Facing New Decisions as a Business Owner (Post-Pandemic Discussion)

My sister and I co-founded our company (an IRA Custodian) in 2004. As a business owner, I’ve been through my share of challenges, market changes, and uncertain times.

Even so, the pandemic’s impact was and still is unlike anything I’ve seen before. Besides the traumatic challenges many faced as the pandemic took lives, social and business-related challenges were widespread as well.

We all had to adapt very quickly, albeit in our own, different ways.

Our company followed government regulations and kept only a skeleton crew at the office. It was prudent to play it safe, especially with the limited information we had. We implemented plans for setup to work remotely. It went surprisingly well due to previous preparation and a willing and knowledgeable team. As a company, we barely missed a beat. We tried multiple approaches to return to work after discussing options and strategies with other small businesses, including split shifts, social distancing, masks, cleaning approaches, etc.

Now, as we see restrictions lift, we’re faced with new questions and decisions about how we will conduct business moving forward. To gain clarity, I’m reaching out to my team, attorney, and other experts to hear their perspectives.

But why stop there? Let’s have a discussion.

I’ll share the questions I’m currently asking, but I’d love to hear from other business owners and entrepreneurs as well. What new decisions are you facing, and what questions do you have?

3 Post-Pandemic Questions / Business Decisions

1. Do I as a business owner have the right to know who has or hasn’t been vaccinated?

This question is certainly on my mind right now. I’m wondering where company and individual rights fit in with the government’s right to help keep everyone safe. Where does HIPPA fit in? Was contact tracing a violation of HIPPA?

If we as business owners want non-vaccinated people to take different precautions than vaccinated people, are we forcing them to identify/share that information by process of elimination? If so, where do we stand legally?

2. Where is the line between personal and company responsibility?

Remote work can be beneficial for some, and detrimental for others. There are many factors that go into it. Do they have more distractions at home or less? Does the flexibility of the work environment inspire them, or does the lack of in-person communication leave them feeling disconnected?

It is certainly an individual’s responsibility to get their job done and to do it well regardless of where they’re working from. We can also make the argument that individuals know themselves and can choose the best work environment for their personality and individual needs.

Even so, how can a manager ensure that they are best supporting each employee? How can you get a sense for someone’s well being (and potentially provide support) through a computer screen or over the phone?

Social interaction and face-to-face meetings often help coworkers instill confidence in each other, as well as with clients. How much of a hit will those relationships take without it? Other efficiencies may be compromised too (like convenient cross training).

3. How do we limit the company’s liability, while allowing employees to work from home?

For us, new questions arose regarding security issues and data protection with our employees working remotely. For example, are there more ways to access data on home networks? Is their email the same or less secured?

Insurance providers may cover you against a data breach when you meet certain standards for network security, data protection best practices, etc. But what do they cover (if anything) when employees are working from home?

Engaging Multiple Perspectives

To address the questions above, we’ve been engaging both internal personnel and external experts. For example, we have regular communication with employees regarding remote or in-person work options. We’ve also held meetings with our attorney, insurance company, data security provider, and more to understand the best way to move forward.

We did make changes regarding data security. For example, we grew our IT staff and implemented higher level security protocols. We moved more tasks to secure portals and implemented additional systems to secure data transfer. To top it off, we trained employees on best practices and limited data access overall.

That said, we are still in the process of answering other questions, and we’d love to hear from you as well!

Are you facing any of these decisions or do you have similar questions? Are you asking questions now that aren’t on this list? Please share below!