Portable Sanitation Association International

ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 Page 15 Always prepared, Andy Gump employees who worked at home had total access to their computer system, phone system, as well as access to any other pertinent information. According to Nancy, "Our customers do not know if they are speaking to an employee working at home or in the office." Further, Nancy states, "Production has gone up as team members are more focused since they are working by themselves." In addition, "The office team has been grateful for being able to work at home and to help home school their children as well." Their top-notch customer service continued uninterrupted during these challenging times. Nancy and her management team are also considerate of the mental health of their employees that are working from home. "We check with each team member working from home on a weekly basis in order to see how their morale is going and if they have any needs or suggestions." She says that "little gestures such as me delivering cookies to the employee's home let them know that they are appreciated." She also sends "light-hearted emails" to everyone to bring a smile and to lower the stress. The company has been fortunate in that only a couple of employees have tested positive and, after the 14-day quarantine and a negative test, these employees were back to work. With the emergency preparedness plan already in effect and already having been discussed, these cases were handled according that plan and "everyone still felt safe." Nancy says that no one has yet taken a "mental health day," but they did have an employee at the onset of the pandemic, opt to take vacation days so that "they could be home until they knew more about COVID. Once they saw our plan, that put their mind to ease and they were back to work." From a route service perspective, Andy Gump has seen a tremendous increase in the need for sinks, hand sanitizers, and multiple services per week. "Adjusting routes and having seven day per week service has put pressure on our service drivers and supervisors." More pressure is raised when special customer requirements are mandated. Nancy shares, "We have had to hire more service drivers and work more hours as the COVID-19 pandemic continues." Additional pressure has been placed on the company due to increased regulations as well as equipment demands from their customers. "Service protocols are in writing and describe the cleaning process—paying close attention to specific 'touch points' on the equipment, the disinfectants used, and the proper PPE that is required. Without this written documentation, which we must be prepared to present at any time, we could be fined." As far as equipment needs, "no one in this industry was prepared for a pandemic of any kind. The manufacturers have done an incredible job trying to keep up with an ever-increasing demand." With the massive demand of sinks, Nancy reports, "We have ordered three times the number of sinks that we normally would. In addition, before COVID, we would go through a pallet of paper towels in a month; now it is a pallet a week." Fostering Mental Health in Your Company…continued from page 7 Continued on page 16

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