As COVID-19 continues to impact our businesses, we look ardently to the future

As we embark on another week amidst a pandemic that continues to unfold before our eyes, several thoughts have been at the forefront of my daily actions and encounters.

Like you, I continue to stay hyper-focused on the COVID-19 situation from a professional and personal standpoint. In my role, it’s my responsibility to work tirelessly day-in and day-out with leadership across our organization to predict, to the best of our abilities, how this will impact our people, our business, the industry and our clients moving forward. As I continue to highlight in my discussions with leadership, colleagues and clients, I see our company’s digital transformation goals becoming reality at a rapid pace. In many cases, we will transform faster than we ever imagined, which I personally see as a silver lining in all of this.

From a personal perspective, I am relishing in the unique opportunity to spend more time with my family. My children, like many of yours, had to quickly adapt to e-learning. While they were up to the challenge, they continue to tell me how they would rather be with their friends and teachers, while enjoying their extracurricular activities. I can relate to that well, as I too miss the opportunity to be with my peers, members of the business community, our clients and prospects. We are indeed creatures of habit and truly enjoy the rigor our lives bring us when we are not forced to slow down. I am learning and adapting along with all of you.

I hope you; your families and friends are all staying healthy and well. I am extraordinarily proud to hear countless stories of how my Sikich team members have demonstrated great resilience at a time when it would otherwise be easy to give up. Continuing to serve clients, while under arguably much different circumstances, is no small feat and one I recognize with gratitude. Times like these define us as people, as leaders, as a society. Although uncertainty weighs heavy, we will persevere.

As businesses temporarily close their doors, production lines move more slowly and supply chains are interrupted, now is not the time to give up. Now is when we, as leaders, business owners and dedicated professionals, ensure we are retaining our talented employees and valued customers. We must prioritize our business, but above all, we must prioritize our people. The financial burden of forced shutdowns and stay-at-home orders placed on a lot of local businesses, global companies and not-for-profit organizations is an environment many of us—if not all of us—are facing for the first time. Look to your dedicated employees for inspiration to continue down this unprecedented path and lean on your colleagues, trusted advisors and industry peers for mentoring and support to assist you through an unpredictable future. We’re all in this together. Everyone deals with difficulty and stress in different ways. Emotion oftentimes leads to irrational thought and actions. Let’s all work the problems of COVID-19 with empathy and compassion for one another. Times like these give us opportunities to strengthen relationships.

Sikich’s tax, human capital and security experts are working diligently on providing updates and insights on the ever-changing legislation surrounding COVID-19. Our Resource Center houses this all. Please refer to it for the latest in changes nationally and state-by-state.

Stay Healthy, Positive and Strong,

Chris