Free digital COVID-19 Nonprofit Response Playbook can help your charity return to work safely

This article is sponsored by Salesforce.org - the dedicated social impact team of Salesforce that delivers technology to nonprofits, educational institutions, and philanthropic organisations so they can connect with others and do more good.

For the last few months, we’ve written extensively about remote working. We’ve covered innovative ways charities are delivering remote service, we’ve explored how to keep your remote systems secure and we’ve even looked to the future.

But as we get over the initial wave of the virus and society slowly moves towards a new normal, it’s time to explore the next frontier - how do we begin to return to the office, or establish a hybrid model combining office-based and remote working?

There are many reasons for returning to the office: the mental health of your staff, increased visibility on larger projects and better working conditions. Whatever your reasons for returning, it is vital that you put in place the proper steps to ensure the safety and wellbeing of your employees and volunteers.

The COVID-19 Nonprofit Response Playbook

That’s where Salesforce.org’s COVID-19 Nonprofit Response Playbook comes in to play.

Reopening will be a journey. It’s important to have a roadmap in place to ensure that correct safety protocols are in place, for the good of both your people and your organisation.

This free digital resource offers a comprehensive pathway to reopening. Aimed at charity leaders, the playbook covers everything from navigating longer-term economic insecurity to finding the right pace for your organisation to adjust to a new normal.

The pandemic has seen the charity sector embrace digital as never before. This period of digital transformation will not be a temporary measure - rather, successful organisations will continue to explore digital ways of working even when returning to physical office spaces.

Many organisations will adopt a hybrid model - at least for the short term - blending elements of remote working and traditional office-based work. Initially, this will require a staggered approach. New safeguards will have to be put into place to protect workers, and offices will need to change to meet social distancing and contact-tracing requirements.

Digital can ease this period of transition. The Nonprofit Response Playbook offers a structured approach – divided into three distinct, yet often concurrent, tracks – to help guide and simplify decision-making.

This will allow your organisation to move through the key stages of reopening - from the ‘Stabilise’ stage of mitigating short-term risk and running operations during lockdown, through the ‘Reopen’ phase where your organisation puts in place the planning, logistics, and communications to reopen office and program locations while protecting and informing staff and volunteers and finally to the ‘Evolve’ stage of next normal operations where your charity operates more efficiently, harnessing digital to grow mission impact and increase the relevance of your campaigns and services.