The COVID-19 crisis is spiking the anxiety levels of employees and employers, not just because of their retirement accounts plummeting, but because if you can’t go to work, you won’t get paid.
Yes, there may be short term government fixes like reducing payroll taxes or giving us cash, but what if this thing lasts for six months or longer? I think that you are smart enough to figure that out on your own.
I know people are struggling. The disruption is far from over. Here in Salt Lake City, we had a big earthquake yesterday to contend with too. (We’re all okay, and it hasn’t affected our business.) Call me selfish, but I would like good karma on my side.
If your place of business is closed and your company is struggling to find solutions for working remotely, this message is for you. If you’re feeling financially uncertain and you’re looking for help, this message is for you too.
Here are the top five things my team and I set up to go 100% virtual in just two days. I hope this help you. I also hope it lights a fire inside you to think through what else you can do to thrive through this difficult time. Humans are wired to solve problems and overcome adversity.
1. Find Technology You Love
There is an abundance of technology available for working remotely, but that doesn’t mean it’s all good. If you and your team don’t love the tech you have, it’s not a savvy business investment. Here are my favorite user-friendly, budget-friendly, and efficient picks for remote work:
Workplace
Several years ago, my company was one of the beta groups for a platform called Workplace, developed by Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/workplace).
This platform is fantastic. Plus, it’s cheap: $36 per year, per employee. It’s your own Facebook instance but exclusive to your company. Most people know how to use Facebook, so the adoption is simple. It has pretty much everything Facebook has: groups, live video streaming, and video and audio calling for both groups and individuals. It even has built-in emojis, GIFs, and memes—plus polls, surveys, and a lot of integrations like Dropbox and Google Drive.
Zoom
When I discovered Zoom (https://zoom.us) it was like the technology gods had been reading my mind for years and finally understood my company’s video conferencing needs.
Zoom is simple for the user and the attendee. You can do individual meetings, small group meetings, and webinars. It’s easy to record in both audio and video format. There is also a time-stamped transcription that is pretty accurate. Zoom saved my organization 10X the money and 10X the man hours, plus Zoom also integrates into Workplace.
RingCentral
When my team found RingCentral (http://ringcentral.com) it amplified the benefits we love from Zoom. The RingCentral platform incorporates Zoom, VoIP phone, and text.
2. Keep Your Culture for Better Morale
There are a ton of books on business culture. I have read many but the most simple to follow is Double Double by Cameron Herold.
At our office, we follow the meeting rhythm that Herold lays out in the book. Our office is a remodeled historic building and has an enclosed atrium that used to be the back alley. For the last three years, every morning at 10:55, we do a 7-minute stand-up meeting there called Alley Rally.
Each department has a day assigned to them when they talk about their goals and KPIs, what they’re working on, and give an uplifting message followed by leading the entire team in a cheer they choose.
Working remotely, we follow the same rhythm on Workplace, with one exception. Now that we are home, Alley Rally is a 30-minute check-in where we share wins and successes, positive messages, expressions of gratitude, and brainstorm how we can help and serve others.
We set a new standard when we left the office last week—that whenever we had the opportunity to talk to someone, it would be the best conversation of the day.
3. Magnify Company & Client Communication
Employees
I work with some of the best people. Being around them at my office lights me up. They are a life force. We have about ten people on the team that have been working remotely for quite some time, so we are accustomed to team meetings, one-on-ones, and Alley Rally streamed live, mostly on Workplace. Now that we are 100% remote, we have established video as a rule for meetings and interactions beyond five minutes to maintain the human connection.
Customers/Clients
Paradigm Life has clients in all fifty states and multiple countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Israel, the UK, India, Canada, and others. This is only possible because of video conferencing technology. The majority of our consultations and sales are through video.
For me, I have found that face-to-face interaction brings out the humanity in people and without it, especially in our day and age, it seems something is missing.
4. Focus on Employees
Now is the opportunity of a lifetime to turn customers into raving fans by being the organization that demonstrates an understanding of their needs, wants, fears, goals, and even their dreams.
This last week, I have had terrible customer service from brands that generally are pretty customer-centric.
Why?
Because when employers don’t treat their employees as their best customers, employees disengage. The focus of businesses right now is figuring out how to survive, and many employees fear they’re on the chopping block.
5. Make Giving Back a Priority
I believe one of the best business and marketing strategies is altruism. I have noticed several companies using ‘desperate’ and ‘needy’ language.
In place of saying:
“We are a local business and need your support; please shop here!”
try
‘We love our community and customers. How can we better serve and help you?”
or
“We are supporting (insert local business, charity, or cause) to help those less fortunate than we are; help us make a difference by doing xyz.”
Our community members who work in restaurants, coffee shops, bars, gyms, and retail stores have been hit especially hard. For those of us who can help, who are still bringing in an income, it is up to us to do what we can so we all make it through this stronger and better.
In addition to sharing our solutions for working remotely, my team and I decided to give away our educational material for free. If you’re feeling financially uncertain, here are the links to the various items in our robust resource library. We can help you find answers.
Free Financial Resources
• To read more blog posts, here is the link to the Paradigm Life blog.
• For customized financial eduction, here is free access to our Perpetual Wealth 101 course.
• To listen to the audiobook version of Amazon best-seller Heads I Win, Tails You Lose, download your copy here.
• To read more from me, Patrick Donohoe, check out The Donohoe Bulletin.
• To speak with a Wealth Strategist to discuss your financial concerns and look at your options, 
.
• For additional free resources, click here.
• If we can help you with anything else, or you just need someone to talk to, call us at 866-637-2921. We’d love to hear from you.
History is happening right now, and I don’t feel the business world sees the massive opportunity. I hope this has helped you see it.
Fear, scarcity, blaming, and exploiting is easy, but it will NEVER lead to success that is fulfilling.
Join me in setting a new standard, rising up, and committing to making a difference.
Sincerley,
Patrick Donohoe
Paradigm Life CEO
