What you can
do now:
Keep reading as we review five steps you can take now, as business owners and operators, to protect your business, staff, customers and local communities based on recommendations by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other authoritative health and governmental agencies.
Keep reading as we review five steps you can take now, as business owners and operators, to protect your business, staff, customers and local communities based on recommendations by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other authoritative health and governmental agencies.
- Educate yourself and your team.
- Create a communication plan.
- Protect your business.
- Embrace new forms of commerce.
- Stay connected with fellow retail confectioners.
Educate
yourself and your staff: Guidance for Businesses and Employers from CDC
As a leader of your business, it is crucial to obtain
information about COVID-19 (coronavirus) from authoritative health and governmental
agencies, such as The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC offers
the most up-to-date information on COVID-19. Click
here to view guidance from the CDC for employers to help prevent workplace
exposures to COVID-19. This guidance also provides planning considerations
if there are more widespread, community outbreaks.
To prevent stigma and discrimination in the workplace, the
CDC recommends using only the guidance provided on its COVID-19
web page to properly determine risk. Do not make determinations of risk
based on race or country of origin, and be sure to maintain confidentiality of
people with confirmed COVID-19. There is much more to learn about the
transmissibility, severity and other features of COVID-19 and investigations
are ongoing.
Open communication with employees is key to educate and
train your team on how to best prevent exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace. See
below for links to additional resources addressing common questions:
Create a
communication plan
According to the Small Business Administration, “it’s critical to communicate openly
with your customers about the status of your operations, what protective
measures you’ve implemented, and how they (as customers) will be protected when
they visit your business.”
The U.S. Chamber has compiled a Coronavirus
Response Kit for businesses and workers across the country, encouraging
American businesses to follow data-based guidance from the CDC and state and
local officials. See examples of how RCI members are communicating
their new and ongoing protocols in their businesses below.
Protect
your business: Guidance from SBA
The Small Business Administration (SBA) is
working directly with state governors to provide targeted, low-interest loans
to small businesses and non-profits that have been severely impacted by COVID-19.
The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program provides small businesses with
working capital loans of up to $2 million that can provide vital economic
support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they
are experiencing.
Find more information on the SBA’s Economic
Injury Disaster Loans at: SBA.gov/Disaster. To view a full list of other local and
national resources available through the Small Business Administration, visit
their website.
Embrace new
ways of commerce.
By providing creative and safe alternatives for consumers to
continue to do business with you, may help alleviate some of the financial
strain caused by current health concerns, while also helping to reduce the risk
of exposure to you and your staff by consumers. Remind patrons that stocking up
on a few sweet treats from their favorite, local candy shop may be just what
they need to provide comfort and a constant during this time of uncertainty.
Many businesses are encouraging patrons to place orders
online for home delivery and offering new grab-and-go options so customers don’t
even have to leave the comforts of their vehicle. While others are encouraging
consumers to support local businesses by purchasing gift cards. See below for
examples of creative ways RCI members are embracing new forms of commerce to
ensure business as (sort-of) usual goes on.
Stay connected.
For over 100 years, RCI has been a community for retail
confectioners and their suppliers to connect with each other and learn from
shared knowledge and experiences. If you have questions about what fellow
retail confectioners are doing, we encourage you to subscribe RCI’s online
forum, List Serve, to post questions and reply to others’ questions. We
invite you to also follow RCI’s Facebook page
for industry and association updates. As always, feel free to direct your
questions to RCI staff at info@retailconfectioners.org
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