PDG Tom DeWitts thoughts on being prepared

Let's start a conversation! Let's think about what we can be doing or thinking about in anticipation of getting back to whatever the new "normal" will be as we reopen the economy.

 

I've never been the sharpest knife in the drawer, but have been good at identifying folks with diverse skills to tackle problems and come up with win/win solutions to personal and communal challenges. What are the steps that your organization should use to start the ramp up process for your business or organization?

1. How will we clean the facility before we have any normal interaction between employees and the clients or customers we serve? Are there disinfectant procedures that we need to institute as folks enter or leave the premises?

 

2. Is there a way to split the workforce into some that continue to work from home and some that come to the site? Have we actually been effectively and efficiently been utilizing our human resources during the "at home" period? Can we slow down the assembly line or process to maintain quality performance without having all hands at their normal stations? Could we actually operate every other day for a period to be sure our efforts to stop the spread of the virus is effective? 

 

3. Do we actually have job descriptions in place so that we can accurately restore operations irrespective of the presence of specific individuals in the workplace. Should we be working on refining those now so that we are confident on the process of recalling individuals? 

 

4. How much time will be necessary before we begin to solicit, invite, advertise, our products or services to our existing clientele....to new prospects...to the general public. 

 

5. How do we determine the volume of business that will be available so that we don't have folks sitting around without being productive? Does this restart give us an opportunity to analyze how we care for the customers that we have historically served? Are we actually staying in touch with our suppliers and our customers in anticipation of this restart?

 

I have been fortunate to have worked on assembly lines, traditional retail, restaurants, farming, real estate, education, health care, engineering, property taxes and government services. These are a start, but I'm sure many of you will have other ideas that we can all benefit from. Feel free to share ideas, comments, questions. or concerns as we work to make our economic return beneficial as it can be for all involved!