ClearRisk introduces work from home policy amid coronavirus

ClearRisk – a tech-powered risk management company that offers integrated, cloud-based software solutions for claims, fleet, incident, and insurance certificate management – has announced that starting today, March 12, 2020, its entire staff will be working from home until further notice.

The company’s decision to allow employees to work from home comes after the World Health Organization recently declared the COVID-19 coronavirus a pandemic.

“We are very lucky to be an advanced technology company that has embraced working remotely and remote working tools for many years. All of our staff have laptops, smartphones, and videoconferencing, and their work is easily adaptable to working securely from home,” said ClearRisk CEO Craig Rowe. “We are a risk management company, so mitigating risk and protecting people is in our DNA. If we can easily work from home without disruption, and at the same time help quell a potential spread, then it’s a very simple risk calculation for us.”

In a company statement, ClearRisk said that its customers are from across North America in many industries – the firm made its decision in order to keep its staff safe and ensure that service is not disrupted.

Although ClearRisk is pushing for working from home arrangements, the company is calling for everyone to comply with government health directives and to continue to support the business community.

“Eat out, use services, and continue to work and live, while being cautious. We hope that with companies like ClearRisk taking action like this and limiting the spread, that this pandemic will be short-lived and that we can all get back to business as usual as quickly as possible,” Rowe remarked.

ClearRisk also listed some risk management considerations for other businesses to ponder in light of the coronavirus pandemic:

Customers and Supply Chain

• Stress test:
  • How can Coronavirus disrupt your business?
  • Can you lose customers and/or decrease revenue?
  • What’s your contingency plan if revenues are impacted?
  • What expenses can be cut?
  • How will you manage cashflow?
  • How will you protect employees and customers?
• Establish a communication plan for customers, employees, suppliers and stakeholders.
• Identify essential business functions, essential jobs or roles, and critical elements within your supply chains (e.g., raw materials, suppliers, subcontractor services/products, and logistics) required to maintain business operations. Plan for how your business will operate if there is increasing absenteeism or these supply chains are interrupted.
• Be prepared to change your business practices if needed to maintain critical operations (e.g., identify alternative suppliers, prioritize customers, or temporarily suspend some of your operations if needed).

Employees

• Emphasize staying home when sick, respiratory etiquette and hand hygiene by all employees.
• Where possible encourage employees to work from home.
• Prepare for possible increased numbers of employee absences due to illness in employees and their family members.
• Plan to minimize exposure between employees and also between employees and the public, if public health officials call for social distancing.
• Cross-train personnel to perform essential functions so that the workplace is able to operate even if key staff members are absent.
• Consider cancelling non-essential business travel to areas where there are large clusters of infected people.
• Consider cancelling large work-related meetings or events in areas where there are large clusters of infected people.
• Travel restrictions may be enacted by other countries which may limit the ability of employees to return home if they become sick while on travel status.

Workplace

• Routinely clean all frequently touched surfaces in the workplace, such as workstations, countertops, and doorknobs. Use the cleaning agents that are usually used in these areas and follow the directions on the label.
• Provide disposable wipes so that commonly used surfaces (for example, doorknobs, keyboards, remote controls, desks) can be wiped down by employees before each use.
• Provide soap and water and alcohol-based hand rubs in the workplace. Ensure that adequate supplies are maintained. Place hand rubs in multiple locations or in conference rooms to encourage hand hygiene.

Stay Informed

• What are other companies (in your industry or not) doing?
• What impact have past pandemics had on your business, and your industry? (SARS, H1N1, etc)
• United States Centres for Disease Control (CDC) https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html
• The Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html