Businesses are beginning to reopen in phases across America. While this can be exciting, businesses still need to be prepared to comply with the mandatory safety standards for operation in the COVID-19 reopening period. One of our MassTLC Members, Karen McCloskey from NETSCOUT, was tasked with finding out what resources were available for testing and screening when people return to the office. I got the pleasure of speaking with Karen about her experience utilizing and learning from our council during these unprecedented times:
MassTLC: Let’s start from the beginning, when you were trying to find resources regarding the reopening of your offices. What specifically were you looking to learn more about?
Karen: A member of our company’s planning task force tasked me with finding out what resources are available for testing and screening when people return to the office. I started by reaching out to my personal contacts, but quickly realized that reaching out to MassTLC might be a more efficient option! With the pulse you all have in the technology community, I was able to avoid individually asking each company what they were doing for testing. The nice thing is, I’ve been able to build a relationship with the staff at MassTLC over the years, so I felt comfortable calling them to ask for resources.
MassTLC: What were you able to learn from the various companies you were connected with through MassTLC?
Karen: Nayla Daly [Growth and Talent Community manager at MassTLC] was able to provide me with an extremely helpful contact at Veson Nautical. This led to a really great and informative conversation. Between that, talking to WinterWyman about their services, reaching out to other connections I had made through past MassTLC events, I was able to get a a snapshot of what the Tech community was doing for testing.
MassTLC: How did these resources prepare you with the reopening process?
Karen: The information helped validate our approach. We knew we were in line with others in the tech community. At the end of the day, we have to do what fits and makes sense for our business. This was a great starting point and gave us a summary of the tech community’s plans. I really appreciate everyone’s willingness to help out.
After speaking with Karen, I was motivated to hear more. I reached out to Kris Macdermott with WinterWyman, one of the contacts to whom we connected Karen. I wanted to ask her how this process felt from her side:
MassTLC: How did you and Karen get connected in the first place?
Kris: We actually got connected through MassTLC. I was talking with Ruth [Morris, Sr. Director at MassTLC] about temperature checking across the country and she was able to connect me with Karen, who was interested in learning more about this exact thing.
MassTLC: What advice were you able to give Karen?
Kris: We walked her through the scenarios and the situations that we’ve been providing for our clients, and different ways to factor in temperature checkers. Whether it would be specific hours they work and if they work full days and how different companies are dealing with it currently. I was able to give her a big picture overview of how the tech community was handling testing.
Our MassTLC staff is here to help all of you. Please feel free to reach out and ask us any questions! We’ll either have the answer or have someone within the technology community with whom we can connect you. We are here as a resource to all of our members, especially during these unprecedented times.
