0 (0s):
Well Mike's or back on, and this is Radio Entrepreneurs my name again is Jeffrey Davis. Uh, not just host of Radio Entrepreneurs for those who do tune into the show. I am a chairman and CEO of major LLC, the management consulting firm. And you know, we're streaming more stories than ever before. Why? Because in this new economy, people want to stay in business. People want to keep paying paychecks and paying taxes and keep the economy going. And I think 80% of us Sergeant street finding ways to do that.

0 (30s):
And if you're looking for stories about how people are finding ways to do that, I think a good firm to peek into would be Blum. Shapiro. And we're gonna speak with Frank. Lovech welcome. Frank thanks Jeffrey. Good to be with you. Great. Frank uh, you're an HR Blum, Blum. Shapiro. It must be a quite a busy time for you. Uh, it's probably as busy if not busier than we've ever been. Uh, we're relatively new to the firm probably a couple of years, but, um, I can tell you that in general, we're, we're, uh, we're busy, but right now, um, it is, uh, is as busy as it's ever been.

0 (1m 9s):
Uh, I don't know if this is the topic, but for low, not for low, bring them back from furlough PPP, uh, you know, how do I treat my employees offsite? How do I keep them motivated? How do I compensate them? You know, I mean, I would think I'm a management consultant, but you know, you got this, you know, you get into the tactics. It's, it must be at, you must be on the phone or zoom all day long with companies telling them what not to do.

0 (1m 40s):
Well, uh, sometimes, and sometimes we, uh, we can help them decide what to do. But, uh, certainly, I mean your, your list is, um, it's not all exhaustive. And I mean, if you look at this whole series of events sequentially, I mean, it started with employers very abruptly, having to make decisions, gut wrenching decisions around reducing the Workforce. And I'm having to work through that. And do I, uh, do I put people on furlough too? I go through a full of unemployment, do I reduce my hours?

0 (2m 13s):
What are my options through unemployment? What's this workshare program thing? And working through all that, all the while trying to get their PPP loans in and get questions answered and find out bank. And I just, you know, the amount of, um, of concerns that employers all of a sudden had seemingly overnight just a, was dizzying. And so we've been in there with them through that process and certainly in Managing those that you have out on furlough, those that are still working. And then now we're back to sort of, how do I bring people back to work, the, you know, maximizing the PP, loan forgiveness and the interplay with, you know, who to bring back.

0 (2m 52s):
And when it's it, it really is just a seemingly endless list of concerns that are keeping owners and leaders up at night. Well, can we do a David Letterman, a shortened version? Maybe give us something, maybe <inaudible> five issues that you're trying to help companies with right now to, to navigate through. Sure. Yeah, absolutely. You know, you're better looking than David Letterman, but that's not a high bar. I can't grow the beard that he has though. I've tried a couple of times, so I don't know where he's going with that.

0 (3m 23s):
And he certainly makes more or has more money than I'll ever have. But, uh, that being said, so I would say that, you know, um, on the top of everyone's minds is safety and, um, you know, this is the time where a lot of leaders and business owners are having to walk the talk. They certainly all have their core values and their pronouncements around safety all the time in their handbooks and on plaques on walls. But this is really the time where I, I like to call the secret sauce, you know, of leadership comes into play, which is, you know, compassion and empathy and walking the talk, uh, with your employees.

0 (3m 56s):
And so that means, uh, certainly keeping them safe when you're bringing them back to work. But also, you know, before you bringing them back to work, making sure that you are putting together a robust plan and your employees are seeing that. And understanding it and feeling that you are doing everything you can to keep them safe. And that goes not just for the field but also for the office. And I think we all see this through our own sort of individual lens. And so we have to take that into account too, that not everybody is seeing this the same way. And so, uh, certainly helping employers with, you know, uh, these safety plans and, um, making sure that they are following the guidance of the CDC and others, um, uh, locally and nationally.

0 (4m 40s):
And then certainly the decision process around, um, you know, not only, um, reducing your Workforce but bringing people back and you know, the criteria that you use and making sure that you're doing that in a nondiscriminatory way that makes sense for the business and this and, you know, applying sort of the same principals to bringing people back as you would in the first place of, um, having to, you know, reduced staff. There are still certainly employers that are wrestling with trying to bring people back, maximizing that PP, loan forgiveness, um, but not necessarily having all of the work available to give them yet.

0 (5m 19s):
And we've got a lot of employees that are out on, on him, the one right now that are, um, receiving enhanced benefits that in many cases is allowing them to receive more on unemployment than they ordinarily would at work. And so you've got sort of this soup of real competing concerns and priorities for both employers and employees. So we're helping a lot of our clients work through that. I know, of course there are people that are legitimately sick or have, uh, uh, underlying health conditions that are causing them to be concerned about being at high risk.

0 (5m 54s):
Uh, they've got people at home that maybe are compromised or sick, and how do you bring them back? Can you bring them back? Uh, and doing that in a way that's, uh, compassionate and supportive but also legal. And, uh, we're, we're not attorneys, but, um, we, uh, were able to help them work through the thought process around, you know, the various, uh, employment loss that may come into play and considerations that, that employers should have in that process of trying to bring people back.

0 (6m 24s):
And that everybody's situation is their own individual situation. As I mentioned earlier before, as much as employers want to have a checklist and a rubber stamp approach To To the challenges that they're encountering, each one really has to be dealt with on its own merits. Uh, I would say also how people are working and where they're working in, when they're working, the whole Remote work experience, arrogance and, uh, how that's exploded. And, um, you know, the erosion I think of FaceTime, meaning equaling productivity and engagement and employers really starting to rethink about rethink how work gets done, where it gets done and when it gets done.

0 (7m 3s):
And, you know, equipping both employees and managers with the tools that they need to adapt to that. Some of us, including some of us, uh, you know, here today, uh, are, are perhaps already sort of familiar with or experienced with, you know, having to work remotely or, uh, um, part time or full time what have you. But there are a lot of folks that are still adjusting and, um, you know, having, you know, some having more challenges than others. Uh, both as the Employees sort of working wrongly, but also the, the manager having to manage those employees.

0 (7m 38s):
And then, uh, I would say certainly the, the work environment itself. Uh, I just read an article the other day about developers rethinking buildings and, um, smart windows that don't have blinds so that nobody has to touch them and they self-regulate. Um, we thinking there, uh, she's talking to a client the other day, he was thinking about how air gets circulated in his office. Mmm. Developers are also thinking about, you know, the increase in square footage per employee to allow for more space between people.

0 (8m 11s):
Uh, you know, eliminating common entrances so that the, you know, there no sort of stacking up of people in the morning or in the afternoon or what have you. So it's a real interesting time and one that, um, you know, I don't think there's going to be any sort of, you know, slight or a switch that gets flipped anytime soon. I think it's, we're all learning together and, uh, you know, I think that, um, you know, we're in it for the long haul and I think that, you know, there's certainly will be a lot of good that comes out of it too. I think, you know, we all will, we learning quite a bit about, um, all of these things and, uh, it seems like sometimes it's daily that, uh, you know, we learned something new and, um, so we're all just, you know, trying to make it work together.

0 (8m 54s):
Frank very in depth comprehensive answer. I really appreciate it. You mentioned a bloomin' Shapiro for a couple of years. What did you do before Blum? Shapiro. So what's interesting is I did have my own consulting firm for all of about 30 days. Uh, when, uh, my partner, uh, manager, Amy Allen called me and said, listen, I want you to come work for me again. Uh, we have this great opportunity at bloom Shapiro. Um, and she had started the practice or was starting the practice. She and I worked at Suffolk construction for many years.

0 (9m 25s):
So prior to my consulting, uh, business, uh, I had, um, worked at Suffolk construction for about seven years. I was a regional VP for Them, uh, for new England and New York. And, um, previous to that had also been an HR leadership and, and, uh, you know, business partner roles in commercial real estate and wireless communications. Uh, manufacturing, worked for a small family business many, many years ago, which, uh, I felt sort of like I came full circle when I came to bloom because we work with a lot of smaller, you know, midsize clients that either don't have HR departments or have a controller or, you know, a payroll person who is doing the best they can, but maybe the company has outgrown them or has just gotten to a point where they need more support.

0 (10m 12s):
And so, uh, I feel like, you know, I've been able to scope come back, uh, to my, uh, to my old stomping grounds a little bit in the small family and, um, you know, midsize businesses. So it's been great for our listeners. We've been speaking with the very informed HR, uh, talent Frank Laveck of blues, Shapiro, uh, Frank if somebody is looking for you looking for bloom Shapiro in this changing time, uh, and, and you're right, there is a lot of change going on and I think professional's job right now is to help our clients, uh, navigate to a soft landing.

0 (10m 49s):
Again. Uh, how would they find you? Well, Blum, shapiro.com B L U M C H a P I R o.com or my email address, F Levesque, that's F L E V as in Victor, E S as in Sam, Q U E at Blum, shapiro.com or certainly a anytime at (617) 221-1960. Alright. I want to thank you for being on the show. Uh, and I want to thank our friend, uh, Jim Ferrell, BR first to introduce us to you.

0 (11m 19s):
And we hope you come back again in 2020 21 and tell us how things are continuing to change. I would look forward to it. Stay healthy, stay well and good luck to you and Blum. Shapiro. All right. You as well, Jeffrey. Thank you. This is Radio. Entrepreneurs.