How COVID19 will change our workday

by Barbara Schmidt

1) Travel - Will we ever get back to normal? Will there always be pockets of COVID19 out there like Ebola or Zika? 

Until we can vaccinate everyone, will we be on travel holds for the short-term? During that time, we will find out if this highly contagious disease will mutate and if this sickness can be a repeat infection. Looking ahead we may find that there will be many rate curves of infection all over the world in various stages of contagiousness. How can we make sure our teams are safe? We may have to hold until we know the virus cannot affect our population any longer.

Amid the sudden plunge in global demand, commercial air traffic is poised to fall 8.9% this year, according to Jefferies Financial Group Inc. That would be the biggest decline in the 42 years of available data stretching back to 1978, dwarfing the impact of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Bloomberg Businessweek

2) Trade Shows - Can we ever gather in more than groups of two or three? 

Due to the highly contagious nature of COVID19 we may have to stay in place for more than six months to a year. As trade shows are one of our most important events of the year, we will have to find other ways to reconnect with our industry. Virtual meetings will become the norm. Just a few weeks ago I spoke to John Burns, real estate expert and consultant, right after he had completed a conference call with 700 participants on Zoom. So larger group conferencing can be done, even with some larger numbers of team members.

Source some of the latest changes in trade show scheduling here: https://www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/covid-19-trade-show-impact-update/2020/03/

3) Slack - Can it replace face-to-face collaboration meetings?

In short, yes. This tool and many other tools such as Zoom where people can share screens and presentations together is critical to successful collaboration. It takes a bit more effort, but it’s worth becoming an integrator and scheduler to reconnect. This is a time when we have to learn some new technology, but it will become as easy as email once you get going. We’ve been using Zoom for a while now and you can try it for free. Practice with each other internally and then invite your vendor partners to make sure it works for you.

The majority (88%) of organizations now either encourage or require employees to work from home, whether or not they've shown coronavirus-related symptoms, according to Gartner research released on March 19, 2020.

4) Messaging - What will people want to hear? 

As with any recession - and we here at studiobstyle have been through several - the market pulls back to essentials. All messaging and communication will be about how to weather the next few months to a year. We know that we can help by continuing to create, continuing to support both local and national businesses, and offering smarter ways to communicate and market businesses. 

Our proprietary platform for ecommerce is a wonderful tool that can be implemented easily and helps to create lead generation even in a downturn. And if you need help with messaging, we are masters at strategizing and implementing both PR and Social Media campaigns large and small, reoccurring or short-term.
Approach the situation with empathy. Put yourself in your constituents’ shoes to understand their anxiety. You will sometimes get it right, and you will often get it wrong, but it is still better to be as transparent as you can. Paul A. Argenti, Harvard Business Review

5) Action - What can we do? 

Offer hope and help. Authentically of course. Everyone needs a hand right now keeping morale up and coming up with new methodologies for commerce. Ideas are everywhere and there are a lot of people either not working or slowing down. Ask for help. 

And give if you can. We are offering local grocery and restaurant giveaways with matching programs, helping our vendor partners with special projects, and donating our time and funds to help our communities.

This pandemic is a major shift in how we communicate and conduct business. There will be a before, during and after the pandemic in terms of historical eras. It is critical now that we do everything we can to help each other. Together we can do this. #hopeisourhorizon #14daysofhopecampaign

Help spread the word to crowdfund these coronavirus relief funds from Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s COVID-19 Response Fund, GoFundMe,  GlobalGiving, and Global Impact to help provide needed medical supplies, public health support, and more. Research online to find local fundraisers to help people in your community or support any local nonprofit that has increased needs to meet because of this crisis. Youth Service America ysa.org