A Year of Social Distancing
It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. When it began, everything changed. So suddenly. So quickly. So completely.
An Essential Business
At L-Tron, we faced many challenges. During the early days of the pandemic, we were recognized by New York State as an “essential business,” due to the vital role we play in supply chain for COVID-related medical tests and equipment. This was great news because it meant our doors would stay open throughout the pandemic. However, for our company leaders, that recognition also meant taking an immediate, in-depth look into our processes. Our goal was to keep our employees healthy and safe, as well as to keep business running smoothly for our clients.
L-Tron owners, RAD and Gayle DeRose, quickly adapted to the new way of life by implementing new office cleaning procedures, setting-up the majority of our staff to work remotely from their homes, and creating safety, wellness and social distancing procedures for in-office employees. RAD & Gayle also provided each of us with current research and data, and were transparent with team members about company changes. Believe it or not, they even had the foresight to have us all set-up before the state mandates were laid out. As a result, not one day of business was missed.
Highs and Lows
While some companies struggled with social distancing, the transition to remote work and the massive shifts in business strategy, L-Tron’s agility was a true testament to the company’s stability and the strength of our leadership. That’s not to say there weren’t bumps in the road.
We had to determine the best online platforms to use for our day-to-day tasks and communication. We had to cease in-person meetings, including in-person demos of OSCR360, and our annual conferences. We saw an increase in our healthcare-related orders, but dealt with a drop in our non-essential business orders. We had to adjust to working collaboratively and maintaining positive morale from a distance. Each employee had to adjust to a new routine and set-up a home workspace. For many, remote work meant adding in the complexity of working with spouses, children and pets nearby.
Despite all of these challenges, the company even went through the process of hiring and onboarding several new remote team members!
What’s Next?
Well, that’s certainly the big question being asked around the globe. As science continues to research and test, governments continue to direct, and businesses continue to adjust, L-Tron is not planning to make any huge changes – yet.
Whether we decide to move back into the office, stay remote, or move to a hybrid model remains to be seen. Our “new normal” is still working well for us, so we have the luxury of watching and learning from other businesses as they make changes. We’ll continue to use virtual platforms for office communication, and other helpful technology like our remote IP phones, hot desking, VPN and more. In the meantime, our leaders continue to closely monitor the data, with the priority of keeping employees and customers safe.
Through it all, we remain highly committed to you, our clients and partners. We sincerely hope that this blog finds you safe and well. We’re here to continue to support you – your success is our purpose.
You can discover more about how L-Tron has shifted over the past year, through the timeline below:
- March 2020: The world went digital.
- May 2020: How is OSCR360 keeping officers healthy & safe through COVID-19.
- May 2020: Rochester SMB makes sizeable contributions to the COVID-19 effort
- June 2020: What technology have we found helpful, working from home during the pandemic.
- July 2020: How is LTC staying active while working from home?
- September 2020: Continuing to find growth and opportunities during COVID-19
- November 2020: Where are we now? 8 months after the pandemic began
- December 2020: The first COVID-19 vaccine is administered in the United States.
- Today: L-Tron continues to support our clients. Most of our team is social distancing and working remotely.
