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4/2/2020 TREND: RESPONSE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC WEEK-TO-WEEK
As participation increases, each question will be analyzed on a week-to-week basis to reflect the fluidity of the situation.
IMPACT ON TRAVEL POLICIES
Week 1 Week 2/3 Week 4/5
Business travel is to be conducted on a case-by-case basis All business travel has been suspended No impact Voluntary business travel has been suspended Business travel is limited to or prohibited from certain locations Other
54% 7% 23%
32% 46%
25% 50%
7% 4% 7% 4%
8% 1% 7%
6% 13% 6%
IMPACT ON BUDGET
Week 1 Week 2/3 Week 4/5
My firm is considering changes to the 2020 budget No changes have been made to my firm's 2020 budget and none are currently planned My firm has altered the 2020 budget due to COVID-19
46% 50%
64% 23%
44% 25%
4%
13%
31%
IMPACT ON REVENUE
Week 1 Week 2/3 Week 4/5
The impacts of COVID-19 will likely cause a decrease in my firm's revenue by this percentage compared to the previous year COVID-19 will not likely impact my firm's revenue in any way COVID-19 will likely cause my firm's revenue to increase
59%
75%
88%
41%
21% 4%
13%
STEPHEN LUCY, from page 9 IMPACT ON CLIENT ENTERTAINMENT & NETWORKING Data is from the April 3, 2020 report with 175 respondents.
Week 1 Week 2/3 Week 4/5
for a pandemic was not a realistic expectation, but planning for remote work was very realistic for a variety of reasons. ❚ ❚ Don’t slash your overhead. No matter how tempting it may be, do not decimate your overhead positions. You still have to invoice, you still have to provide human resources, and you still have to market the firm. Some can be outsourced, but hopefully you were already doing that if warranted. You cannot afford to cripple your ability to be in business, and, if your team members have any “down time,” suggest ways that you can improve processes, identify new business strategies, and “bank” future marketing plans that will raise your firm’s visibility post-pandemic. ❚ ❚ Never forget history. I thought I had faced some of the hardest challenges in my career: the S&L debacle, 9/11, the Great Recession, and a contentious ownership transition. Tackling those business events with persistence and a fair and steady hand may pale in comparison to the invisible challenge we are currently facing. The COVID-19 pandemic has roared through our world in a way not seen before as we are far more interdependent regionally, nationally, and globally. We have much to improve to better serve our communities in a crisis of this magnitude. The strength of our collective human will and our ability to invent and innovate will undoubtedly help us forge ahead. This is the part of the “this too shall pass” that so many of us forget. As we emerge from this daunting experience, we need to remember that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. We cannot afford to go through another catastrophic event or anything similar again. Nor can we forget the lessons learned that have been paid for at such a tremendous human price. STEPHEN LUCY is CEO of JQ with offices in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Lubbock, and San Antonio, Texas. Contact him at slucy@ jqeng.com. 1/1 3% 1% 13% 61% 9% 27% 1% 1% 30% 54% 6% 7% 4% 38% 56% 6% Week 1 Week 2/3 Week 4/5 59% 18% 8% 8% 6% 81% 6% 6% 6% Week 1 Week 2/3 Week 4/5 54% 28% 8% 7% 35% 33% 20% 11% 13% 38% 13% 25%
important and irreplaceable asset, your staff. Odds are staff will reciprocate and their input will also help guide the firm. Encourage conversation and feedback. ❚ ❚ Change how you work. Mandated working remotely will forever change our industry. For all those who dismissed flex time and work from home, you have now had to face the cold hard facts that it is possible, and, in fact, seamless if you provide the correct infrastructure, set the right policies, create My firm supports the decision of employees to refrain from public networking but h s not issued a formal policy My firm has mandated th t employees refrain from entertaining clients in social public settings (restaurants/bars/events) No change Other My firm is considering asking employees to refrain from entertaining clients in social public settings (restaurants/bars/event )
the right metrics for oversight, and trust in your staff to conscientiously do their jobs. Now that we have been forced to incorporate this into our work process, there is no turning back. So, get out in front of it and determine how you are going to do this going forward. “For the last several weeks we have been attempting to chart our course through some very rough seas for which there is limited prior experience and data to inform our decisions.” IMPACT ON DISCRETIONARY SPENDING IMPACT ON TELECOMMUTING
COVID-19 has changed my firm's policy on telecommuting to allow any employee to telecommute at any time. COVID-19 has changed my firm's policy on telecommuting to allow only certain employees to telecommute currently. My firm allows for t lecommuting for certain employees a d has not changed its policies in response to COVID-19. My firm allows for any employees to telecommute at any time and has not changed its policies in response to COVID-19. My firm does not allow for telecommuting and has not changed its policies in response to COVID-19. 15% 18% 28% 24% 15%
❚ ❚ Invest in your firm. For those who gave up near term profit to invest in their firms and, especially, the IT systems of their firms, my hat is off to you for doing the right thing. The data backs up that investing in a growing and thriving AEC firm will pay long-term dividends, but so many want the immediacy of the reward at the cost of their long-term fortune. Hearing from peer and client firms how they were hindered because of lack of investment in IT infrastructure was shocking. And trying to adjust during a crisis is almost impossible to do. I understand that anticipating and planning N changes have been mad to my firm's 2020 discretionary spending and none are currently planned My firm is considering devoting discretionary spending to challenges created by COVID-19 My firm has suspended all discretionary spending My firm has devoted discretionary spending to challenges created by COVID-19 Other
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THE ZWEIG LETTER April 13, 2020, ISSUE 1340
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