Hilldrup Update on our Safety Measures and Return-to-Work Plan During COVID-19

As we all begin to understand the local, state and nationwide re-opening plans for COVID-19, maintaining a safe environment for our customers and employees is at the forefront of all we do. We have approached this pandemic with the following ideals in mind to guide us in our actions and decisions:

• Using the latest and best facts to make decisions
• Not making decisions too quickly so to avoid unintended consequences
• Using our value of agility to make the best decisions possible with constantly changing information and updates

While some things may be different than they were three months ago, we remain in the business to serve you, our customers. We want to provide assurance to you as to how we are keeping our team and you safe with personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as how we are approaching the re-opening of our offices.

Please watch this video to understand more of our PPE measures for our frontline service crews and drivers.

We are committed to serving our customers safely and want to ensure we have the proper safety measures in place for each specific move plan. With this in mind, we encourage all of our clients to give us as much notice about future relocations for your employees as possible. Though “peak season” may be a bit different this year, we anticipate significant increases in demand during the next 8-12 weeks, and we want to position everyone – from our customers to our clients to our frontline crew members – for success with these new safeguards in place.

We are also asking our customers to wear face masks or coverings while our crews are in their homes and offices. As the Hilldrup team promises to always do our part with PPE, we kindly ask for our customers to join us in this commitment for the safety and wellbeing of both parties.

While servicing our customers in their homes and in their workplaces is vital to our operations, we have also been formulating a return to work strategy for our office employees where it makes sense, especially as we ensure peak efficiency during what we expect to be a delayed peak season. While we have yet to open our offices beyond their current limits of allowing executive leadership and Operations personnel, we want to share with you our approach for the coming weeks and months.

• Our return to work will be in stages, with our senior management team returning to the office only if necessary starting mid-July.
• We intend to keep the remainder of our employees working from home for the foreseeable future; while we will continuously evaluate any changes to local, statewide and nationwide regulations and recommendations, we will formally re-evaluate on August 3 if it is appropriate for our employees to begin returning.
• For those senior management members returning to our offices in mid-July, the following guidelines will be in place:
  • All employees will come in on staggered days throughout the week, and office space will be set up so that no two people will be sitting next to each other throughout the day.
  • All employees returning to the office must have their temperature taken each morning prior to entering the building.
  • Masks will be worn whenever an employee walks away from their desk and/or when they can’t maintain 6 feet of social distance from others.
  • Interactions in breakrooms, conference rooms and any other common area will be limited to 6 feet of distance, and restrooms will allow for single occupancy only.
  • We will continue to hold virtual meetings among our own employees and with our customers, travel will continue to be on hold, and we will not allow visitors to our buildings for the time being.
  • Social distancing, proper sanitation and other recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will continue to be shared, and employees will be continuously educated on any changing recommendations.
  • Cleaning of our office areas and cubicles is increased and done nightly, with cleaning guidelines provided by the CDC.

Our list of specific changes to the office and how we will interact is vast, and we are already beginning education for our employees so we all understand how to adapt to the changed environment.

We will all be learning as plans and recommendations adapt and morph over the coming weeks and months. If you have any recommendations that are working well for you and your organization, I welcome hearing about them! In the meantime, we will continue to strive to exceed your expectations and keep the spirit of our partnerships stronger than ever!

Stay well, and blessings to you and yours,

Charles W. McDaniel
President and CEO, Hilldrup

Mike Nash Author