Because of recent news surrounding Coronavirus (COVID-19), we wanted to take this time to share a few messages and recommendations that are important to consider when communicating with your plan sponsors.
As a software company, Questis certainly values technology. However, in uncertain times, there can be no replacement for personal touch and outreach. We strongly recommend you reach out to your plan points of contact and offer your support as a trusted partner. By offering recommendations, information, and personal insight, you can make a direct impact on the feelings and actions of your plans and their participants.
Chances are, you and many of your employer clients have already or will soon implement work from home policies. These are highly recommended at this critical time of containment. We encourage our partners and clients to increase their employee protection policies and communicate these measures to their workforce, if they have not already. Clear, thorough planning and immediate communication to employees should be executed to support safety and trust.
If your firm or any of your plans have not yet done this, please do so as soon as possible.
Some measures that can be taken include:
Work from home policies
Increased hand sanitizer in the office
Increased in-office sanitization efforts
Signage to remember to wash hands often and avoid touching face
Travel restrictions for any work-related events including client meetings, conferences, etc.
A webinar discussing the situation, what employees need to know, and what that means for their work in the days and weeks to come
Setting clear employee expectations. If an employee feels sick, what should they do? Who should they tell? How does this work with their health plans?
Remote work tools. If a company does not already have these in place, what tools need to be onboarded to support remote work? These tools should be brought on, learned, and the workforce should be trained ASAP.
Further, with the recent and potential impact to the global economy brought on by Coronavirus, we recommend proactive financial communication to your plans and participants. Consider sending a message about what people should or should not do in terms of their own investment and savings strategies. Consider including: what this means for 401k plans, HSAs and balances, health benefits, emergency funds, and wage access strategies, to name a few.
Small efforts such as the ones noted above are necessary for safety, smart action, and education in addition to providing your plan sponsor clients with top-notch service as their plan advisor.
If you would like support regarding the above or would like to learn more about Questis, please contact us.