BALI is delivering its four-point COVID-19 strategy

On the 19 March 2020, we (BALI) launched our four-point coronavirus (COVID-19) battleplan strategy in support of our members. Today, we breakdown what has been achieved so far and what work is left to do to ensure members remain informed and supported throughout this crisis. 

The four-point strategy was, first and foremost, designed to support member’s businesses and associated individuals affected by the pandemic, from the period mid-March to mid-June. BALI.

The strategy’s first point highlighted the need to:

1. Quickly understand member’s primary concerns and provide access to a variety of different products and services to provide immediate benefit to their business, including a dedicated legal helpline if members have specific questions; for example, contractual obligations, health and employment rights of employees and managing site expectations. Encourage further use of specific online platforms where members can openly and freely share their views with the team at BALI Landscape House, who will occasionally be joined by third-party experts who will offer advice and support. BALI will shortly be surveying all of its members and sharing that data within its network, helping to benchmark by understanding the enormity of the issues within membership.

Since then, BALI has launched a COVID-19 webpage and provided access to a suite of benefits, documents and templates, as well as a range of online events, to help support member businesses and individuals.

BALI launched a COVID-19 Business Impact Survey on Monday 23 March 2020, which ran until Thursday 26 March 2020. The team aimed to make contact with as many members are possible to complete the survey and as a result, received a total of 74 responses. The survey highlighted;

• 76% of respondents felt the COVID-19 virus had adversely affected their business
• 60% of respondents had under 50% of staff working remotely
• 62% of respondents had over 50% of their workforce still working out on site

2. Ensure all members receive regular, updated guidance via a dedicated weekly coronavirus e-newsletter, in line with Government and Public Health England advice, including useful links and access to resources, technical documents and FAQs. BALI will be seeking advice from Government departments and will disseminate information to members, increasing their knowledge and helping to alleviate economic pressures.

Over the past three weeks, BALI has sent several communications to members via email and social media, at least once a week, containing regular updates and guidance from Government. BALI has also issued several statements to-date, as well as an updated FAQ series, which are now available to download here. BALI has continued to send out the weekly BALI Newsletter via email, which now features a COVID-19 information section. Another form of communication that BALI found very effective was the closed members-only Facebook Group which was fast-becoming more active, with over 350 members now online, and allowed BALI to communicate directly with its members on any immediate changes or reissued guidance.

On top of this, following a week of lobbying to both governments in England and Scotland, BALI did receive responses to both. The response from Westminster was shared with members, followed by the response from Scottish MSPs in Scottish Parliament. The guidance provided some much-needed clarity for members based in or working across both nations. BALI continues to lobby on specific issues related to COVID-19.

3. BALI will dramatically increase the number of in-house webinars to help members. Straight out the starting gate will be several online advice clinics set up with partner organisations that will allow BALI members an opportunity to share their knowledge and experience with other BALI members and ask questions to BALI staff and third-party panellists who specialise in a variety of areas. There will also be webinars focusing on digital marketing and ways to effectively market your business online during these challenging market conditions, as well as deep dives into the psychology of customers, survival tips and business best practice.

Whilst the Business Impact Survey was running, BALI launched four COVID-19 Webinar Clinics over the course of two days. These were held on Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd April 2020. The webinars were an opportunity for members to view/listen to presentations on four different topics that were highlighted in the survey mentioned above, including; Compliance, Insurance, Legal and HR.

BALI held the first webinar clinic on compliance with both Technical Officers, Owen Baker and Richard Gardiner, on presenting duties. The webinar looked into compliance on-site and working from home. The next webinar was supported by BALI Insure benefit provider Aston Lark. The Legal and HR clinics were supported by Oracle Solicitors, who also kindly provided a presentation to members. All webinars were followed by question and answer sessions where members took the opportunity to ask the presenters questions related to their business and the effects of COVID-19. The on-demand recordings of all four webinars were then shared with all BALI members, along with copies of the presentation slides.

In March, BALI moved its events online by providing a range of webinars that were not only focussed on COVID-19 but other areas too, including digital marketing. These webinars were set up to help provide clarity and information to assist businesses in making informed decisions and to highlight the facts surrounding the help and support packages that have been made available. To-date, BALI has set up 23 webinars, including 16 Bitesize Digital Marketing Webinars, 4 COVID-19 Clinics, BALI’s Digital Practical Guide to CDM, a Plant Health Webinar with Defra and several BALI Regional Connect Meetings. There are many more to come over the next few weeks and months, for as long as is needed. The webinars have been set up in a bid to support members during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring businesses remain informed and well-educated on the subject, as well as providing a platform for them to share stories and best practice.

4. Provide technical support to members by way of policy, legislation and compliance. The latter would include a complimentary service delivered by a technical officer to help businesses locate supportive model compliance documents.

The final point in the strategy allows members to contact one of BALI's technical officers, who are on hand to support members and their businesses and provide access to documentation, including an FAQ series.

Alongside the four-point strategy, the team at Landscape House have geared up to support member’s businesses by continuing to offer friendly help and advice to assist them through this adverse period. Although working remotely, BALI staff have and will continue to deliver the highest level of customer service on a daily basis, as the business continues to operate as normal. You can contact any member of the team using the mainline phone number +44(0)24 7669 0333 or the relevant extensions, as well as email. Office hours are Monday-Friday 8.30am-5pm. For the latest updates visit bali.org.uk or for up-to-date health guidance on COVID-19 in the UK visit nhs.uk/coronavirus.