Coronavirus Business Continuity Resources

Daily Updates and Resources to Help You Protect Your Business and Employees

Updated 6/9/2020

We're reading, interpreting, and vetting the vast amounts of resources and information being shared within and outside the Allied Community all-day, every day.  As things come out, and they are helpful we'll post them here.  Bookmark the page and check back often.

THANK YOU to all partners, members, and the general business community who are creating such helpful, valuable, and insightful stuff to help.  The power of the community in action. ​

Tuesday 6/9

• Clarifications and summary of the new PPP adjustments act put in play this week - PDF - (Credit: WIPFLI)

Monday 6/8

• The MN Symptom Screener is a digital tool designed for businesses and organizations to screen COVID-19 health-related symptoms of employees and other people entering their facilities, to help manage and promote a healthy and safe workplace and environment (Credit: MMA)

• The PPP Loan Forgiveness program bill has been signed and updated.  View this document from our partners at WIPFLI for the latest adjustments and interpretations. (Credit: WIPFLI)

Friday 5/29

• PPP adjustments on the way.  Passes through House.  Senate next.  This is really good news for all SMB owners.  Stay tuned.

Thursday 5/21

• Return to Work Checklist and Details - PDF - (Credit: BDH) - Sample versions of return to work guidance for employers.

Monday 5/18

• The PPP Loan Forgiveness Application (PDF)

Thursday 5/14

• SBA announces economic uncertainty safe harbor for loans under $2 million (WIPFLI.com)
• Re-Entry into the office setting has been a big topic in recent meetings.  Posting a handful of helpful resources on this particular topic below.  Thank you to Dan Wallek from Illuminate Education for bringing them to our attention!
  • Return to the Workplace Employee Policies and Safety Measures - PDF (Credit: Marsh & McLennan Agency)
  • ​Re-Occupancy Strategy (Credit: Avison Young)
  • The COVID-19 Response Playbook - A Guide for How to Lead and Build Resilience for the Next Normal - PDF - (Credit: Work.com)
  • Office Reboarding Process Map - PDF - (Credit: Newmark Knight Frank)
  • Post-Covid-19 Office Re-Entry Guide - PDF - (Credit: Bergmeyer)

     

RESOURCE CENTERS

• WIPFLI
• Marsh & McLennan Agency
• Old National Bank
• Messerli Kramer
• OECS Workplace Safety Resouce Center
• US Chamber of Commerce
• MN Chamber of Commerce
• MN DEED (Department of Employment and Economic Development)
• MN Department of Revenue (Tax implications/changes/definitions)
• SBA Guidance for Employers
• MN Unemployment Insurance
• US Department of Labor - Coronavirus 
• US Department of Labor - FMLA Guidance
• The COVID Tracking Project - a resource maintained by The Atlantic, which collects information from 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five other U.S. territories. The tracker aims to include positive and negative results, pending tests, and total people tested for each state or district currently reporting that data.

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GENERAL TOPICAL TOOLS & RESOURCES

Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

• PPP Loan Forgiveness Calculator (Credit: Oasis)
• Program Overview (PDF)
• Overview of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) - SBA Website
• Paycheck Protection Program Information Sheet for Borrowers (PDF)
• PPP Application (PDF) 
• PPP & SBA Guidance Webcast (Credit: Nikki Vincent of ACG) - Latest Insights on the PPP Loan Program Practical Tips to Help You Navigate the Chaos.
• Two Tests for PPP Loan Forgiveness - (Credit: Inc./Us Chamber of Commerce) - Video - The formula for getting your Paycheck Protection Program Loans forgiven.
• Calculating PPP Forgiveness FAQ's - PDF - (Credit: Messerli Kramer) - Real questions from business owners and tax professionals around the country, along with our best answers given the information we have today.
• Audit Risks for PPP Borrowers - PDF - (Credit: Messerli Kramer) - Businesses that accept and use their PPP funds should expect some level of audit. Now is the time to verify that your PPP compliance is air-tight – and, if it is not, to return the money and avoid repercussions. The SBA will likely target four dimensions of PPP borrower compliance.
• Deductibility of Expenses Paid with PPP Funds - PDF -  (Credit: Messerli Kramer)

CARES Act

• What You Need to Do Re CARES Act Stimulus - Video (Credit: Virtus Law)
• Demystifying the CARES Act (PDF) - Caught this while attending a webinar.  Credit to Waddell & Associates out of Nashville, and Petra Coach, for the fine model and breakdown. 
• The Small Business Owner's Guide to the CARES Act  - PDF - (Credit: Scaling Up) - Excellent breakdown
• CORONAVIRUS EMERGENCY LOANS - Small Business Guide and Checklist - PDF - (Credit: US Chamber of Commerce)
• Small Business Assistance Under the CARES Act - (Credit: Messerli Kramer)

Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)

• Families First Coronavirus Response Act - (Credit: WIPFLI) - The House and Senate have passed the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” to address mandated sick leave for those infected with COVID-19.  Get the details.  
• DOL Expands Guidance on Families First Coronavirus Response Act - PDF (Credit: Messerli Kramer) 

MN State Small Business Assistance

• Details on Small Business Emergency Loans through MN DEED
• MN State Small Business Assistance (Credit: Messerli Kramer) - A brief description of the state of Minnesota assistance.  Not much talk about this program, but given the challenge that the Federal programs have been, these might provide some welcome - although modest - short-term relief for some Minnesota-based businesses.

For Employers to Help Employees

• Staying Healthy While at Home - PDF (Credit: MMA) -  MMA has developed a list of no-cost resources to help your employees stay healthy while staying at home. These resources include at-home specific content on topics including physical activity, mental health, nutrition, ergonomics, and more.
• COVID-19 HR Guidance and Best Practices - Webcast (Credit: ThinkHR) - Thank you to Laura Moore @ MMA for the share!
• POSTER - FMLA EMPLOYEE RIGHTS - Details regarding the paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave under the FFCRA passed.   
• Best practices for onboarding a new employee in a virtual office. (Credit: Versique)
• Best practices for conducting a virtual interview in the wake of COVID-19 (Credit: Versique)

Workplace Safety

• COVID-19 Preparedness Plan and Template - PDF - (Credit: State of MN) To re-open your business you need a preparedness plan.  Simple as that.  This guide contains a sample plan that will allow you to hit the requirements put forth by the state of MN.
• COVID-19 Guidance for Critical Workers; All Worker OSHA Requirements - PDF - (Credit: Messerli Kramer) - Updated 4/14/2020.
• COVID-19: Prevention & Response - VIDEO (Credit: OECS)
• COVID-19: Preventing the Spread in the Workplace - PDF - (Credit: Tim Sheehan/OECS)
• COVID-19: Symptoms Chart - PDF - (Credit: Tim Sheehan/OECS)
• Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19/OSHA- PDF - (Credit: Tim Sheehan/OECS)
• Stopping the Spread of Germs - PDF - (Credit: Tim Sheehan/OECS)
• COVID-19 Prevention Best Practices - Link to Site - (Credit MN Chamber of Commerce) - The MN Chamber has put together a pretty simple, yet comprehensive guide to assist Minnesota businesses in their efforts to provide safe workplaces for their employees and customers as they come back online.

Business Insurance

• COVID Insurance Coverage Considerations - PDF - (Credit: Marsh & McLennan Agency)
• Addressing the Coronavirus Outbreak - An Employer’s Guide - UPDATED 3/24 - PDF (Credit: MMA) - MMA has consolidated decision points that you should consider as you and your organization develop your own business resiliency plan regarding your benefits program - topics include the fed and state response to COVID-19, testing and treatment, communication with employees, and care/well-being resources.
• Business Insurance Implications - Webcast - (Credit: Marsh & McLennan Agency) - Discussion includes: Claims reporting best practices, workers’ compensation, and general liability claims, Property insurance considerations, Explanation of first-party policies and related supply chain risk, Directors and officers claim exposure and coverage considerations, Cyber liability, and COVID-19 implications.
• Facility Shutdown Checklist - PDF – (Credit: Marsh & McLennan Agency) With the potential of MN moving to Shelter in Place, attached is a great white paper on things to think about proactively 

Financial

• Our New World (Credit: Mary Meeker) - PDF - The venture capitalist, best known for her annual “Internet Trends” report, just released a paper on COVID-19 with her team at Bond Capital. It was published first by Axios.
• CEOs, Cash and COVID: What Every Company Must Do ASAP - Link to Article by Ram Charam (Credit for share: Travis Penrod @ Interstate Co.)
• Disaster Preparedness Business Checklist - PDF - (Credit Heide Olson @ All in One Accounting)
• Managing a Cash Flow Crisis - PDF  - (Credit Heide Olson @ All in One Accounting) - If your business experiences cash flow slow down due to internal or external factors some steps can be taken to help you manage this crisis in short term
• Cash Flow Story - Alan Miltz’ SaaS tool for managing cash – no charge for 3 months – stress test your cash with just 6 numbers from your financials.  Lots of good stuff being offered out there. This one came through Verne Harnish (Scaling Up).
• Recession Response One Sheet - PDF - (Credit: Michael Michalowicz) 

Pricing Strategy

• Pricing Considerations for B2C Businesses During a Crisis - PDF (Credit: Pricing Solutions)
• Coronavirus Emergency Pricing and Pricing Ethics - PDF (Credit: Professional Pricing Society)
• Defensive Pricing - Are you Ready? - PDF (Credit: The Journal of Professional Pricing)
• Why You Shouldn't Slash Prices in the Next Recession - PDF (Credit: Harvard Business Review)

General Business Support//Information

• Workforce Reduction Guidance - PDF (Credit: Messerli Kramer) -  
• Rings of Defense - (Credit: Tim Keran - Allied Executives Facilitator and owner of ALTUS Business Advisors) - Tim created this - while leading Western Graphics - to help navigate difficult times, organize his thinking, and help take the emotion out of tough financial and people decisions.  This tool was created in 2001 and used successfully, on three separate occasions, to deal with a business interruption.
• Management Objectives for Trying Times - (Credit: ITR Economics) - What management should do now that we are in the back end of a business cycle.  Also, the ITR Podcast - TrendsTalk - is a worthy follow.
• McKinsey COVID-19: Briefing materials (PDF)  - Global health and crisis response.  Facts, figures, economic expectations, recovery scenarios, planning considerations.  Robus piece, great global insight.  

Leading through Crisis

• Two Principles for Leading Your Organization Through the Covid-19 Crisis - (Credit: Harry Kraemer) Kraemer is a former chairman and CEO of the $12 billion global healthcare company Baxter International and a clinical professor of leadership at Kellogg. Over the years, he has led through crises small and large—including a tragic crisis involving faulty dialyzers and patient deaths.
• Free Online Training Class - (Credit: Josh Kluver @ VisionOne Academy) Learn how to take a planned approach to respond to disaster and negative events, consider multiple perspectives, short and long-term considerations, and assess risk levels which will help you to make more effective decisions.
• Leadership in a Crisis (Credit: McKinsey) 
• Crisis Communication Page by HBR - (Credit Harvard Business Review)
• 5 Practical C's to Leading in a Crisis (Link to PDF) - (Credit Verne Harnish/Scaling Up)
• Scary Times Success Manual (Link to PDF) - (Credit: Dan Sullivan/Strategic Coach)
• What if an Employee Refuses to Return to Work? - PDF - (Credit: Messerli Kramer)

Support for Remote Workforce(s)

• Zoom and Skype Call Tips and Considerations - (Credit: Seth's Blog/Seth Godin)
• Leading Virtual Teams Successfully - (Credit: Darren Hardy)  

Economy

• How the Economic Machine Works - (Credit: Ray Dalio)

COVID Trackers and Data

• IHME COVID-19 Projections - Maybe the best site we've seen regarding current status, projections, and running impact of localized restrictions of movement.
• Why Flattening the Curve Matters - (Credit:  Washington Post)
• The History of Pandemics - (Credit: www.visualcapitalist.com)

For EOS-specific Companies

• A Passionate Plea from Gino  - (Credit: EOS Worldwide & Gino Wickman)
• An EOS Company's Guide to Surviving Coronavirus - (Credit: DeWitt LLC)

Mental Health Resources for Employees and Children

• Virus Anxiety – Link to strategies to managing anxiety associated with COVID-19.
• Ten Percent Happier – a COVID-19 sanity guide to help guide you through this challenging time.
• Headspace – Free meditations with topics like sleep mindfulness.
• Mental Health America (MHA) –  To aid individuals and communities during this time, MHA has compiled a range of resources on mental health.
• Child Mind Institute – Supporting families during COVID-19.
• XO-LP – Offering free coloring sheets.
• Action for Healthy Kids – Nutrition, physical activity and mindfulness to keep your children healthy.
• FamilyApp – Family tools and resources amidst COVID-19.
• Make it OK – Resources, podcasts, toolkits, stories and more.
• Talkspace – Free therapist-led support groups via Facebook and COVID-19 Anxiety Resource Center