Yakkety Yak’s new normal with coronavirus
With the news of coronavirus (COVID-19) building all year, in the back of my mind, I suspected that it would only be a matter of time before we had to face the disease head-on. Gradually, as more and more cases were confirmed in the United States, this new normal was upon us.
During the week of March 9, 2020, I realized it was time for us to take action. Even if the direction wasn’t coming from authorities—that would come a little bit later—I needed to act quickly for the safety of my team and our community.
The World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and other experts all agreed that urgent action was required to help contain the spread of coronavirus. That’s why, with our employees’ and community’s best interests in mind, last Wednesday we made the decision to close Yakkety Yak headquarters, until at least April 6. And, if we’re honest with ourselves, even longer.
We have 15 people on our team and we all rarely work from home. So how were we going to pull this off without any notice? I know I am not the only small business owner navigating these waters, so I thought I would share more about how we set ourselves up for success—knowing it could be a while before we were all back together.
- Setting up a communication strategy: We got all the tools we need to remain connected and on top of our work, including GoToMeeting, Asana, and Google Hangouts. We will also evaluate and revise our communication strategy as needed on a weekly basis to address any gaps that may come up.
- Being flexible: This is a new situation for everyone, and plans may change. When it comes to those important in-person meetings, video shoots, photoshoots and fundraisers, we have to come up with solutions that work for our clients while still keeping the current situation in mind. We rescheduled some meetings, set up new conference lines for others and determined the best way to approach each of these instances—either by adapting to work digitally or by ensuring a limited use of public transportation.
- Following the advice of the professionals: We understand that, in many ways, it’s a great privilege to be able to continue working effectively from home while socially distancing ourselves. For retailers, food service workers, healthcare professionals and others, this simply isn’t possible. But doing our part to limit the spread of COVID-19 infection also keeps them safer. If you do have the means to work from home, we encourage you to follow the advice of the experts. They know what they’re talking about.
Please stay safe—and don’t forget to wash your hands!
