NOTICE: Keating has joined the EisnerAmper family.
NOTICE: Keating has joined the EisnerAmper family.
Today, June 30, 2020 marks the 113th day of our proactively dealing with the novel coronavirus pandemic of 2020. It strangely and simultaneously feels like years ago and just yesterday.
As we enter the “return-to-office” phase of this adventure and prepare for the “new normal,” we thought it might be interesting to briefly chronicle Keating’s own experiences and efforts so far in adjusting to the realities of social (and professional) distancing while supporting fast-moving startups during a pandemic. To follow, in loose chronological order, are some highlights.
The Hot Spots
As the news reported Santa Clara, CA as an initial “hotspot” of cases of the new virus, the Bay Area counties and State of California quickly reacted with initial plans, warnings, and advisories. To many in our office, this is when things got real and this “corona” thing became a local concern.
The Shutdown
On March 16, 2020, at our monthly all-hands, it was announced that the office was shutting down and that we would all begin a mandatory work-from-home arrangement for the immediate future. At the time, most of the Keating management seem to be thinking that this temporary arrangement would last 2-3 weeks. A disruption for sure, but we were already naturally equipped and trained for remote work, so this seemed more of a slight and perhaps interesting break from the normal routine. (Hilarious in hindsight, right?)
The Rules of Engagement
An email was sent out to all employees and contractors outlining the new rules. The physical office was closed and no Keating team members were to come into the office until further notice. Work was to be continued remotely. There were exceptions for some key team members whose physical presence was occasionally required - checking the mail, printing, etc. - but anyone that needed to enter the office was required to first notify the Keating Operations team.
Keating team members were also prohibited from working on client sites. All work was to be performed remotely. This perhaps the biggest adjustment for Keating, as we are big believers that occasional face-to-face contact with our clients is crucial, but the move was prudent for the safety of the clients, the Keating team members, and all families and loved ones potentially affected. Safety first.
The Cadence
To offset the physical distance, the Keating teams set up daily and weekly recurring web meetings and calls to ensure that communication and visibility remained optimal. The Finance team, led by the CFOs, elected to do a daily “standup” every morning at 9 am. The Accounting teams also scheduled regular weekly and daily check-in meetings to ensure recurring collaboration and communications. Keating’s monthly all-hands meetings were doubled up to every other week via web conference. In general, mandatory (but quick) check-in meetings were increased to encourage continued collaboration.
The Technology
As Keating was already built for remote work for our non-local clients, we already had in place most of the components needed for effective task management and visibility. These tools of the trade - dashboards, Asana, cloud documents, and web-based video conferencing - became of increased importance immediately.
And of course, Zoom. Zoom became an integral part of almost every hour during the workday with many on the team becoming quick experts on Bluetooth headsets, virtual backgrounds, and appearance filters. (A tip of the hat here to our Head of Finance, CFO Michael Barry, for his early demonstration of mad background theme skills.)
The Initial Adjustment
For the most part, as the work-from-home period extended and the weeks began to blur together, the Keating team seemed (and continues to seem) to adjust to this new normal in good spirits. The parents of now-homeschooled-kids often showed up to web meetings a bit frazzled (and continue to on occasion), with the kids often making welcomed cameos on camera. Pets also became part of the extended cast and audience. Haircuts and beards grew at various rates. Makeup became optional. We suspect that even pants became optional on occasion. Some team members complained of weight gain; others actually managed to lose some weight (freaks!). Overall, and most importantly, the work continued to get done without any real hiccups.
(NOTE: the above paragraph is written mainly in the past tense, but these adjustments continue today in a very present tense.)
Staying Informed
A significant portion of the operation team’s time was now dedicated to keeping up and organizing the deluge of information that was being released from governmental agencies, news media, research firms, and various strategic partners. We created a board to help summarize and synthesize the ever changing guidelines and circumstances (cliff notes anyone?).
Staying Connected and Sane
Fun and connectivity are essential parts of Keating’s culture. Thus, from the very beginning, special activities were designed to keep the team connected and the smiles coming. Every Thursday afternoon at 4:30 pm, we all get together via Zoom for a happy hour chat over drinks we call “Quarantini”. (What happens in Quarantini, stays in Quarantini.) An online poker tournament has also worked its way to a regular cadence of events; the pot is low stakes, but the trash talking and pride displayed among the leader board remains entertainingly intense. Online Bingo, as introduced to us by our friends at AEIS, has also become a team favorite, often including early rounds for any children that want to join. In addition to these planned events, the Slack channels and Hangout/Google Group Chats are continuously encouraged to include an occasional bit of levity. In summary, we have found it helpful to proactively create events that allow the team to continue to interact on a social level to keep morale up and fight back the inevitable feelings of isolation that creep up with physical distancing.
Me Time and the Continued Efforts for Work-Life Balance
As you may have noticed, in a work-from-home environment, the lines can start to blur between work time and personal time. This definitely can further exacerbate an already stressful situation. Keating management continues to preach the balance of being as responsive and accessible to clients and team members as possible, but only while establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries. Just because your office/laptop is only a few feet away and you can now be accessed at any hour, does not mean that you should be. We have begun to encourage our team members to set reasonable personal boundaries and remind them to make good and liberal use of PTO (Personal Time Off) as needed.
The Clients
The effect the pandemic has had on our startup client base has for the most part been predictable: varying degrees of pain. Some have scaled down operations; some have gone silent; 2 or 3 have even closed shop completely, but not necessarily all due to COVID.
But there are exceptions. Several of our clients have actually prospered or seen spikes in demand for their products and services as COVID produced and new product-market fit: food kits and delivery, e-commerce, and biotechnology. Full-scale fundraising has all but frozen, but this observation also comes with exceptions: one of our largest biotech/AI startups almost instantly landed $150MM in additional funding.
For 80% of our core clientele, the approach has been the same: hunker down, adjust budgets, make every dime count, and survive.
The Pipeline
After some initial adjustment, our own sales pipeline for new business seems to have returned to a normal pace. When the pandemic first started affecting the economy, several potential clients with whom we were talking understandably decided to hit the pause button and wait for the picture to clear. Now that we are 100+ days into this, and most have begun to get their footing, some previously paused conversations have resumed. While the volume of new inquiries has almost returned to previous levels, the nature of the work requested has changed considerably, as it does for every recession.
The Work
We have seen a predictable shift in the type of support and advisory deliverables that are being asked of us. Notably, fewer requests for fundraising and pitch support, and many more for streamlined interim accounting and finance processes, vendor/lease/employee negotiations, help with restructuring/re-budgeting/re-modeling, cash flow management, and increased support for Board management and reporting.
COVID-specific events and legislations have also added the need for very precise support tasks. The PPP, EIDL, and PPPFA bills have required additional support, planning, and budgeting. Workforce restructuring has pulled our HR team into increased demand.
Overall, it has been very encouraging to see the entire Keating leadership team step up and add valuable leadership and real-time tactical support to startups dealing with the changing (and often confusing) governmental regulations and programs. Getting a quick and clear read on a constantly evolving situation has been a challenge.
Keating is fortunate to be somewhat recession-proof in regard to our own product-market fit: when investment dollars are flowing, we help grab them; when investment dollars are scarce, we help save them and stretch them for survival.
The Plateau
In early June 2020, as the stay-in-place and social distancing orders began to demonstrate success in flattening the curve, Keating joined the rest of the US in trying to formulate sensible return-to-office plans. As the State of California and San Mateo County entered “Phase 2” of the planned reopening, allowing a broader category of businesses to return to work under a set of guidelines to ensure worker safety, Keating began to formulate our own back-to-office plans.
Checking the Temperatures (Figuratively)
Our first step was to get some data-driven feedback from our entire Keating team. How did they feel about returning to an office environment, even if in a limited capacity? What were the issues on their minds and how could management accommodate to make them comfortable? So we sent out an anonymous survey to all employees and contractors via Google form. The results included some surprises that helped inform management’s approach and timbre in forming the contents and timetable of the plan. The survey results? Some were eager to come back in, some were neutral, and others were fine with continuing work-from-home. One surprise: over 80% expressed Extreme or Some concern about returning to work too soon. In other words, the vast majority were still at least somewhat uncomfortable with the idea. The survey also revealed several suggestions on actionable items management could take to make people more comfortable.
The Return - Phase 1
Based on the survey feedback, Keating management devised a return-to-office plan that attempted to facilitate everyone. Primarily, returning to the office would be completely voluntary and determined by each individual and their personal needs and comfort level. In parallel, management would take all steps it could to ensure that the office was as safe, productive, and comfortable as possible by implementing several changes and updates.
The Follow-up Survey
First, one more survey, this time with names. We simply asked who wants to come back in. 20% wanted to use the office in some capacity. Mainly, those that needed a quiet place, a change of scenery or pace, and where the commute was short anyway. Management decided to continue this form of flash survey every 2-3 weeks or so to keep a pulse on the need and appetite for office work.
The New Rules
Once the plan was in place, it was presented to the entire Keating team via a prepared slideshow presented during one of the Zoom all-hands meetings in mid June. Our plan was a thoughtful amalgamation of the new best practices discussed by several companies and governmental recommendations. Below are some of the highlight ingredients:
Checking the Temperatures (Literally)
We decided not to require a temperature/fever check at the door. Instead, we opted to use a self-implemented check-in process that asks each employee to consider and attest to the following:
The Landlord
As Keating shares a building with many other business tenants, the success of our own efforts are married tightly to the activities of our fellow tenants. We are fortunate that our building’s management company (JLL) has been very proactive in preparing the building for resumed occupancy. The list below highlights several of their initiatives:
The Spikes
Texas and Florida spiking again. Bay Area holding steady, but still sensitive and proactive.
The False Alarm
[June 24, 2020] You know what they say about the best-laid plans! One tenant in the building (floor below us) reported being exposed. Building was locked down again. Turned out to be a false alarm, but the incident illustrated the fluidity of the situation and the fragility of any plans.
The Adventure Continues
[June 29, 2020] So that’s where we are. As this journal is being typed, 30-40 Keating finance and accounting professionals are dutifully performing their daily tasks from the safety of their own home. Six or seven people, mainly on the management team, are safely spending a few hours in the office under the new guidelines.
