Mitigating the risk to businesses and employees posed by COVID-19 requires agility and initiative – and a lot of project management.
And if you are operating across multiple jurisdictions, the load becomes heavier.
To get ahead of the situation with scenario modelling and highly considered action plans, TMF Group’s Consultancy Solutions can bridge gaps in resources, freeing up management teams to focus on commercial strategy and the day-to-day running of operations.
Here are just some of the ways our team has supported clients during the crisis.
Global employee management
A multinational company needed help putting a global employee pandemic response plan in place. The company required country-specific information on:
- government measures including financial support available to both employers and employees
- options to support employees unable to work from home (furlough, reduction of work hours, temporary suspension of contracts etc.)
- appropriate actions if an employee contracts COVID-19 at work
- medical leave and pay policies.
Through Consultancy Solutions and TMF Group’s local experts in 80+ countries globally, the multinational received comprehensive employee cost calculations and a scenario analysis factoring in the various government assistance it qualified for, per country. Armed with this information the company was able to enact local level responses.
Formulating a local business response
A global software and ecommerce provider was concerned about the implications of Covid-19 for its Mexican office of around 15 people. The company needed to understand:
- its obligations as an employer
- options to provide ongoing employment to staff unable to work from home
- federal labour laws and social security requirements.
The company received a comprehensive overview of options and was able to decide on next steps with the help of Consultancy Solutions and TMF Mexico’s HR, payroll and legal professionals. Our teams compiled all the latest information regarding local labour laws and social security requirements and ran a bespoke training session to get the business up to speed.
- TMF Group Consultancy Solutions consists of highly-skilled cross-border project and program managers
- Covering all time-zones, they coordinate the activities of some 7,800 local experts covering more than 80 jurisdictions from 130 wholly-owned offices
- We can help with problems today – and we can build foundations for stress tests to come
Immediate response services
- Task force development and management – facilitating a task force to manage the crisis including monitoring progress, creating communication chains, maintaining escalation procedures and analysing impact.
- Supply chain analysis – disruption mapping and contingency planning.
- Communication management plans – reviewing your company's current communication channels and chains and assisting with the development of new plans for both your employees and clients.
- Cash liquidity management: reviewing the health of financial statements and assessing ways to preserve cash liquidity through a combination of the following actions:
- AR: analysing the Aging Report and calculating the bad debt balance for potential tax recovery.
- Cost analysis: determining potential legacy cost reduction and assessing the impact of new expenses in relation to COGS.
- Cash flow forecast: helping to determine risks associated with possibly defaulting on debt covenants and strategising new terms with lenders.
- Government relief program review and assistance: providing an overview of government measures including financial aid and business eligibility, outlining employer obligations and duties and providing high-level cost and implication assessments.
- Invoicing support: providing on-the-ground support to clients with invoicing backlog issues.
Services for the long term
- Human resource management – review of the workforce roster and making an adjustments proposal based on current demand (supply/demand analysis). We can also (re)design the compensation structure and determine alternatives to continue rewarding performance and retaining key employees whilst ensuring cash liquidity for the company through the consideration of the following:
- Review and propose changes to the overall compensation package (salary, bonus, equity and other benefits in kind).
- Design an equity interest plan to increase employee loyalty and link the financial rewards of staff to the performance of the business.
- Assessments of current policies and design of new ones (if applicable), such as work-from-home policy and other flexible working arrangements.
- Business continuity planning – assessment of current BCP plan and recommendations for plan efficiency, implementation and needed changes for the short and long-term.
- Digitisation services – supporting the design, rollout or remediation of digital document storage to better facilitate remote working through ensuring the accessibility of documentation whilst also maintaining security and confidentiality.
If you need advice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.