The New Business Normal

Scott Kuethen

April 28, 2020

Most of us in business today have lived through some type of business upheaval caused by events beyond our control, be it economics, politics, the stock market, civil unrest, or global health. In Amtec’s 61 years of business, we have endured many of these events. In recent history, we’ve experienced global pandemics, but COVID-19 has proven to be a different kind of enemy than we’ve faced in the past.

As the toll on our lives and freedoms continues, businesses are being challenged in ways they never imagined. Business leaders are working to adapt and innovate, to stay afloat and keep their team members healthy and safe while respecting the guidance of our medical and government leaders

Facing and overcoming these challenges is no easy task. In the week that ended April 11, 660,966 Californians filed jobless claims. The impact of this pandemic on California’s 19.3 million workers is staggering. We have seen companies we work with do amazing things to keep their businesses operational and employees working safely. We are so grateful to be part of that journey.

In the spirit of resilience, humor is also making its way into our lexicon to help us all cope and persevere. With so many now working from home, our kids home from school, and the shelter-in-place orders, we are looking for an antidote to feeling cooped up and isolated.

Here are a few anecdotes on working remotely to lighten your mood:

• Pajama pants are the new business casual. In fact, I heard it declared that 9 p.m. is the official time to change from your daytime pajamas to your nighttime pajamas.
• Kids and significant others are making cameo appearances on company conference calls, sometimes forgetting that a camera is rolling. There have been some funny moments, as you can imagine.
• Pets have also been getting their 15 minutes of fame, momentarily upstaging video meetings by walking across keyboards or insisting it’s time to go outside RIGHT NOW!
• Not to be overlooked, coworkers are sharing this experience with hilarious stories, memes, and GIFs about their new kitchen table office and their 20-step “commute” to work.

Perserverance and Hope

Perseverance and hope have been bolstered by the historic Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The PPP has already infused small businesses with $349 billion in emergency loans aimed at keeping workers on the job, bills paid on time, and businesses operational.

Those funds were quickly depleted as many businesses grabbed on to this lifeline. Congress is working on a plan to further fund an additional multi-billion-dollar stimulus plan to help businesses and their team members bridge the gap during this difficult time.

One of the ways that businesses can save money and scarce human resources is through the use of Amtec’s payrolling service. With our payrolling program, Amtec becomes the Employer of Record. This shifts the time-consuming tasks of managing workers’ compensation, state and federal taxes, unemployment taxes, payroll, insurance, benefits, and risk to Amtec. It allows businesses to focus on their core competencies instead of administrative tasks.

To demonstrate our commitment to aid the collective effort to sustain business, we are offering this service at a discount by not adding any additional markup to the direct labor rate. This offer is good through May 31. Call us at (877) 200-1630 or visit our payroll page for more information.

Winston Churchill said, “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

I am so proud of the optimists at Amtec and the spirit of determination, camaraderie, and common purpose. I see this every morning in our 9 a.m. stand-up team meeting.

Thank you to all our loyal clients and the thousands of job candidates we serve at Amtec. This isn’t business as usual; however, our commitment remains unchanged to helping our customers build high-performing teams and helping candidates find meaningful work.

Scott Kuethen,
CEO

Published by Orange County Business Journal