"Senior Management and Boards in the Time of Social Distancing" from Bass Berry & Sims is a good reminder that management and boards should practice what they preach in terms of endeavoring to take whatever precautions are appropriate, including social distancing and remote work arrangements, to avoid catching or spreading the coronavirus. While the firm does not suggest there is any one-size-fits-all approach to responding to the health, safety, and public welfare aspects of the virus, it recognizes that company leaders may tend to focus their efforts on policy and protocol that apply to the balance of the workforce while leaving themselves - and thus, the company - vulnerable. Along those lines, the memo notes the importance of current executive emergency succession plans in the event of executive incapacitation; suggests ways in which companies can successfully close the books and fulfill their period-end financial reporting while also mitigating the potential for catching or sharing the virus; and promotes regular communications between management and the board.
Among the technology solutions Society in-house members have suggested to facilitate remote participation in or virtual board meetings (in addition to teleconference service providers) are Skype for Business, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and WebEx online.
See last week's reports: "Virtual Board/Committee Meeting Considerations" and "Coronavirus: Board/Committee Meetings & Remote Work Arrangements"; "Virtual Board Meetings" (BoardSource); and "Leading from a Distance: 5 Lessons for Successful Virtual Teaming" (Spencer Stuart). This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!