The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) situation is evolving each day; and, like all of you, we are taking action to prepare and protect our business and yours. As the global landscape continues to shift, we remain focused on the wellbeing of our employees and maintaining strong delivery for our clients. Taking care of our clients is at the center of everything we do, so I want to assure you that our teams are focused on proactive steps to help reinforce strong business practices as this continues.

Our team of professionals is working daily to monitor developments and take the appropriate steps to ensure the health of our workforce, our customers and their businesses. We are also carefully following all government, Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization guidelines – and taking extra precautionary steps to help prevent the virus at our locations. We are committed to regular, transparent communications with our employees and customers in order to ensure we are providing the most helpful information to address business concerns.

Here are the key things we’d like for you to know:

• Data Security and Continuity: All of our data, servers and means of communication, are based on Microsoft Azure cloud services, with real time backups and no reliance on our personal physical infrastructure.  From a data perspective, we have long been prepared for unforeseeable events, whether it be inclement weather, natural disasters or national emergencies.
• Service Locations and Work from Home: We rely on multiple worksite locations for our service personnel, including our corporate Rockville, MD offices, Fort Wayne, IN, Birmingham, AL and Buhl, ID.  Additionally, we have from the start of the crisis, implemented work from home flexibility to protect the health of our workforce.  Whether remote or work from home, all personnel have strict data security protocols implemented on our devices.  All client related requests, communication means, and portals (Connect and XcelNet) remain uninterrupted.
• Restricted meetings and employee travel: To align with the latest health and travel guidance from the CDC and WHO as well as your requirements, all in person meetings and interviews have been restricted; and we are relying video conference as a means of communication where appropriate.
• Legislation and Guidance: We are actively monitoring Federal and State actions around relief from the current situation, whether tax, employee benefit or related, and we deliver communications around those as they are signed into law.  Additionally, our team of HR experts are here to guide you through the challenges ahead for your employees and business.

We pride ourselves in the ability to be flexible and maintain our services regardless of the emergency.

In the weeks ahead, we are focused on delivering up to date information for you and all our clients. We have strong business continuity plans in place and have them activated to ensure we continue to deliver during these uncertain times. As new information becomes available, we will be publishing updates and guidance to our customers on our website www.xcelhr.com/coronavirus.