Best practices for business owners to consider during the current pandemic as well as any future event, aggregated by CHBA.
- Follow the Guidance of Health Authorities
- Review your Contract(s)
- Communicate with your Client(s)
- Stay Informed About Government Measures to Help Businesses
- Follow Workplace Best Practices
MARKET OUTLOOK
HAVAN’s Free COVID-19 WEBINAR SERIES: COVID-19 Economic Outlook: Housing Market Impact and Recovery April 20, 2020
BUSINESS STRATEGIES
HAVAN’s Free COVID-19 WEBINAR SERIES:
Strategies to Help Your Business Survive COVID-19
Small Business BC has set up a helpline for small businesses to speak directly with an advisor, plus live meet-ups and webinars too.
Phone: 1 833-254-4357 (HELP)
Email: covid@smallbusinessbc.ca
HUMAN RESOURCES
HAVAN’s FREE COVID-19 WEBINAR SERIES:
Navigating the Human Resources Side of Business
provides high-level information about a business’ legal responsibilities to employees as well as strategies to keep employees informed during this time of crisis, and keeping them engaged, motivated, and focused on moving forward.
COVID-19 Leave of Absence
An employee can take unpaid, job-protected leave related to COVID-19 if they’re unable to work.
FINANCIAL
Refer to the Federal Resources page and Provincial Resources page regarding financial support provided by the government.
Additional financial relief:
Support from Financial Services and Additional Grants:
- Facebook Small Business Grants Program:
- Offering $100 million in cash grants and ad credits for 30,000 eligible small businesses. Applications will be available in the coming weeks. Please see the link above to sign up for more updates and information.
- Big 6 Canadian Banks (TD, BMO, CIBC, ScotiaBank, RBC, National Bank):
- Offering various financial relief programs for clients impacted by COVID-19 including potential deferral of payments on mortgages (up to six months), deferral of payments on loans and credit cards, and more. Please click on the corresponding bank to see additional information provided by the banks.
INSURANCE
HAVAN member Federated Insurance has developed this guide to help answer questions that you may have about your policies. Other business resources, shared by Federated Insurance are:
- COVID-19 Small Business Help Centre
Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)
- COVID-19: Business Resilience
Canadian Chamber of Commerce
INFORMATION ON TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES (FREE/DISCOUNTED):
- Google – Support team meetings and strengthen company culture
- All G Suite members will have free access to advanced Hangouts Meet video-conferencing capabilities and additional features that expand participants per call, live streaming, and provide the ability to record meetings and save them on Google Drive. Storage includes 10 GB of team file storage and 2 GB of personal file storage per user. These features are typically available to G Suite Enterprise and will be available at no additional cost to all customers until July 1, 2020.
- Microsoft – Mitigate against potential workflow issues
- Microsoft is offering the premium version of Teams for six months and has lifted existing user limits on its free version.
- 1Password – Secure passwords and enhance cybersecurity
- 1Password Business is removing the 30-day trial period and now companies can sign up and get the first 6 months free.
- Scholastic – Help promote work-family balance
- Scholastic is offering a free digital learning hub and open access to daily learning journeys.
- Zoom – Organize computer and phone calls
- The Zoom basic plan allows you to host up to 100 participants in one meeting and unlimited one-on-one meetings. Be warned, you can only have a 40 minute time limit on calls with three people or more.
- ca (Applicable to Ontario Only) – Provide employees with the benefit of remote care
- ca is providing covered online COVID-19 screenings to all Ontario residents with a valid OHIP card. The platform is also offering all Ontario and BC doctors access free of charge during this outbreak.
COMMUNICATIONS
CHBA Weekly Update: March 20, 2020
Government Relations: Issues Watchlist
• Benchmark qualify rate change for insured mortgages
• Engagement with Canada’s banking sector to support the residential construction sector
• Trade and commerce activities exempt from travel restrictions
Key Government Measures To Date
• 10% wage subsidy for small employers
• Business credit availability for small and medium-sized businesses
• Deferred tax filing for businesses and individuals
Covid-19 Broadcast Updates
Daily updates with Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix can be viewed on most news channels, at 3:00pm
HAVAN News Releases and weekly MMB Update
News surrounding Covid-19, requiring immediate attention, will be issued via email to members. HAVAN news releases and announcements are listed on our website’s News section, under ‘About: What We Do’. You can also sign on to receive CEO Ron Rapp’s regular, weekly update, the Monday Morning Briefing (MMB) and Mark Sakai’s Government Relations Update (GRU) for weekly updates.
Staff Connections
While we are all practicing social distancing, it’s a good idea to get everyone on one app.
There are many solutions out there, but HAVAN staff decided to all get onboard with WhatsApp, as a means to stay connected (easier than yelling across the hall!) Ron reaches out to us all each morning, for a quick catch up, and we are finding this is a great way to share updates, resolve quick questions, and allow for socialization, to help combat isolation. It keeps the chatter out of our inboxes too.
Download the app onto your phone. Here is the link to download onto your desktop/laptop.
Video Conferencing Guidelines and Resources
As easy as it sounds, video conferencing has its challenges, as noted in this very informative, and quick read on How to Navigate Video Conferencing.
HAVAN office uses Ring Central, a business phone system phone software, that uses Zoom Central to host meetings. Capable of managing all of your communication needs, via your phone, laptop and or desktop, Ring Central is a one-stop solution to help your employees and contacts keep connected. HAVAN member, Preston Mobility, is an expert provider and educator on the system.
