In this week’s video I talk about something I’ve been avoiding … coronavirus.
I’ve been avoiding the virus 🙂 but also talking about it due to the mass hysteria out there on the topic, but the reality is it will now affect all of your organizations in one way or another.
I take a little different approach discussing how this event may effect your organization, but more importantly how you and your team will be impacted, and what steps you can take now.
Between the time I recorded the weekly video, and when you are receiving this email, the GAM Conference has been cancelled. That leaves many of you wondering what you will do about the CPE and training you will now miss, and miss out on connecting with fellow CAEs at the conference.
I have seen this day coming for a while, which is why I started cRisk Academy almost 4 years ago. There is no corona virus risk with cRisk Academy training, since it’s all online. You and your staff can join the thousands of professionals getting trained each month through cRisk Academy at: https://ondemand.criskacademy.com/?affcode=105582_jpp6czlf
This is also why the CAE Forum does not require travel.
If you are ready to join a group of like minded CAEs and get support all year long (not just a couple days at a conference), schedule your 30-minute no obligation call to see if the CAE Forum is right for you: https://jasonmefford.mykajabi.com/caeforum
This is also a time to think more about remote work options for your team and how you can complete your audit plan with less travel. More on that in the video.
Also, the 2020 CAE Survey report and cooresponding videos are now available. You should’ve received an email on Tuesday, but if you missed it, you can:
Download your copy here: https://jasonmefford.mykajabi.com/offers/u82U8o2B
Have a great rest of your week 🙂
TRANSCRIPT
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Jason Mefford: Welcome to another episode of The chief audit executive briefing. Hey, I know there’s been a lot in the news recently about coronavirus
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Jason Mefford: And I wasn’t actually going to talk about it, but I think I need to. So really, you know, in the, in my opinion, a lot of people are overreacting to coronavirus but
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Jason Mefford: This is the type of external event that can impact your organization. And so obviously there’s really kind of two things for us to consider and talk about
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Jason Mefford: The first one is how this event is going to affect your organization. So again, this is kind of classic risk management in thinking about
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Jason Mefford: Some of the things. This may cause or ways that it may impact your organization’s ability to be able to meet its objectives for some companies. This is going to be a good thing for other people it’s going to be a bad thing. And so we’ll talk more about that.
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Jason Mefford: The second one is how it actually impacts you and your team. And so again, in these short videos, I don’t have enough time today to talk about both
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Jason Mefford: So I want to focus first on the most important one, which is the impact to you and your team. And then next week, I’ll talk more about
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Jason Mefford: Some of the things or ways that this may be impacting your organization. So the first thing is
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Jason Mefford: You know, because of the coronavirus there’s obviously been a lot of concern around travel and first it was just traveling to certain places now it’s kind of, you know, we’re starting to see already that there are travel bands.
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Jason Mefford: That companies are putting travel bands on their employees. So you can’t travel anywhere and certain parts of the world are actually starting to be quarantined as well. So travel bans are
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Jason Mefford: A real thing that you have to deal with. So as an example, I was supposed to speak at a conference this last week.
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Jason Mefford: And that conference got canceled because of coronavirus okay now I know you know by the time that you’re reading this, you know, many of you may be going or be planning to go to GAM
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Jason Mefford: This next week and I know already, it’s, it’s a little bit touch and go on whether or not Gam is going to happen.
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Jason Mefford: And I’ve heard from some people that again, even if it goes forward their company will not allow them to travel. So a lot of people will not be going to that event. So that’s one issue to think about. Right.
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Jason Mefford: Is, you know, some of these events that you’re planning to go to. Now you can no longer travel and to be able to get that training that you were expecting to get
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Jason Mefford: So again, this is something that you are going to have to deal with at this point. So how do you get training. If you can’t travel
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Jason Mefford: Well, that’s one of the reasons why four years ago, I started see risk Academy, which is an online training company, why
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Jason Mefford: There’s no coronavirus risk with see risk Academy training, okay. It’s all virtual so again you can do things you and your team can actually get trained from your home from your office wherever you happen to be
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Jason Mefford: And you don’t have to worry about anything like a travel ban or maybe contracting something like coronavirus. Okay, so I’ve included links down below for that, because again,
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Jason Mefford: If you’re someone who maybe was planning to go to GAM next week can no longer go to GAM but you still need to get trained
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Jason Mefford: Here’s an option for you. You can look at things like online training. Now another thing you know Gam is usually a conference for management.
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Jason Mefford: You know, managers directors ca ease and again if that gets cancelled or you can’t go to it. What are you going to do to be able to get some of that same information.
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Jason Mefford: Well, again, that’s one of the reasons why I created the chief audit executive forum.
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Jason Mefford: It’s totally virtual. You don’t have to travel. You can actually do it from wherever you are at and in fact some of this stuff is actually recorded, so if you can’t attend live, you can still go back and get the information
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Jason Mefford: So again, travel bans are going to affect training your training and the training of your people. And so you need to start thinking about some of the different options that you can use.
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Jason Mefford: If you’re not allowed to travel to get the training. Okay, now that’s probably also going to free up some of your budget.
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Jason Mefford: So that you can make some different choices. Maybe than what you had budgeted for at the beginning of the year.
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Jason Mefford: So that’s one thing. Travel bands and their effect on travel. Now the other thing.
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Jason Mefford: The travel bans will have an impact on you, obviously, is, you know, usually as auditors we travel a lot. We go out to locations to do audits.
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Jason Mefford: This is going to be a good opportunity for you to start thinking about ways that we can do audits differently that maybe don’t require as much travel
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Jason Mefford: Now again I know traditionally we’ve traveled a lot, but this can actually be a big opportunity as well because if you are able to find ways so that your team doesn’t have to travel as much
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Jason Mefford: That’s a good thing because one of the things that some people complain about and why they leave audit is because of all the travel that they have to do
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Jason Mefford: So this gives you, like I said, it’s, it’s kind of a risk and the one way that some of the work that you had planned. You may not be able to go out and do because you can’t be on site.
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Jason Mefford: But it gives you an opportunity to start thinking about ways to audit more remotely or virtually
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Jason Mefford: That you can start to incorporate in and reduce some of the travel on some of your staff.
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Jason Mefford: Now another thing is, you know, again, traditionally a lot of companies are still requiring people to come into work into an office every day.
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Jason Mefford: So again, this gives you another opportunity to maybe start incorporating some work from home or remote work options for your staff.
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Jason Mefford: Even if that’s you know I know I was talking to somebody in Seattle. Their whole company building is shut down and everybody
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Jason Mefford: Is effectively quarantined and working from their house at least through the end of March in may go into April, depending on what happens
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Jason Mefford: So again if already if you’re being kind of pushed towards this. Think about options that you can start providing your people to maybe start working more remotely.
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Jason Mefford: Again, just like we talked about with travel. It’s a risk in the short term, but it can be an opportunity and the long term.
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Jason Mefford: And the reason why a lot of workers today would like to be able to do some work from home.
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Jason Mefford: Now I’m not talking about, you know, completely outsourcing and just never having people come in the office.
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Jason Mefford: But start to think about what are some ways that you can start incorporating some of this even going forward. Maybe let your people work from home, one or two days a week.
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Jason Mefford: In just kind of see what works for you, but start to think about it. Use this event as an opportunity for you to start changing what you’re doing.
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Jason Mefford: Now the last thing around. This is as it relates to you and your team is for you to be sensitive to your team. Okay.
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Jason Mefford: Now, as I told you the beginning I think everybody is over reacting to this. We’ve had things like this happen before
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Jason Mefford: It’ll probably die down fairly quickly. I think people are overreacting. Now, that’s my personal opinion. Okay. And so I choose for myself not to overreact on them.
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Jason Mefford: However, for people on my team, right, I need to be sensitive to the fact that some of the people on teams are really freaking out about this. They’re afraid.
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Jason Mefford: And so, you know, again, even though I may not feel that way. I need to be emotionally intelligent and realize that people do have those fears.
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Jason Mefford: And do some things, even if I think they’re kind of silly, just to help reduce some of the fear and anxiety that people are feeling
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Jason Mefford: And so I want you to think about that, too, for your team. What are some things you can do if you know there’s certain people on your staff that are really anxious and fearful about this.
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Jason Mefford: What are some things that you can do and be flexible. During this time when people are freaking out. Be a little bit more flexible.
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Jason Mefford: Things are going to settle down, they’re going to go back to normal. You’re going to be able to get back to doing what you’re doing. But at this point in time, it might be good.
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Jason Mefford: For you to be a little bit more lenient a little bit more flexible and and really understand and address people’s fear and anxiety.
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Jason Mefford: When you do that and help them kind of calm that down. That’s another thing that actually builds a relationship and trust going forward.
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Jason Mefford: Between you and your team. So with that, that’s all I have for you for today. So like I said, you know, think about how coronavirus is actually affecting you and your team.
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Jason Mefford: Go back. Listen to this again if you need to and start thinking about, you know, what are some ways that we can get trained maybe where we don’t have to travel or change how we are
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Jason Mefford: Organizing and doing our audits, maybe some remote work options. And again, it’s a reminder, you know, see risk Academy know Corona risk with that.
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Jason Mefford: Your people can get trained literally at home or in the office wherever they happen to be. And the same goes with the chief audit executive forum.
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Jason Mefford: You know, again, if you’re missing out on GAM or some other things like that were in the past, you’ve gotten support and you’re not going to have that going forward.
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Jason Mefford: Make sure to click on the link if the CA forum is something that sounds right for you. Just book your 30 minute no obligation call
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Jason Mefford: Let’s talk about it and see if it’s right for you. If it is, we can get you in. And you can get that support this next year and for the years to come as well. So with that, my friends. Have a great rest of your week and I’ll talk to you next week.
