for a very long time and we have to live under the “NEW NORMAL”. It will be hard but we have to be patient and obedient in order to bounce back from this.
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