Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

What businesses should keep in mind when reopening: Chamber

May 15, 2020 | 11:45 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – This week saw the beginning of Stage 1 of Alberta’s Relaunch Strategy and business owners across the province are doing their best to figure out how to adjust.

Stage 1 means that, as of Thursday, May 14, retail businesses, museums and galleries, and daycares were able to resume operations in all parts of Alberta. For all areas except for Brooks and Calgary, this also includes hair stylists, restaurants with 50 per cent dine-in capacity, day camps, and places of worship with limited capacity.

“It’s like in the spring when you open your window for the first time and that fresh air comes in. I think that’s what businesses [are] really feeling at the moment, which is exciting, so we’re getting our spring air finally,” says Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce Executive Officer Cyndi Vos. “With that, though, you do have that dust that comes in and you have to clean that up.”

She tells LNN the thing most business owners are the most excited about is to see cashflow once again.

“Some of the government supports have been helpful and useful, but they haven’t necessarily come in a timely manner, like some of us haven’t received the wage subsidy yet, so being able to get that cash register ringing, so to speak, it’s going to be very helpful and it’s going to be very encouraging for people to see some income.”

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In a survey conducted by the Lethbridge Region Economic Recovery Task Force in April, 51 per cent of local businesses have reduced staffing levels, 78 per cent saw a decline in sales, and 41 per cent reported that they will not survive more than three months in the current climate without additional support.

For the financial aspect, many companies should not expect to see their normal levels of revenue right away.

She says it will be important for them to check their books every day and make determinations on how to proceed based on that. One example she gave is for staffing where you can start with a lower number of employees initially, and depending on how things pick up over time, adjust your workforce accordingly.

Vos believes these are truly unprecedented times for business owners and that many are struggling to adapt as a result.

The Government of Alberta has created a “guidance for reopening” on the Alberta Biz Connect website. The Chamber also has its own planning guide.

“The one thing I say to companies is, what did you do prior to this? Were your universal precautions in place, and they’re like, ‘Of course.’ Well now, the responsibility is to document it.”

These steps can include having a cleaning checklist, having weekly meetings with staff, and ensuring everyone understands what the process is for sanitation between customers.

For health and safety reasons, some business owners and employees do not feel comfortable reopening just yet. While Stage 1 does allow for some sectors to resume operations, they are not obligated to do so.

In those instances, Vos suggests informing customers in any way they can of what the reopening plan is.

“I think that’s really really smart to advertise, OK, we might not have opened May 14 but we’re gonna open May 21 or whenever. This is what we’re doing and this is why we held off. That, once again, gives that peace of mind for people that are going to be coming in.”

Vos is asking customers and business owners to be patient as things are changing day-by-day, but she believes things will eventually return to a point where everyone is comfortable.