Clean canines Dog washing machines made here Page 15
June 19 - July 2, 2020 Vol. 21, No. 12
wilmingtonbiz.com
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WEB EXCLUSIVE NHRMC happenings The latest coverage of the potential sale or partnership wilmingtonbiz.com
SPECIAL SECTION ON REOPENING THE ECONOMY PAGE
Hospitality focus: A look at industr y employees
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Needed tool: Creating an African American business listing
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Buyer potential: Virus prompts some potential sales PHOTO BY MICHAEL CLINE SPENCER
Index Economic Indicators .............................. 3 Technology ............................................. 4 The List ............................................5, 17 Hospitality ..........................................8-9 Real Estate..................................... 12-13 In Profile...............................................15 Business of Life.............................. 22-23
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Health check: Chrystal Bradshaw, operations manager with Ward and Smith P.A. in Wilmington, takes the temperature of attorney Allen Trask.
A NEW WAY OF WORK
RETURNING EMPLOYEES ADAPT TO CHANGES AT THE OFFICE BY CHRISTINA HALEY O’NEAL
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aily temperature checks and health screenings have become a regular part of the job for many employees heading back into the workplace. They are among some of the COVID-19-driven changes in office settings across the Cape Fear region, as companies face expectations to keep the work environment clean for employees, while navigating guidance at the local, state and federal level. Since early May, daily morning health checks are on the to-do list at Ward and Smith P.A. Employees are now being allowed back in the office, while some can use their discretion to work remotely for the Wilmington law firm. “I feel like this is the new normal,” said Allen Trask, a civil litigation attorney, who holds several positions
of firmwide leadership. “I think our leadership team is being as nimble as they can be with all of this,” he said. “To me, this is pretty close to the new reality, a reality where folks are still empowered to work remotely and encouraged to do so as makes sense for them. But we still have an underlying office presence to support everyone as well.” Many businesses at the early start of the COVID-19 pandemic put in place remote working protocols and implemented the technologies to do so. Some people are going back to work while other businesses in the region, however, are still gauging the timing of bringing back much of their office workforce. Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), for instance, still has employees working outside of headquarters in downtown Wilmington.
Officials said that all remote-capable PPD employees based in Wilmington were still working from home in early June, while the company determines when it would be appropriate for them to return to the office. “To protect our colleagues around the world and to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, our employees are working remotely whenever possible rather than reporting to their respective work locations,” said Ron Garrow, PPD’s executive vice president and chief human resource officer. “We are closely monitoring the epidemiology and other safety factors related to the pandemic and are assessing the timing of the return of our colleagues to our headquarters in Wilmington, as well as other locations across the globe,” he said. See BACK TO WORK, page 7
