Keeping the Company Together during the COVID-19 Crisis

“Take care of your people, then your people can take care of your customers – especially those customers serving the immediate needs on the frontlines,” Camille Sackett, Accede Mold & Tool’s vice president of Sales and Project Management says.

Leadership has been transparent, communicating the gravity and importance of the work the Accede team is doing on monitors across the facility. Customers are getting calls from the White House and they are counting on Accede to get the work done. With an employee-first philosophy, Accede tackles each project doing everything they can to get tooling done for customers, so they can get the essential medical and diagnostics supplies out to the frontline ASAP, like rapid test kits. “The speed at which things are happening and the uncertainty of what is to come is a challenge, but the team is adapting and rising to the occasion,” Sackett says.

Accede is leveraging its network to get things done. “We have close relationships with our suppliers and we look to them as partners. None, even here in New York, have reported impacts yet, and to my knowledge, they have been adaptable as we’ve needed to shift priorities,” Sackett says.

Knowing that the work they are doing is meaningful and appreciated, and that employees feel appreciated by leadership helps. To further boost morale, the company is having lunch delivered daily by small business owners/restaurants, which not only feeds the employees but helps the local community.

When it comes to keeping employees safe during this virus outbreak, Accede moved some staff to remote-work and implemented a new protocol for building entry for the remaining staff working on-site. Prior to the new protocol the building was closed for the a long weekend and the facility was completely cleaned and sanitized (keyboards, phones, machine handles, touch screens, etc.) from top to bottom. Work instructions were posted inside and outside of the building entrances. Employees were notified of the new process ahead of time using the Slack app, a new-to-Accede internal messaging system. 

The process for entry:

• Use social distance guidelines to wait in line for entrance
• Wash hands at entry
• Have temperature taken
• HR asks a series of screening questions to gauge risk of exposure to COVID-19 virus

If the employee passes the screening, the employee is admitted and permitted to begin work. Otherwise employees are asked to stay home on sick-leave (a new benefit implemented by the company as the COVID-19 crisis began to hit New York).

The new entry process has been very well received by employees. They report that it makes them feel safe.

As part of its COVID-19 response, Accede has implemented many new processes, which are being documented and integrated into its QMS.