COVID-19 Resource Center

Hanover is closely following the COVID-19 coronavirus as the disease spreads throughout the U.S. and around the world. Through this website, as the situation develops, we are providing our clients up-to-date industry and employer guidance.

The COVID-19 Resource Center provides you with clear, actionable information to help your company design its response to COVID-19. Hanover has chosen these public-domain resources and created a reference guide to track news updates, evolving corporate approaches, messaging, and tools to inform your company’s COVID-19 response.

How We Can Help

In addition to the information included in this resource center, Hanover is committed to providing you with up-to-date research to help you address COVID-19 related challenges as the situation continues to develop. The following products and services are designed specifically for the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 Situation Report

To understand the economic, political, and public health trajectories of the COVID-19 crisis, Hanover updates its COVID-19 Situation Report on a weekly basis. After initially tracking the evolution of the pandemic by comparing the case of the United States, China, and Italy, Hanover is now focusing on the federal and state level responses to COVID-19 and the re-opening of the U.S. economy.

Download our COVID-19 Situation Report

COVID-19 Consumer Impact and Spending Tracker

Hanover Research is conducting ongoing tracking of U.S. general population sentiment towards COVID-19 using indicators that include financial, economic, and employment impact and spending behaviors within essential and non-essential product categories. This dashboard allows you to benchmark and track consumer spend, frequency, and channel across product categories as leading indicators of economic recovery. The data collection instrument, an online survey, launched on April 20, 2020 and data is refreshed every other week. Click here to see an overview of the dashboard.

COVID-19 Business Conditions Tracker

Track your peers’ perceptions of business conditions and their response during this crisis. Hanover has created a dashboard that allows you to compare how your business is affected and how it is responding compared to your peers within and across industries. This survey was launched on March 16th and is updated weekly. Click here to see an overview of the dashboard.

View a live sampler version of the COVID-19 Business Conditions Tracker dashboard or download our COVID-19 Business Response Snapshot report for a summary of findings from the tracker.

COVID-19 Industry-Level Media Monitors

To stay current on how COVID-19 is affecting your industry and its social and news media, Hanover has eight COVID-19 media monitors covering 11 key industries including:

Beverages
Food
Household Goods
Containers/Packaging
Automotive
Building Products
Education Technology & Publishing
Electrical Products
Industrial Machinery
Managed Health Care
Medical Devices

Each monitor reports information on:

Financial Impact – Track stock prices of market leaders in your industry.
Social Media Impact – Follow Twitter activity related to COVID-19 for these companies.
News Media Impact – Watch news stories develop around industry leaders’ responses to COVID-19.

Hanover houses these monitors on the COVID-19 Monitors tab in your Hanover Digital Portal. They are updated daily, and we invite you to visit them often and follow the evolution of COVID-19 crisis through the social and news media coverage of your industry.

Geotargeting Dashboard

Hanover’s new Geotargeting Dashboard (client login required) allows companies to target geographically – at the county level – potential markets where key COVID-19 public-health criteria have been met based on guidance for reopening provided by the White House and the WHO. The dashboard also reports associated economic and demographic data to allow for more precise targeting and characterization of customer populations.

Brand Sentiment and Messaging During COVID-19

Deploy Hanover’s Brand Sentiment and Messaging During COVID-19 Study to understand how to communicate and build a relationship with your customer base during COVID-19. Preliminary research suggests that even if consumers are not spending in specific product categories, brands have an opportunity to build trust and brand loyalty during this time of uncertainty. It is important to begin now to lay the foundation for consumer tracking as the U.S. economy starts to reopen and consumers enter a “new normal.”

This online survey will assess the type of content and frequency of communication customers want to receive during the COVID-19 pandemic and allows for a comparison of how current and prospective customers’ spending habits in a specific product category compare to the U.S. general population. These data will allow you to build a strong relationship with your customer base to ensure customer retention during the crisis and subsequent reopening.
To implement this survey, Hanover needs a contact list of your customer base. We can also survey prospective or potential customer via a third-party panel vendor.
Hanover will contribute $500 to incentive costs, for either customer list incentives to encourage participation or the CPI for panel participants, all free of charge.
If you are interested in deploying this survey, please let your Client Engagement Director know.

COVID-19 Perceptions and Impact Survey

Deploy Hanover’s Perceptions and Impact Survey to your customer base to understand their concerns and how COVID-19 is affecting their decision making and brand loyalty. Answer key questions such as:

How significantly will COVID-19 impact your customer’s purchase decisions?
How long do your customers anticipate COVID-19 will impact their purchase decisions?
How much revenue is at risk across your customer base given concerns surrounding COVID-19?
How will customer sentiment toward and purchase decisions impacted by COVID-19 fluctuate over time?

Comparative Competitive Response Analysis

To compare your response to the COVID-19 crisis to your competitors, Hanover will use publicly available information to examine your competitors’ responses to the market opportunities and threats presented by the COVID-19 crisis. This analysis can frame your strategic response, in the short- and long-term, to COVID-19.

Assess competitor communications in corporate websites and social media platforms
Spot competitive tactics such as changes to products or services, sales and marketing activities, and logistics and customer service activities
Surface emerging trends in response to the COVID-19 crisis

See how one company used Hanover’s Comparative Competitive Response Analysis to assess their competitors’ responses to COVID-19 and improve their positioning.

The Latest Information About COVID-19

Refer to the Johns Hopkins global mapping project featuring COVID-19 spread
The World Health Organization (WHO) provides rolling updates about the global spread of COVID-19 and related international humanitarian efforts
Check for daily updates to this CDC list of live and resolved COVID-19 cases in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories
The COVID Tracking Project provides daily updates to national and state testing and hospitalization data
Find out more information about infectious disease preparedness with COVID-19 updates from the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC)
OSHA provides COVID-19 news and updates specifically for businesses, employers, and workers
Compare the impact of your community’s COVID-19 social distancing efforts with this Social Distancing Scoreboard.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Tracker

Understand the prevalence of COVID-19 when considering decisions about your reopening with our dashboard, presenting county- and state-level statistics on COVID-19 cases and testing.

Key Elements in Designing a Corporate Response

In building your plan, refer to Hanover’s recommendations in its most recent COVID-19 Situation Report. Hanover currently recommends:

Expecting prolonged economic impact, a federal focus on economic policy, and a state focus on public health policy
Acting as corporate stewards of public health and preparing for extended effects on business
Monitoring regional coalitions and state policies for timing and pauses of reopening phases and maintaining a public health focus in reopening business
Developing a tailored reopening plan that is flexible, health-focused, and rooted in data

Download our COVID-19 Situation Report to learn more.

Overall Guidance

California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) provides a comprehensive COVID-19 employer policy guidance model for state residents.
OSHA offers detailed policy and planning guidance (policy, technology, PPE, etc.) to prepare your workplace against COVID-19 contamination: “OSHA Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19”.
The CDC describes how to prevent COVID-19 spread and lists recommended COVID-19 workplace policy features by encouraging sick employees to stay home, separating sick employees from healthy employees in the workplace, and performing routine environmental cleaning.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security provides comprehensive benefits recommendations in Human Resources Guide for Employees: Pandemic & Emergency Reference.

Legal & Regulatory

Certain temporary illnesses such as COVID-19 may qualify for protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The Interpretive Guidance on Title I of the Americans With Disabilities Act grants express authority to the EEOC to enforce Title I (and parts of Title V) of the ADA to make employees provide reasonable accommodation for employees with disability (such as COVID-19).
The EEOC’s Pandemic Preparedness guidance document outlines ADA regulations and accommodations for pandemic influenza cases and employer responsibilities during a pandemic.

Legislative

HR6074 (passed March 5, 2020) directs $8.3B to states for coronavirus response. Relatedly, the Congressional Budget Office made a Discretionary Spending Estimate for HR6074.
HR6201 (passed March 18, 2020) provides several significant benefits for workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill provides free COVID-19 testing and 14 days of additional PTO. Additionally, supplemental appropriations are provided to the federal government for food assistance and unemployment benefits.
HR748 – The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a $2 trillion stimulus package (passed March 27, 2020) delivers tax rebates, unemployment benefits, and tax relief to businesses and individuals. The bill also provides Americans making up to $75,000 a one-time check of $1,200, while providing $150 billion to state and local governments and $130 billion to hospitals.
HR226 – Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, a $480 billion package (passed April 24, 2020) designed to refund depleted elements of the CARES act. In addition to $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program and another $60 billion for the Emergency Injury Disaster Loan program, HR226 provides an additional $100 billion for hospital operations and testing.
H.R. 6800 – The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act or HEROES Act is has passed the House and is currently awaiting Senate debate.
All states and D.C. have enacted or adopted legislation in response to COVID-19 on topics related to funding, workforce protection, isolation, and quarantine measures.
The National Governors Association website outlines state executive orders and guidance related to school closures, national guard activations, business loans, and various fund allocations.
The Hunt Institute has compiled a list of state actions on child care including emergency child care provisions.

Administrative

According to the EEOC, employers may encourage telework as a reasonable accommodation during a pandemic influenza.
OPM’s guidance to federal agencies offering telework policies include suggestions to allow the maximum possible number of employees to transition to telework during the crisis.
According to the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services, benefits will change frequently like telehealth benefits and coding updates.
The USDA and Department of Labor have announced a partnership to assist H-2A employers in identifying foreign and domestic workers who make be available to transfer to U.S. agricultural sector employers with workforce needs.
Snyk has provided its managers with a work-from-home policy specific to a quarantine context.

Operational

Learn how to thoroughly clean and disinfect community and shared spaces with CDC guidance for cleaning and disinfection. Additional guidance specific to people management and cleaning in the airline and shipping industries is also provided.
Learn how to thoroughly clean and disinfect community and shared spaces with CDC guidance for cleaning and disinfection.
Read Medicare & Medicaid guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regarding COVID-19 testing and treatment (i.e., telehealth benefits, general coverage guidance).
The WHO has provided workplaces and educational institutions guidelines for preventing and controlling the spread of COVID-19.
Though designed for flu outbreaks, OSHA’s guidance on preparing workplaces for an influenza pandemic provides useful guidelines on how to maintain operations during a pandemic.

PTO & Sick Leave

According to EEOC, Short-Term Disability may be covered by ADA as an extended unpaid leave period or a modified schedule until the employee recovers.
Under the Family First Coronavirus Response Act, employers with fewer than 500 employees must provide 12 weeks of protected leave to eligible employees unable to work because their child’s school or place of care has been closed.
The CARES Act provided workers more paid sick leave and made some minor amendments to the FFCRA.
The Amazon Relief Fund is administered by the Emergency Assistance Foundation and provides relief funding for delivery drivers and seasonal workers through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several major retail and restaurant chains, including Apple, Walmart, Starbucks, and Trader Joe’s, have changed their benefits and leave policies in response to COVID-19.
Read Olive Garden’s announcement of permanent paid sick leave for all hourly employees.

Travel Guidelines

Keep informed with CDC’s updated guidance for travelers to countries outside the U.S. if you have essential travel coming up.
The CDC implements quarantine and self-monitoring requirements (14 days) and offers detailed advice on self-monitoring and social-distancing for American citizens traveling from China, Iran, the U.K., Ireland, and the 26 European countries with no official border control at mutual borders.
Learn about new restrictions and warnings from the U.S. Department of State’s travel advisory page. The CDC has issued domestic travel advisories for New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and provides information on considerations to make if domestic travel is necessary.

Webinar Recording – Customer Journey Mapping During Uncertainty

Shifting customer and consumer needs and buying patterns could have lasting effects as the timeline for getting “back to normal” remains elusive—making it crucial to understand the path to purchase. Find out how to support your customers and consumers in their new normal was we walk you through creating a customer journey map.

Reopening for Business

Hanover has collected these resources to provide companies the best frameworks for re-opening through the development of a tailored, flexible plan that prioritizes the health and safety of both employees and customers. Flexibility will be critical as reopening pauses and policy shifts.

Government Reopening Policy and Recommendations

Reference the White House phased reopening plan to understand the gating criteria for phased reopening.
Consider CDC reopening decision trees for workplaces and restaurants.
Review the CDC’s recorded stakeholder conference calls that provided opportunities for individuals in the business, manufacturing, and mass transit sectors to ask questions on reopening.
Access the National Governors Association website for a state-by-state summary of reopening plans and links to detailed state-specific resources.
Use MultiState’s reopening guide to view one organization’s condensed 11-point, side-by-side comparison on how open some states are compared to others. Use the main page and their “State and Local Policy Dashboard” to find resources on travel restrictions, masking requirements, and more.

Employee and Employer Rights

The Society for Human Resources Management provides an overview of employees’ legal rights on refusing to come to work.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently announced that employers could test employees for COVID-19 before allowing them to return to work.
See which states have expanded worker’s compensation benefits for front-line workers.
Read updates on how Wal-Mart is ensuring employee health and safety in response to the lawsuits filed by an employee, one of the first COVID-19 lawsuits against an employer.
Review the National Law Review’s article that addresses the legal considerations for reopening business.

Employee Benefits Changes

Read up on temporary or permanent employee benefits and policy changes to consider related to service provider contracts, and health & welfare and compensation plans.
Explore how other employers have made potentially permanent improvements to employee benefits spurred by COVID-19.
Beyond federal and state guidance on health benefit-related compliance, read Bloomberg Law’s article on additional considerations related to health information privacy and security and vendor management.
Read how Target is supporting employees during the pandemic through the extension of enhanced wages and benefits.

Corporate Reopening Examples

Nextdoor offers an extensive list of important steps to safely reopen retail stores.
Reference the Society for Human Resource Management guide titled “Reopening Your Workplace” which provides guidelines, checklists, and tips.
Use this framework from Morgan Lewis to develop plans for reopening while updating business continuity plans for a potential recurrence.
Refer to Lear Corporation’s Safe Work Playbook to learn how to protect your workforce while kick-starting your manufacturing facilities.
Read the Wall Street Journal’s compendium of responses by Corporate America to the problem of reopening.
Read FoodNavigator’s blog for updated information on food and beverage company responses, impacts, and consumer sentiments during the pandemic.
Follow the responses of retailers in store closures, changes in hours, and steps taken to protect employees and customers in Retail Dive’s tracker.
Use this guide from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to help businesses reopen.
Use the National Restaurant Association’s Reopening Guidance for reopening businesses in the restaurant industry.
Consider the Event Safety Alliance Reopening Guide for venue and event professionals as municipalities begin to allow small group gatherings.

Future Workspaces

Understand how the workplace may be permanently changed after the pandemic is over, according to Forbes’ predictions.
Read Gartner’s tips on how organizations can help manage a remote workforce based more in telework, where Gartner reports that nearly three-quarters of CFOs plan to shift at least 5% of employees to permanent telework.
Consider advice from Deloitte on building “Future of Work” capabilities to transform work, the workforce, and the workplace to build resilience against future disruptions.
Explore manufacturers’ perspectives on how the pandemic will affect the work environment going forward, including the increased use of technology, individual employee agility, supply chain evaluation, and rotating shifts.
Read how architects and designers are re-evaluating the organizational layout and materials used in new construction and renovation of commercial and public spaces.
Review this resource on how to prepare your office space for post-coronavirus reopening.
Review CDC recommendations and resources for office buildings.

COVID-19 Impact on Consumer Spending

To keep up with shifting consumer behaviors and preferences, Hanover Research has collected bi-weekly data on consumer spending related to COVID-19 since April 20, 2020. Get key findings from the first wave of data to benchmark and track consumer spend, frequency, and channels across product categories.

Developing Your COVID-19 Communications Strategy

Hanover has collected a number of resources to help companies design crisis communication plans to communicate their responses to COVID-19. Below are some sources companies are using to implement a communications strategy.

Designing a Communications Strategy for COVID-19

Does your company not have a crisis communication plan in place? This Harvard Business Review article will give you tips on communicating through the coronavirus crisis.
In the time of the global pandemic, no business is safe from being exposed to the virus. This PR News article provides five tips for notifying people of exposure to coronavirus.
As a leader, how should you communicate during times of heightened sensitivity related to the coronavirus and COVID-19? This Forbes article provides 9 ways to reassure and re-engage your team.
Are you looking for a quick read on how to plan your crisis communication? Use this infographic as your guide provided by the University of Southern California.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has developed a Coronavirus Response Toolkit with valuable information and recommendations for businesses and workers across the country to handle the crisis.

Do’s and Don’ts in COVID-19 Communications

Customers are receiving hundreds of emails as brands and businesses race to reassure them over the unfolding situation with coronavirus. Econsultancy provides the tips on do’s and don’ts of email communication during the COVID-19.
Social media helps brands defend organizational reputation by controlling the narrative and directly engaging with customers. Learn how Twitter supports brands on its platform through the coronavirus crisis in this Adweek article.

Marketing and Communications for a Global Crisis

Want to learn more about how marketers and agencies are trying to strike the right tone in the age of coronavirus? Read the overview and key insights in this Adweek article.
For this economy to function, companies must market even amid a global crisis. This AdAge article looks back at the tragedy of September 2001 and analyzes what 9/11 can teach us about marketing in the time of coronavirus.
Learn how businesses are handling and responding to the coronavirus crisis in this article by the Institute for Public Relations.
“This isn’t the time to run a scheduled campaign; strategies need to adjust” suggests Adweek in its recent article on how to survive a brand quarantine during coronavirus.
Business 2 Community reviews poor content marketing practices during the coronavirus and shares the lessons learned in a recent article.

Resources from the Top PR Agencies

Edelman’s 2020 trust barometer special report reveals that 78% of respondents think that businesses must act to protect employees and the local community.
Weber Shandwick suggests that “companies should live their values and act on their responsibility beyond the corporate walls shares.” Read the company’s 2-page review on relevant lessons from China’s response to COVID-19.
Fleishman Hillard shares free COVID-19 navigating resources to help brands get best practices, resources, the latest information on coronavirus.
The coronavirus crisis is having massive impacts on the tourism industry, many of which will reshape the industry’s future landscape. Ketchum’s recent article on preparing for the future of tourism in a post-COVID-19 world is a must-read for those involved in the tourism industry.
Ogilvy put together a full report on COVID-19: How to Communicate in Turbulent Times, which provides a 5-step approach to help businesses design an effective crisis communication plan.

Communicating Your Reopening Strategy

The Chamber of Commerce identifies the best way to effectively communicate reopening plans to customers.
SBBC lists important elements to consider when developing a communication strategy for reopening.
Business 2 Community provide a set of action items to help businesses adjust marketing and communications for reopening and how to position your business in the post-coronavirus landscape.
SHRM provides sample memos that includes examples of return-to-work guides for employees and memos on health screening procedures.

Communicating Your COVID-19 Response to Your Customers

These outreach communications provide examples of different communications U.S. companies are using in implementing a communications strategy.

Operational Policy Change

New Product Offering or Product Promotion

Service Rescheduling or Cancellation

Preventative Measures

Reopening Communications

COVID-19 Business Response Snapshot

Stay up-to-date on how U.S. businesses are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic with our Business Response Snapshot.

Responses of Major U.S. Business Organizations to COVID-19

To understand how U.S. business is responding to COVID-19, read top organizations’ responses:

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