Silicon Valley companies continue to rise to the challenges posed by COVID-19, according to a recent Leadership Group survey. 74 CEOs and C-Suite Officers responded to the six-question survey conducted on April 8, 2020.
Members were asked about remote working practices currently being implemented and consideration of flexible working arrangements with an eye towards economic recovery. Members are also engaged in a robust community response, including charitable assistance and leveraging supply chains to meet medical supply needs. These surveys are essential tools to help our member companies learn from each other’s best practices in the ever-changing COVID-19 landscape.
Key Findings
Availability of COVID-19 testing continues to be an area of concern, with just over 40% of member companies indicating suspected cases among their workforce unable to get tested or finding it difficult to find testing sites. Testing capacity and awareness will be critical as health experts, business leaders and lawmakers call for testing on a widespread scale ahead of reopening the economy.
Members are adopting remote working best practices across the board to ensure success during the shelter-in-place order in the Bay Area. Increased use in telecommunications tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams is a more obvious widespread practice among members in this new normal (93%), but members are also empowering employees to manage their own time and balance home-life needs (89%). Some members also reported increasing communications and updates vertically through their organization, particularly focusing on junior staff and others who may feel more isolated at this time.
With extended experience working from home under the shelter-in-place order, members are more open to adopting more flexible work arrangements in the future. 50% of members would consider increasing the number of times employees can work from home, and 42% would consider widening the classification or overall number of employees who can work flexibly. Some members have reported an increase in productivity as their employees have adapted to the change. With uncertainty about the extent to which the economy can reopen amid a coronavirus threat, coupled with high facility expenses in Silicon Valley, flexible work arrangements will continue to be an important tool for companies in the position to adopt these practices.
The Leadership Group is proud to stand with members who are meeting the challenge of COVID-19 here in Silicon Valley. 55% of members are working with the Leadership Group, community organizations and government to direct charitable aid; 42% are facilitating employee assistance with communities of their choice, largely through increased matching giving. The innovation economy continues to be a source of inspiration in this crisis – in addition to the dozens of Silicon Valley companies and organizations developing treatments and providing care, members are working hard to secure medical supply and equipment needs for healthcare and community needs. 15% of members are producing medical supply needs directly, 10% have retooled their production lines to produce goods, and 23% using their supply chain to acquire those items.
View complete survey with questions, breakdown of answers, and key takeaways.
– Stephen Tu, Director of Transportation Policy, Silicon Valley Leadership Group | April 28, 2020
