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To help Charlotte-area entrepreneurs and innovators impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the team here at Charlotte Inno has created a guide with help from the Charlotte Venture for America fellows. We will continually update this guide as more information becomes available. If you have additional resources to share, please let us know.
The following are resources for leading your team through the COVID-19 crisis including communicating with employees, leadership strategies and legal considerations.
Last updated April 11th, 2020.
COVID-19 Impacts on Employees
- Business leaders discuss employee impacts: For example, is there new demand in the labor market? Are business owners eligible for unemployment benefits? What options are there for gig economy workers?
Communicating With Employees
- Tips on how to provide a space for the people you are leading where they can feel confident they will be cared for and protected in uncertain situations.
- Answers to workplace questions such as “Should I give my team advance warning about layoffs?”
Labor Management
- Tips on creating a plan for your employees: Prioritize communication, especially with your employees. Focus on safety and hygiene. Minimize financial impacts of reduced business. For example, instead of making layoffs, can you divide into two teams that each work part time? Can your employees work remotely? If they can’t, can you redeploy them for a different, beneficial role?
6 Questions to Ask Before You Consider Layoffs
- Layoffs are expensive, and you may have other options. Consider factors such as who makes up your core team, who you can furlough, and any positions you can combine.
How to Help Your Laid-Off or Furloughed Employees Manage Unemployment
- You may not be able to continue paying your employees, but you can help them be better protected during times of unemployment. For example, offer severance pay when possible, extend health benefits, and lobby your state legislature to increase unemployment payments.
Leadership Strategies
- Increase resilience using the basics of conscious capitalism: For example, embrace your company’s purpose beyond profit. Collaborate with different stakeholders and search for mutual gains. Leave no employee behind.
- Tips on managing anxiety in leadership, whether your own anxiety is holding you back or whether those around you are anxious.
Legal Considerations
- Provides an overview of FMLA and other types of paid leave.
An Employer’s Guide to Navigating COVID-19
- Learn how to navigate legal issues such as OSHA requirements, the ADA and NC Persons with Disability Protection Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act and NC Wage and Hour Act.
