Emergency Response Team

The wide impact of the virus response is beginning to sink in with all of us. For the first time, most of us are realizing it’s going to impact us both personally and professionally.

If you haven’t done so already, I recommend your company form an Emergency Response Team. An Emergency Response Team is a planning and communications task force. They should plan to meet for 30-60 minutes each day until events have stabilized. These teams will vary in size depending on the size of your company. Here are the roles:

Communications: This can be divided between one or two people whose roles include: 1) someone responsible for approving all customer communications and talking points and 2) someone who is responsible for all approved employee talking points and written communications.

Staffing: Select a team member who will be responsible for employee actions including staffing levels, leaves of absences, vacations, sick days, work at home decisions and furloughs (if needed).

Financial: Have a team member who will manage financial forecasts, especially cash. Other roles will be temporary AP and AR policies during the emergency. Avoid using your line of credit if possible.

Operations: Have a team member who will manage operational decisions including revised project schedules, logistics, supplies and inventories.

Facilitator: Select one member to facilitate daily meetings.

Administrative: Select one member who can document decisions and action items.

Be confident this crisis will pass. We all just need to navigate through it in such a way that we have the very best outcome for ourselves, employees and customers.