Here we are. After several weeks of watching and waiting, the United States has entered a state of national emergency with the COVID-19 pandemic. The immediate impacts the virus is having on our businesses, families, and communities are evident, and the weeks ahead promise even bigger challenges. We’re all wondering, “How bad will it get?”
Truth is, no one knows. In the meantime, to paraphrase Bob Dylan, “we do what we can, we do what we must.”
Here at Trellist, that means a couple of things:
1) Protecting the health of our employees. Long before the crisis began, we equipped them with the tools and the flexibility they need to work remotely. This week, as the pace of the virus’s spread became clear, we quickly switched from a voluntary work-from-home policy to a mandatory one. We’re heeding the CDC’s health guidance and will continue to do so in the coming weeks and months.
2) Continuing to deliver timely, high-quality work to our clients. For a quarter-century, companies have trusted Trellist as their marketing and technology partner, and our essential duty to them, now as always, is to provide our services to the best of our abilities. With our remote work capabilities, we remain fully available to do our part in combatting any potential economic repercussions for our clients’ businesses.
The COVID-19 crisis is wide-ranging, and in the U.S. at least, it’s only just begun. Already, though, a few things are clear:
Technology is essential.
We’ve built a flexible work culture that allows our staff and our business to operate from just about anywhere. Ensuring we have the technology in place to do so has been a preoccupation of ours for quite some time, and was the subject of a recent post by two of our colleagues, Tommy Atadan and Stephen Calabro.
Even though we’re physically separated, tools like Microsoft Teams are enabling us to be nimble and responsive in ways that were unimaginable even a decade ago. We’re here, we’re present, and we’re ready to get your work done.
Communication is vital.
During crises like this, we’re all hungry for answers, and certain resources quickly become favorites. You’ve probably seen COVID-19 maps and trackers, like this one put together by Johns Hopkins University. Our own technology partner, Sprinklr, has assembled a similar resource that also tallies social media mentions of the disease.
Internal communications are just as important. Managing enterprise information-sharing systems like SharePoint for our clients is a significant part of our business, and we know that our expertise is especially welcome at times like these, when companies are consumed with more immediate concerns like payroll, revenue, and business continuity. We’ve done SharePoint integrations for many of our clients and now we’re helping those same clients craft and share messaging with their employees during the present crisis.
Look for silver linings.
Just a week ago, as networking events like Adobe Summit began to topple in a string of major cancellations, our Digital Marketing and Social Business Lead, Neil Dougherty, wrote this thoughtful LinkedIn piece on how marketers can make sense of the current moment. As Neil pointed out, the COVID-19 crisis is most definitely a scourge, but it’s an opportunity, too; a chance to practice self-improvement and become more thoughtful and disciplined about the work we do.
Availability is everything.
We know that each of our clients will be affected by COVID-19 differently. But we say this to you, regardless of your size and circumstances: we are here for you. We are committed to going above and beyond to help you get as close as possible to “business as usual” during this extreme disruption, however long it might last. If you need anything, please know that we’re available. Reach out to us, even if it’s just to hear a friendly voice.
To all our clients and partners, we thank you again for entrusting your business to us. We are grateful for the role we play in your work and in your lives, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that your organizations thrive now and in the future. For those of you who are not Trellist clients but are interested in our services, consider this an invitation to get in touch with us and learn more about the ways we can help you.
Wherever you are right now, we wish you, your colleagues, your families, and your community wellness and positivity during these challenging times. Together, we’ll get through this.
