As we continue to progress through this current pandemic we have a few important changes to inform you of related to COVID sick and family leave.
Our Exec Team has elected to extend the FFCRA sick and family leave through June 30, 2021. This was an option in the recent America Rescue Plan Act. These changes go into effect on April 1, 2021 and are not retroactive. The essential points below are ones we want you to be aware of today.
There are additional qualifying reasons for taking emergency sick leave (Phase 10 on your time sheet) including:
Phase 10 time:
Phase 20 time (emergency medical leave to care for someone in your household who has COVID) and Phase 30 time (leave to care for a child whose school or place of care is closed due to COVID) also remain available and are paid at 2/3 your regular rate of pay up to $200/day. Please see our COVID site “Employee Rights Guidelines (FFCRA)” for full details and limitations as well as the forms for these phases
Please reach out to Erica Chappelear or John Horky if you need further details or have questions.
Happy New Year Kahler Slater!
We are updating our “Resiliency” messages this year to celebrate our 2025 Vision:
Kahler Slater is a dynamic collective of marketplace experts and creative thinkers who harness the power of design to move boldly forward.
Our emails will be called Moving Boldly Forward highlighting key ways we are all moving forward in these continuing unprecedented times. We have an exciting vision and strategic plan for 2025 and we are getting a strong start in Q1 2021. We have our improved review process which is designed to tie each of your efforts more closely with the firm’s strategic plan and your team’s plans. We have new projects on the horizon; new initiatives and many volunteers (thank you) to help do the heavy lifting; expansion plans for our various offices; and of course the design for our new Milwaukee office is underway!
As we begin 2021, we recognize that this year is filled with opportunity and we are excited to work together to move boldly forward!
Exec Team
Jim, George, Al, Glenn and Kelly
Good Afternoon Everyone,
Resilient companies make bold plans and harness the talents and passions of staff to make those plans come true. In early December at the staff meeting, we presented the Kahler Slater 2025 Vision and Strategic Plan.
The bulk of the work on the creation of the Kahler Slater 2025 Vision and Strategic Plan was done by Glenn, Al, Kelly, Trina and Tracie with input from the entire Strategic Planning Team. We sincerely thank Jim and George for the opportunity to lead the planning effort. Their trust in us along with their perspective and guidance has enriched the plan further and we are excited for all of us to make our plans reality!
Later today, Kelly will be sending everyone a survey where you can identify areas of interest and passion relating to the 2025 plan and your own team’s plan. We are eager to have you fill out that survey so please look for it!
As we start this week, we also wish everyone the happiest of holidays. It has been quite a year and we are beyond grateful for everyone’s extra efforts. A toast to a great year in 2021!
Exec Team
Jim, George, Al, Glenn and Kelly
Good Morning Kahler Slater -
Resilient people focus on the work at hand AND remember to celebrate milestones and successes along the way. This week, we have outstanding news to celebrate. We are happy to share that John Horky, FAIA, has been selected to receive the 2021 Golden Award from the American Institute of Architects Wisconsin!
The Golden Award is the highest award AIA Wisconsin can bestow on one of its members. The award recognizes an individual Wisconsin Architect who has performed most distinguished leadership and service to AIA over an extended period of time.
As Kahler Slater’s fearless “HR Guy” and Principal, John is a strong advocate for young professionals at the start of their careers and helping them navigate the licensure process to become Architects, and an equally strong advocate for seasoned architects, always networking on their behalf and supporting their professional goals and growth. Additionally, John is a frequent speaker at state and national conferences and provides insight on the profession of architecture for the University of WI-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning (SARUP). For decades, John has held roles as board member of AIA WI through service as President, board member rising to President of the Wisconsin Architects Foundation, leader in the AIA WI Firm Award Committee, and chair of the Fellowship Committee of AIA WI. John currently serves as the Regional Representative on the AIA Strategic Council.
Watch for formal announcements from AIA Wisconsin and Kahler Slater in January, but in the meantime - Please congratulate John on this notable achievement, for being an important member of the architecture community, and for his leadership at Kahler Slater!
Good Morning – a special thanks today to the Retreat Committee for sending us our new camp mugs! Enjoy a coffee, spiced cider or hot chocolate in your new camp mug and remember the time we spent together in October catching up in group discussions and learning new resiliency skills.
As we’re each checking out from Kahler Slater for a few days this week to celebrate Thanksgiving, it’s easy to reflect back on the year. We are very thankful for your dedication and resiliency this year. There have been so many extra efforts this year to balance life and work, to adapt to change, to celebrate when we did, and to dig in hard when we needed to. Thank you!
We’re all working and schooling closely to our families every day. We also send our special thank you to your family for sharing you with us.
Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you have a wonderful day celebrating all we have to be thankful for.
Good afternoon Kahler Slater!
Cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in our communities, in our nation and the world. Please review all current guideline documents on our Kahler Slater COVID-19 site.
Several important changes have been made to our guidelines.
Changes include:
Please remember that if you must meet with visitors, this can be done in our Milwaukee office only and each visitor should complete the “Visitor Protocol Form” found on our COVID site.
All forms should be submitted to Erica Chappelear on the day of your meeting.
Visitor tracking is important should we need to assist in contact tracing for any COVID-19 exposure.
We continue to encourage staff to limit in-person meetings as much as possible to limit your exposure and possible transmission of COVID-19. This is for the best interest of everyone in our offices, our clients and all of our families.
Thank you for your continued diligence and resilience as we all get through this together!
Tracie
Tracie Parent
CFO / Director of Operations, Principal
Hi Everyone,
Resilient people Pause, Think and Act; they focus on what they can control; and they dig deep utilizing their unique strengths to rise to the occasion.
Do these themes sound familiar? They should because they are from our recent retreat which focused on building up our resilience during uncertain times. Hmmm uncertainty, there is a certain election right now waiting for a result, which is one example of the many things swirling around each of us at this time. Please see the attached summary hand out from our retreat facilitator for a timely and helpful review/refresher.
Resilient companies move forward boldly. Glenn mentioned in his message from last week that we have more positive messages to share in 2020, each will bring us closer to our vision for Kahler Slater. One of those messages is coming next week regarding Kahler Slater’s future Milwaukee office space! Stay tuned. . .
Good evening everyone:
The unfortunate fact about building a resilient mindset is that adversity is often a central ingredient. This year has had messages of both joy and sadness, and sometimes these are timed in a way that makes them difficult to process. There have been shout-outs for work well-done and positive news about sharing our profits when many firms cannot. We are also reminded that our industry is fragile - the vigilance required can generate difficult messages as well.
So, how do you celebrate leadership promotions when we have recently had difficult staffing decisions to make? Or – how can we talk about the next Milwaukee office when the Covid numbers are surging? You do it with Respect, Integrity and Openness – our values come into sharp focus at times like these and guide us as we share the good and the bad.
We have (a lot) more positive messages to share in 2020! We appreciate your resilient mindset, seeing that each announcement brings us closer to our vision.
Kahler Slater
Exec Team
Jim, George, Al, Glenn and Kelly
All,
This will sound a lot like our message from late August which we have included below. On Wednesday we made some employment changes due to our client’s schedules extending for a number of projects. We continue to be optimistic about our near term workload. Many projects are delaying, not canceling. We are very busy responding to RFP’s. Since the staff meeting on September 24, we have started nine new projects numbers. The staff meeting client services report listed thirty-one projects that we are still waiting to hear on. As of today, we have won four, lost eight and still waiting on eighteen of those. One project canceled with no one hired. Of the twelve projects that have chosen an architect we won a third (.333) of those. That is a very good batting average. Ty Cobb holds the record for highest career batting average of .366; .333 is excellent.
While we regret letting anyone go from our Kahler Slater family, we need to support our clients and their needs. We wish clients were choosing us faster. The good news is that we are winning a good share of the work available to us, with more decisions coming soon. These staffing decisions to expand or contract the number of employees we have are the most difficult and important decisions we need to make. Having the right people available for our clients when our clients are ready and moving to alignment with our strategic plan for Kahler Slater’s long term future are two keys to our long term success.
Thank you for all you are doing to ensure our success.
Kahler Slater
Exec Team
Jim, George, Al, Glenn and Kelly
Everyone,
Resiliency and Tradition
Yesterday, we kept our long standing Kahler Slater retreat tradition alive with our first virtual retreat including the customary opening skit. Resilient companies adapt.
It was fantastic to get together, look at the successes of the past year, preview future plans and spend time discussing strategies to help us be ever more resilient! People have shared that the best parts were being “together” in smaller groups; seeing everyone’s creativity campfire backgrounds; learning about what the firm and teams are doing; and reading the witty chat comments!
Special thank you to our retreat committee:
Marion Clendenen-Acosta
Jess Elkins
Dan Causier
Josh Forseth
Sharanya Reddy
Joe Briggs
Kurt Thieding
Kelly Gaglione
Thank you to our video contributors also.
We will post the resiliency tips and reflections on Canvas soon. In the meantime, if you care to see Gus the Bus and other characters, here is your Breaking News Skit – enjoy!
Your Exec Team in order of appearance. . .
Ted Natterson
Wade Waterman
Nancy Kosinski
John Kosinski
and Ranger Ron
Hi Everyone,
Happy first day of FALL!!
A few COVID – 19 related updates for you.
Let me know your questions. Thanks.
Kelly
“Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare.”
― Angela Duckworth
Everyone,
It is hard to believe but, today marks six months since we sent an email asking everyone to pack up, take everything home and work from there. At the time, some thought working in this new way would be short lived. Resiliency is about keeping positive and moving forward -- not just for a little while, but sometimes over a long period of time. We have shown our strength by figuring out how to work from home, how to serve clients, how to work together, how to balance new personal demands with new work demands, and of course we are still figuring out how to be flexible and adapt!
Today, take a moment and think about all we have been able to accomplish together over the last six months despite the challenges in the world around us. We are grateful for each of you and the ways you are positively contributing to the success of Kahler Slater.
To the next six months of Resiliency in ACTION!
Everyone,
Resilient people keep learning and growing.
In 2018 we held the annual Kahler Slater retreat in Madison, WI. Our topic was Resiliency – How to be more resilient as a firm and as individuals. How could we have known that we would need those concepts so much in 2020!?!
Knowing that our annual ALL STAFF retreat is an important tradition at Kahler Slater, we will do this year’s retreat virtually. Our topic will be Resiliency 2.0 which will cover new ground and build upon the concepts many of us learned a couple of years ago including how to foster a Growth Mindset; how to identify yourself in a group: Leapers, Bridge Builders, Tradition Holders; and how to Pause. Think. Act. (in that order). For our many new staff members and staff members who would like a re-fresh, we will share information ahead of time so that you have a chance to catch up! We will also spend some retreat time learning about how to work better together remotely.
Our retreat kick off is on September 30th and the retreat on October 1. Looking forward to our first ever virtual retreat! If you have questions, please let me (Kelly) know.
Have a great Friday and weekend ahead!
Everyone,
We have focused on being resilient in the face of many changes. Our office and home environments have changed. Our backlog has slipped a bit into the future. Our families need more time from us than ever before. We are doing great design. Our clients are more demanding than ever. We are pursuing a record number of nationwide opportunities. We are even started a project in Colorado for CP this week. We are seeing a bunch of conflicting signs of the economy recovering and slowing. Our actions last week to reduce some employee’s hours were due to the recent slowdown in work in the BEH team. We look forward to BEH clients starting more projects soon.
The SBA PPP funds we received in April were very helpful in keeping us going in May, June and July. We are very confident that we have exceeded the criteria and the PPP loan will be forgiven in November or December.
Based on our confidence in our application for forgiveness of the PPP funds, the Exec Team has decided to pay the 2019 401(k) match. These are funds that were earned and accrued in 2019 for payment in 2020. If you contributed to our 401(k) plan in 2019, you are eligible for a match of 50 cents for every dollar you contributed up to 6% of your 2019 compensation. Funds will be deposited in your 401(k) accounts by September 15.
Making this payment is a part of our commitment to resiliency.
Enjoy the long weekend!
All,
In our message of Tuesday, we informed the firm of some employment changes caused by a reduction in work load. We continue to see some uncertainty in our clients’ projects. Some projects continue to push out longer than originally anticipated. Some new opportunities arise. Backlog has seen a slight downward trend over the past seven weeks as we complete projects and start new projects. We make these separation decisions very carefully based on the information we have been seeing.
It may seem odd that we are hiring some people and while reducing other’s hours. We have posted several positions on our website and we continue to search for those people. We make our hiring decisions very carefully also. We want to assure everyone that the people we are hiring and have hired were a part of our strategic plan for growth and the diversification of our firm.
Believe it or not, adding to and reducing our workforce at the same time is a resilient thing to do. The economy is changing. Our clients’ plans are changing. We need to change with them. Our strategic planning efforts have been a focus of the Exec Team for many years. We have maintained this focus on the future over the past six months with continued strategic planning meetings. Our strategic plan continues to call for growth and our continued mission of Enriching Life and Achieving Powerful Results. More information to follow this fall on the 2021-2025 Strategic Plan.
Hi Everyone,
I hope you have been enjoying this outstanding summer weather. Our favorite topic COVID – 19. A few updates for you.
Let me know your questions. Have a great weekend!
Kelly
Everyone,
One of the things that makes Kahler Slater resilient is the great leadership of Kelly Gaglione. Please congratulate Kelly on being selected by the Milwaukee Business Journal as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of The Year. You can read highlights of Kelly’s contributions to Kahler Slater’s strategic growth, sustaining commitment to our community and nurturing of our firm culture in the following linked article https://bizj.us/1q5qah . As a member of the Kahler Slater Executive Team Kelly is responsible for leading our strategic planning process and successfully leading the execution of many of the firm’s strategies that make Kahler Slater strong, healthy and able to grow even in challenging times. Kelly is helping us to recover quickly from the initial shock and ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and we appreciate all she does to keep us resilient.
Look for Kahler Slater’s social media blast on Kelly’s recognition as well…… and share the good news. And you can highlight that the photos of Kelly are taken at the Kahler Slater designed BMO tower…impressive.
Congratulations Kelly!
Cheers,
Executive Team
Jim, George, Glenn, Al and Kelly
Everyone –
Resilient companies “Keep Calm and Carry On.” One way to carry on during this pandemic is to have functioning offices available for employees who need to use our offices.
As you know, we have been working hard over the last few months to get to a place where we could “re-open” our offices. I am happy to report that due to the work of our RTO planning committee, our RTO on-site volunteers and many others who helped, we will be re-opening our offices as of August 24. Prior to this date we were only allowing RTO members to work in the offices. As of the 24th the office will be “open” to all employees.
We have worked hard to arrive at policies and procedures to do what we can to make our office a good working environment while following recommended protocols. What does this mean for you?
Another important element of resiliency is being adaptable. We know that things will continue to change over time and we appreciate your flexibility and diligence in adhering to our protocols. I welcome your feedback and suggestions.
Kelly
On behalf of the Executive Team (Jim, George, Glenn, Al and me)
Hi Everyone,
This is an important message about Covid-19 eFMLA time as it relates to childcare/kids going back to school or not due to COVID-19.
As everyone knows, when the pandemic hit we all worked very hard to keep our business and projects going. We rapidly processed the information coming out from the Federal Government and made the decision to keep everyone employed and for our staff that recorded time to eFMLA continue paying in full despite the reduced pay allowed by the Federal Government and impacts to our business. We were supported in doing this by the Federal Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program (SBA PPP) which helped us through the initial weeks of the pandemic. At the time, we also decided to allow our staff to take Covid-19 eFMLA time related to childcare/school in hourly increments.
It is clear now that the pandemic is lasting much longer than a “few weeks.” In addition, the Federal Government has provided NEW guidance on what constitutes eFMLA time and what does not re: the varying ways schools plan to open. We are making a few changes to how eFMLA time can be recorded (moving from hourly to full day or half day increments) which still offers important flexibility AND we are adopting the eFMLA established pay scale. We have determined that this is appropriate going forward and wanted to get you this information as soon as possible for your planning purposes.
Please look at the attached OPTIONS sheet that Erica created. We will need you to determine your expected need and plan for taking eFMLA time by Friday August 28th at noon and submit a NEW form for Fall to Tina Frey. If we do not have a plan from you by August 28th at noon, we will know that you do not expect to take Covid-19 eFMLA time due to childcare/school not being available in whole or in part due to COVID-19.
If you have questions, please see Erica or any member of Executive Team. Thank you.
Executive Team
Jim, George, Glenn, Al and Kelly
Resiliency at Kahler Slater has always revolved around the work we do with our clients. Resilient people figure out how to do things in new ways. We had NEVER designed a brand new hospital virtually… So far this year, we are designing two - one in Nebraska and one in Virginia. Not only are we working together to figure out creative ways of doing this, but we are going beyond to make it an exceptional experience for our clients. How do we know our clients appreciate what we are doing? Take a look at the email we received on Friday…
Quick context on this one – we’re in the middle of schematic design for our new Bon Secours Hospital project. Kate Brinn, the Hospital President sent the email below after last week’s meetings. (The project team includes Jen, Barb, Kim, Supina, Andrea, Abby, Liza, Julie, Sharanya and me)
We all have fantastic clients like this! Share your client success stories, especially those lately when you may not physically be sitting across the table from your client. Let’s celebrate our Happy Clients and our Resiliency!
Cheers,
Kahler Slater
Exec Team
Jim, George, Kelly, Glenn and Al
Barbara – can you please share this with the KS team?
Thank you all so much for all of your work this week (and for the past few months) in support of our Harbour View Hospital. This hospital is so important to us – it’s been a long time coming and is such an integral part of our future success in this market.
Our team continues to be excited about this project and having you guide us through the design to bring this project to life is just awesome. Your input, feedback, expertise, insight and rapid processing of our information has been so important to this process and is much appreciated.
Thanks again and have a great weekend!
Kate
Kate Brinn | President
Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center and Harbour View Medical Campus
Hello Everyone –
A Friday Covid update for you. This has been a big week in terms of new guidance from authorities! All along we have been following the advice from our local/state/federal authorities and we continue to do so. We are in the process of updating our guidance document but I wanted to get this info to you right away.
We will watch closely for adjustments to both orders. Please let me know what questions you may have and as always, I remind you of our Covid site. https://www.kahlerslater.com/covid
Have a great weekend everyone.
Kelly
Hello Everyone –
A Friday update for you. Important reminders/new info below.
If you have questions, please let me know. Thanks everyone for your continued diligence and awareness.
Kelly
Hello Milwaukee!
Monthly parkers this is important information for you. Summer interns, you can stop reading. All other staff drop to the last paragraph!
If you are a monthly parker in either the basement or the Grand Ave structure, you were billed in March for the month of April. You were not billed in April, May, or June and will not be bill until you reactivate your parking. This is our current understanding with Interstate Parking. When we turned on our RTO group, it turned off the parking card access for all others. If you are back in the office as part of the RTO and have turned on your monthly parking, you can drop to the last paragraph now.
If you are NOT part of RTO but need access to parking for:
Last Paragraph!
If you use an Auxiant Flex-Spend Account for your parking: Even if you only use this on a daily basis, you may not need as much. You may change this FSA quarterly using the linked form. Additionally any funds you don’t use in 2020 will automatically carry over to 2021. You may considering reducing the amount during open enrollment. Either way, to keep your FSA account open, it has been recommended that you have$1/month deducted from your payroll. Please ask Judy Pauley if you have questions.
If you use CYOB for your parking: Whether monthly or daily you have funds that haven’t been used or paid to you. Good news, we have a solution! IRS section 139 allows for tax-free payments to employees for a number of additional costs related to the current pandemic.
If you elected to use CYOB for professional development that was cancelled or a membership that you don’t need due to COVID:
IRS section 139 allows for tax-free payments to employees for a number of additional costs related to the current pandemic.
Erica Chappelear, SHRM-CP
Training and Development Specialist, Associate
Hi Everyone –
The City of Milwaukee’s mask ordinance goes into effect today requiring new rules for face coverings. Our Executive Team has looked closely at the ordinance.
Kahler Slater’s Milwaukee office is NOT open to the public at this time (reminder we have a strict NO VISITOR policy and our elevators are locked off) and therefore this ordinance does not apply to our staff when staff is inside our office. The ordinance does apply to the public areas of our building, i.e. lobby, parking areas, elevators, stairs.
Once inside our office, Kahler Slater’s own policies apply. Our current policy:
Wear a mask when within 6’ of another person, including whenever you are entering the office, moving around the office and in conference rooms, meetings, shared spaces, or any time a 6’ social distance may be compromised. Face masks are optional while working at your desk.
A FACE COVERING means a protective mask covering the nose and mouth, including cloth face coverings or surgical masks as described by the centers for disease control and prevention. Face Masks CDC Note: Any type of plastic face shield worn alone is NOT an acceptable form of face covering.
If you have questions, please let me know. Thanks everyone for your continued diligence and awareness.
Kelly
All,
Good Day 121. Why 121? Well it’s Kahler Slater’s post COVID shut down Day 121 in Kahler Slater’s Year 112 of being in business.
So for giggles, what does numerology say about 121 and 112? https://affinitynumerology.com/number-meanings/number-121-meaning.php and https://affinitynumerology.com/number-meanings/number-112-meaning.php
121and 112 have the same meaning….both are highly focused, independent, and pragmatic numbers…The energy the numbers 121 and 112 represent resonates with a focus on creating a secure foundation upon which existence and endeavors can rest. They are self-determined and independent. And it is with conscientiousness.
Well doesn’t that match to a tee what we are all doing to continue to make Kahler Slater great? These numerology meanings must be for real!
Seriously, Thanks for making Day 121 a great day. We’ll get through this together just as Kahler Slater has gotten through other challenging times. We know this because of your tremendous commitments working through the challenges of Working From Home, being a part of the Return To Office Pilot teams, maintaining relationships with each other, partners and clients, making new relationships, winning their trust to hire us as their designers and equally important for finding new ways of working to get all this done that will make Kahler Slater stronger for the next 112 years…yes that would be in the year 2132. These times we are going through will be a great part of the legacy of Kahler Slater for all time.
Cheers,
Executive Team
Jim, George, Kelly, Al, Glenn
Hi Everyone,
As many of you know, Dane County instituted a face mask requirement for all building interiors in the county effective today, July 13th. You can find the official order language or a more general summary of the order by clicking on these links. We have reviewed the order and in addition to our normal guidance, there are several highlights our staff should be aware of:
The Madison & Dane County Department of Public Health requires all businesses to post the following workplace requirement document. https://publichealthmdc.com/documents/workplace_requirements.pdf
Based on the order, we are also sharing guidance from the Madison & Dane County Department of Public Health and reminding staff of the FFCRA tips employee leave rights.
We are watching Milwaukee’s vote closely on this same topic and will provide more information when we have it.
We are grateful that we are able to do so much of our work from our home offices during this time. Thanks everyone for your continued diligence and awareness.
Kelly
All,
Uncertainty is everywhere we look. Will the kids go back to school or daycare? If so how/when? Will we have a second or third wave of COVID-19? What might this mean for the economy? Will masks be required indoors and out? When will there be a vaccine?
What do resilient people and companies do in the face of uncertainty? We rely on one another, we constantly evaluate the situation and keep moving forward. This week we did just that by opening our various offices to our Return To the Offices (RTO) volunteers. We had a great group of people working hard at the end of last week to get the offices ready and this week we had to adjust on the fly as some people needed to change their plans for being a part of the RTO and Dane County implemented a strict indoor mask requirement. In other words, we flexed to the situation and we adapted.
We want everyone to know that in these uncertain times, we do not anticipate making it mandatory that anyone has to return to the office until things are much more settled. We know this may take several months or longer. In the meantime, we are ramping up efforts to increase our remote working efficiency and effectiveness. You will hear more about that soon.
And the great news, in the face of uncertainty, Kahler Slater is successfully working on our projects from our many offices, finding ways to creatively collaborate, pursuing new work, winning new projects and opening new offices (Yay, Chicago!). We should all be proud of how we are coming together and adapting!
Evelyn Freimann shared a quote recently that sums up these thoughts:
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one most adaptable to change.” Charles Darwin
Thank you all. Let’s keep adapting and moving forward!
All,
Resilience is adaptation in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or stress.
As we are resilient today, the early American colonists were resilient on July 4, 1776. Let’s take a little time this weekend to think about their resiliency and ours. There are several parallels. We have a new beginning in this new post pandemic world awaiting us. We are building new systems to address our independence and virtual reliance on each other. We too are facing new challenges and rising to meet them.
Enjoy the holiday weekend and welcome in the RTO starting Monday, July 6.
Hi Everyone,
Isn’t it hard to believe it is the last day of June? I hope everyone is enjoying the summer weather!
Kelly
Hi Everyone,
A few quick updates for you.
Kelly
All,
As the Exec team, we are seeing more examples of all of us working better together even though we are apart.
The Return to Work (RTO) Volunteer Pilot Group is preparing for a July 6 return to the Milwaukee office. On Tuesday, Kelly and Glenn kicked off RTO Pilot with a companywide information session. Trina and Marshall are in full Chicago office set up mode, installing carpet tiles in the Chicago office—we are not “returning” to the Chicago office we are OTO (Opening the Office). The Madison office had the patio washed recently and looks forward to opening the overhead doors on summer days. In Richmond, Kim, Barb and Brandon continue to meet with new clients either onsite or via socially distanced coffee – always putting safety first. We have all planned on using our PTO in 2020 and look forward to some time to relax and escape. The PFM 4.0 GSD team kicked off the PM Team training and we are looking forward to weekly PM meeting starting on July 16. We are scheduling one-on-one virtual conversations regarding 2020 raises in the near future. Tracie is rolling out Microsoft Teams to a few internal teams with a plan for a larger roll out soon. We continue to pursue and win new projects for existing and new clients. This week we welcomed two new employees who started on the Higher Education Team.
Enjoy the weekend and thank you for all you are doing to keep us together.
Exec Team
Jim, George, Al, Glenn and Kelly
All,
We have some great news to share with you. Soon, you will be receiving a Resiliency Bonus, and for those who were with us in 2019, you also will be receiving a 2019 Bonus and a 2020 Salary Increase. We will be emailing you a separate letter on Thursday with the details of your 2019 Bonus. The Resiliency Bonuses and non-principal 2019 Bonuses will be included in the June 19, 2020 paychecks, and your elected percentages for 401k will be withheld on those bonuses. So, go ahead and order yourself a surprise on-line, order some take-out food, enjoy. This is all well-deserved. [Note: We plan to pay Principal 2019 Bonuses when firm profits and cash flow permit.]
The principals will no longer have a portion of their salaries deferred. The portions of their salaries that were previously deferred will be paid in early July.
2020 Salary Increases will be effective July 5 and appear on your July 17 paycheck. Team Leaders will be having a conversation with you between June 29 and July 15 to discuss your overall performance and compensation.
Kahler Slater has thus far been fortunate to have been able to keep all staff employed at their normal FTE and at their regular pay throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of our peers have lost their jobs due to layoffs, furloughs, or terminations, and many of those who remained employed had pay cuts and/or only received pay for COVID-19 related leave time at reduced amounts.
Kahler Slater has been supported by a Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program (SBA PPP) loan which we expect to be turned into a forgivable loan, meaning we would not have to pay the loan back. Everyone who has logged work time with us between April 17 and June 11, 2020 (the SBA PPP “covered period”) will be receiving up to a $2,200 Resiliency Bonus, prorated based on your worked hours in the covered period.
Why a Resiliency Bonus? You rose to the occasion, you worked at your dining room table, you had a cat walking across your keyboard, you spent days on end alone in your apartment, you cared for your vulnerable parent and worked, you played teacher and worked, you put up with a host of new co-workers at home – and still got the work done!! We thank you.
We remain cautious and continue to manage the firm in response to the changing economy. Many of our clients are taking longer to pay us for our services provided and invoiced previously. The spending freeze remains in place and we are approving a limited amount of expenses over the summer.
In spite of any short-term challenges, we continue to take a long view for the strategic growth of Kahler Slater. That includes taking care of our talented staff (you!) as well as hiring a few other highly talented people to fill in some of the missing pieces. Searches are underway for several key positions, although other budgeted positions are on hold. Many of our current clients are continuing to move their projects forward, our new business development efforts have been successful, and we are actively pursuing many potential projects.
We are optimistic that we will continue to be successful as we work through this together. Due to everyone’s efforts we expect to continue to succeed in this new reality!
Executive Team
Jim, George, Kelly, Al, and Glenn
Hi Everyone,
I hope everyone is doing well. We finally have summer weather in our Midwestern offices which is very welcome! A few quick updates for you.
Kelly
All,
We began this resiliency message about 12 weeks ago as we started adjusting to the new realities of the Pandemic. Among all this change we are sadly reminded of how little progress we as a community and a nation have made on the topic of racial disparity, injustice, systematic racism, and discrimination. Community as a core value means as much to Kahler Slater as it does to us as individuals.
We support peaceful protests, we support our Black community and we stand for justice, equality and peace. We know that many of our staff live near where the protests are happening daily. If you find yourself feeling emotionally overwhelmed we ask that you reach out to one of the Exec Team and of course to your own network. All our lives are connected to the communities and cites in which we live. All of our offices are in the center of major metropolitan cities. All of us influence social issues every day. We can be the change we need.
To do a small part to help, Kahler Slater is making a donation to the National Organization for Minority Architects (NOMA) which supports all minorities in the profession.
Remember the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Exec Team
Jim, George, Kelly, Al, and Glenn
Good Morning,
Another week. Is this feeling normal yet?
We are looking forward to our June 3 staff meeting. It is time to hear about some of the new projects, new people and new ideas that are growing “at the office”. “At the office” has a new meaning, doesn’t it? “At the office” exists in a much larger context now. It is at your dining room table, at your basement desk, and at your laptop. Wherever YOU office, thanks for all you do!
While we are “at the office” we are all seeing a new normal of Ring Central/Zoom meetings. We attach an article about Zoom Fatigue. Did Zoom Fatigue even exist three months ago? Now we all experience it. There is some good advice. https://hbr.org/2020/04/how-to-combat-zoom-fatigue
One way to avoid Zoom Fatigue is PTO. It is a great time to plant and enjoy the day outside. Take a day and avoid the computer/phone. Enjoy the day! While you are at it, post your garden/planting/flowers photos on Canvas. We would love to see what is coming up in your yards or what you have planted! Kahler Slater’s Canvas webpage It is almost Summer, let’s PTO!!!!
Stay Healthy,
Exec Team,
Jim, George, Kelly, Al, and Glenn
Hi All,
We hope everyone had a good holiday weekend.
Due to our recent Covid cases AND as the world starts opening up, there have been many questions from staff. As always we are following multiple sources for guidance including the CDC and our states. This email is to provide current guidance from Kahler Slater as it relates to our business activities. You will note some UPDATED directives which are noted by a yellow highlight below (Items 2, 6c., 8, 9, and 10). Most of the rest have been in place since mid-March and have been issued in previous updates via email. All current polices are located in this statement.
UPDATED Exposure to Covid-19. If you believe you have been exposed to Covid - 19, you know you have been exposed, you are showing symptoms of Covid-19 or you have tested positive, we are asking you to notify your team leader, John Horky AND Erica Chappelear via email immediately. If this notification is happening after normal business hours, we ask you to also text in addition to email. John H mobile 414-531-5871, Erica mobile 414-839-9149. We have developed a process to address this situation and we will CALL you to get the process started.
UPDATED Clients, Potential Clients, Business Contacts requested meetings at their site or any site. In order to attend any of these meetings you must have approval from a member of the executive team)
UPDATED Air Travel for Business. Provided you obtain approval from a member of the executive team, we allow client directed and approved air travel. We ask that upon your return from your trip that you do not enter a Kahler Slater office for 14 days. Please inform Erica of all trips and dates for tracking purposes.
UPDATED Personal Travel. If you travel via air or use public transportation for personal reasons we will ask that you not enter a Kahler Slater office for 14 days. You do not need to inform Erica regarding personal travel.
Let me know what questions you may have.
Thank you.
Kelly
All,
As we conclude the tenth week of the quarantine/ safer at home/ isolation, we realize that this is the twentieth week of the year. So far this year, we have spent half of 2020 apart, after spending the first half together.
We all have been impacted by the virus in one way or another. As John informed everyone yesterday, we have two employees who tested positive. After conversations with both, we are happy to report they are both on their way to recovery. We recommend taking all precautions you can to avoid those nasty symptoms.
Social distancing doesn't mean social isolation and even this potentially deadly virus shouldn't force us to be alone. Now, more than ever, people need to find smart ways to stay connected. Have a virtual bratwurst with a college friend. Drive the route that was a parade route last Memorial Day with streamers on your car or bike. Have a Bloody Mary on Monday morning and post to the Kahler Slater Canvas!! Have some real fun and some virtual fun.
Join us 4pm today for the conclusion of the Undie 500 benefiting Guest House and some of Milwaukee’s most vulnerable. First please, make a donation, complete a competition and encourage your team to participate. Go, go, go to all our teams. The finish line is in sight!!!
We are thinking of all of you,
Executive Team
Jim (Team Panasonic), George (Team Shell), Kelly (Team NAPA), Al (Team Penske) and Glenn (Team NAPA)
Hello Kahler Slater,
Highly Confidential Information
On 5/15/2020 we learned that two of our staff were showing symptoms of COVID-19. Both cases were subsequently confirmed through testing.
Of those two people, only one of them has physically been in any of our offices since their respective (likely) exposures. (S/he) stopped in our Milwaukee office on 5/12/2020 to go to (his/her) desk and then leave.
We have notified those employees, and others who have been identified by them as being directly exposed to them through close contact while working. We have asked all to self-quarantine. We are in the process of notifying any clients or contacts who may have been affected as well.
We share this information in a spirit of openness and transparency. As we have communicated in the past, we will tell you if/when we have information about a staff member that has been exposed to a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 or has been diagnosed with COVID-19. Experts agree that information sharing and then acting on it, is one of the best ways we can stop the spread of this virus. In addition, some clients are requiring notification of diagnosis or exposure, so it is important for that reason as well.
Please keep all of your peers in your thoughts, especially these staff who have been directly impacted by COVID-19.
Feel free to reach out to Erica or me if you have any questions or concerns.
John
Hi All,
We will have more updates for you tomorrow, but I wanted to get one important item out today.
Return to Offices (RTO) Timing.
In our April 28th Covid-19 Update, we shared that our target date for Returning To the Offices (RTO) in Wisconsin would be no earlier than June 1.
On May 8th we sent everyone a survey to learn more about your thoughts/questions regarding returning to the offices and asked for volunteers to be a part of our “phase I” return which is a small Pilot Group who will help us to smooth out processes, etc. for an eventual larger return to the office. The response was great. Thank you so much for the insights you shared in the survey!
Here is what we know right now. We will NOT start our RTO Pilot on June 1.
Though, the Supreme Court ended the Wisconsin Safer at Home Order, the City of Milwaukee determined that in the City the Safer at Home Order remains in place without a specified end date. Our RTO group has been working hard to find appropriate guidelines for a smart return to the office and adapt the guidelines to the specific needs of Kahler Slater. This process has revealed to us that there are a lot of decisions to be made and details to iron out before we have our pilot group go back to the offices. We do not feel the need to rush back to the offices immediately and most importantly, we want to do this well. We will be keeping an eye on the changing stay at home/safer at home orders as they are expiring/extending. We also have determined that the following criteria need to be in place BEFORE we open any of our offices.
We will begin our return to the office with a Pilot Group of Volunteers when:
We are actively working on a proactive plan and at this moment do not know when we will begin the Pilot Group or how long it will last. Please know that work from home will remain a choice for many as their personal circumstances require and the work assignments allow. We will give the Pilot Group a two week notice so they can be ready.
This applies to ALL offices: Milwaukee, Madison, Richmond and Chicago.
Let me know what questions you may have.
Kelly and John
Week nine is almost complete. March 17 seems so long ago. We have been talking resiliency for about two months and we were wondering about the definition. The Oxford Dictionary says: is:
We are showing positive signs of resiliency, We are more flexible, durable, strong, and adaptable than we were before. Our strength is our ability to work remotely, to rely on each other, to know each other’s capabilities and shortfalls. We are a team.
Please take some time to have cup of virtual coffee with someone who you would have seen every day in February. Invite a new employee to have a quick chat on Skype. Schedule a Ring Central meeting with some people who are not working together on one project. Let’s stay elastic, strong and together.
Stay healthy,
Jim, George, Kelly, Al and Glenn
Executive Team
All,
As we end week 8 of working from home, we remain resilient. It was great to see everyone at the May Meet Up last night including those on the golf course! Thanks everyone for joining in. The presentations showed that we are adapting, learning and in many cases exceeding our own expectations! Thanks to everyone.
Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of the unexpected passing of our colleague, Tom Miller. Tom left us too early in life. He is missed. We cannot imagine what he would be doing quarantined at home without Starbucks and lots of close friends around him. Please take a moment to remember Tom and his family. The executive team have each made a personal donation to the Tom Miller Memorial Fund to assist his family.
We are sharing the attached singing telegram from UPAF thanking all of us for a very successful UPAF campaign. It is quite cute and artistic. Take a look.
And we send a special Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers, step-mothers, grandmothers, etc. in our Kahler Slater family. We hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Jim, George, Kelly, Glenn and Al
Executive Team
All,
Great UPAF Campaign last week. It was good to see everyone’s face on the screen. It seems like a long time since we were together. John’s message about Returning to the Offices shows that it may take even longer to get back together. We will need to be flexible, as we always are.
George’s advice this week is:
Take a “news holiday”. The more time I watch the news the more irritated I become and it is harder for me to relax. I prefer to spend time on the things I can influence, rather than on the virus. It is better for me to take on a household task, read a book or think about those things for which I am grateful. Looking for gratitude during this pandemic is much more rewarding than looking for news.
Thank you to those who took PTO last week . The total PTO hours last week were 400 hours without anyone getting on a plane. Please continue to take PTO as you are able.
The backlog is currently holding strong with some work slipping out into the future, and very few projects being canceled. The SBA PPP loan will help carry us thru these project delays. Watch for the bell ringer emails since we are very active in pursuing new projects with success. Did you hear the email bell for UW Green Bay, UW Oshkosh CLOW Nursing, and The Fields? Special congratulations to Kahler Slater Chicago for its first win! This is a very confidential and important project and we are sorry we cannot tell you about it. We want to brag, but the thick legal “Non-Disclosure Agreement” would not allow that. Big news coming!!!!
And congratulations to everyone on the 2020 AIA Wisconsin Merit Awards for the Hotel Northland and Oshkosh Community YMCA Addition. Two out of eight Wisconsin awards to Kahler Slater is really outstanding.
The MSO’s weekly audio concert and all previous concerts are available at: Musical Journeys.
Remember it takes just 30-60 days to form and sustain a new habit. Please post those new habits you are forming and sustaining to Kahler Slater Canvas https://www.kahlerslater.com/canvas. The Wellness Committee insists that you focus on new healthy habits. That extra drinking habit is not recommended.
Be healthy,
Jim and George
Hi All,
We hope everyone is well and is able to find some positives peeking out through all of this … the planet is demonstrating a resiliency to quickly heal, many families have become (literally) closer, closets are getting cleaned and more books are being read!
A reminder that you can find ALL past updates and important info on our special site: https://www.kahlerslater.com/covid
As always, please share your suggestions and questions for future updates.
Kelly and John
All,
The next ALL STAFF get together, we are calling it “May Meet Up”, is Thursday, May 7. We have a full agenda and we will hear Kahler Slater news and how we are adapting to working remotely and together—all at the same time.
The Exec Team will continue to add their individual messages to you in the weeks to come. Here is Jim’s message:
Family First. I am grateful to be a son, brother, cousin, husband, father, uncle, grandfather….and hope to be a great grandfather someday. It’s not any safer now than it was before we started to quarantine. Be safe. Take care of yourself. Take care of your families. Family First.
Please keep this information confidential: We have received our CARES Act Small Business Association Paycheck Protection Plan (SBA PPP) loan. The SBA PPP loans are designed to help small companies like Kahler Slater keep staff on the payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic and manage some expenses. The PPP loan will also assist us in managing our cash flow since many of our clients are having difficulty paying us on time. The funds also will help us absorb unbudgeted time and expenses that are developing as our backlog continues to push out further. Currently the 3-month backlog has dipped below our target and the 6- and 12-month backlogs are above targets and yet lower than in March. Our clients’ needs are changing on a daily basis, so these numbers are changing.
For now, the spending freeze will stay in place. Principals and Executives will continue to have a portion of their pay deferred. 2019 bonuses will not be paid before July, if at all. The 401(k) decision will be made in late August regardless (understanding it’s a lower priority than a bonus for many employees).
On the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and Expanded Family Medical Leave Act (eFMLA) leave, Erica has issued the information regarding those with the virus and those caring for someone with the virus. We have heard of no employee who has contracted the virus.
We are serious about taking PTO. The backlog appears to show a large amount of work for us to do in the last half of the year. We know that many of you are working 120% and have too many deadlines so taking PTO now would be difficult. If possible, ask for assistance. We have several people with time available because project schedules have pushed out. Now is a great time for some of you to take time off and work on the “deferred maintenance” list at home. We would hate to have everyone wanting to take PTO at the same time when we have a lot of deadlines.
Social distancing doesn't mean social isolation. Now, more than ever, we need to find smart ways to stay connected. One smart way is the UPAF campaign @4 on Friday. Join us tomorrow @4. You just may see some executives in costumes pretending to be performing artists.
Be healthy,
Jim and George
Hi Everyone,
We hope everyone is adapting well. We started our work from home adventure 5 weeks ago! Keep up the good social distancing work. What we are all doing is making a positive difference!
A reminder that you can find ALL past updates and important info on our special site: https://www.kahlerslater.com/covid
As always, please share your suggestions and questions for future updates.
Kelly
Hello Kahler Slater,
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) became law on April 1st. The FFCRA provides special sick leave and “Expanded FMLA” (eFMLA) leaves for:
If you want to explore the requirements of the FFCRA, please see the federal poster, located at on this page.
The intention of our first email on the FFCRA (4/9/20) and the follow-up Q&A session on 4/10/20 provided guidance on what Kahler Slater requires of our staff who are covered under Item 3 above; that is, those who are caring for a child/ren as a result of the loss of daycare/school/childcare due to COVID-19. Attached to this email is a follow-up FAQ in response to many (great) questions you asked on the topic.
Also attached to this email is our guidance on what Kahler Slater requires of our staff who are covered under either/both items 1 and 2 above; that is, those needing to request sick leave to care for themselves or to care for others in their household.
If none of the above items currently apply to you, you may stop reading now, but we advise you to hang onto this email for future reference.
What Kahler Slater is Doing
What You Need to Do
After having read this email and the attachments, if you still have any questions as to what you need to do, please ask John or me for assistance.
If there are enough new questions, we will either issue a follow-up FAQ or hold another Q&A session, as is warranted.
Take care,
Erica & John
All,
The next staff meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 7. We are still looking for presentations. This is a great opportunity to share something you are working on (client project, internal project, GSD) with our staff. Please let George or Nicole know if you would like to make a presentation.
The Exec Team will continue to add their individual messages to you in the weeks to come. Here is Kelly’s message:
I thank each and every person for their extra effort during this time! I have seen many of our new small (but enthusiastic) “co-workers” on video calls and want you to know that we recognize the new balancing act for many of you as Kahler Slater employee, teacher, caregiver and in some cases referee! Personally, I am trying to appreciate the uniqueness of this moment and make the most of the situation. I am the classic person who says “I don’t have time to. . .” So I am grateful for a little extra time to cook, bake, walk, and spend time with my husband. As the primary caregiver for my parents who are particularly vulnerable to this virus, I am staying informed but trying hard not to “overdose” on news which only feeds the fear and doesn’t help anyone. Stay safe. I can’t wait until we can be back together.
On the Federal side, we submitted our application last week for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) thru the Coronavirus Aid Relief & Economic Security (CARES) Act. We are waiting for the funding. On the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and Expanded Family Medical Leave Act (eFMLA) leave, early next week, Erica will provide information regarding those with the virus and those caring for someone with the virus. If you contract the virus or are caring for a family member with the virus, FFCA requires that Kahler Slater provide an additional two weeks of paid sick leave.
It appears that many of our clients are pushing current projects and new project starts out several months. We know many of you have missed your spring break with family and friends to accommodate this virus and our clients. We are encouraging everyone who is not overwhelmed with client demands currently to use as much PTO as possible as soon as possible. Clean that closet, paint that extra bedroom, start a new hobby, try yoga, organize your stuff, read a book, put on your Out of Office notice and disconnect from email and enjoy one day or two a week at home. We have some time now, as Kelly said above, please use it to do all those things you have been waiting to do. Based on our clients’ plans, it looks like it will be very busy this summer and fall. We would hate to have everyone wanting to take PTO when deadlines were approaching.
Take some time off to care for yourself and your stuff. We both will be off on Friday, making it a long weekend away from our electronic offices.
Jim and George
Hi Everyone,
Happy Tuesday!
Two updates for you and a reminder that you can find ALL past updates on our special site: https://www.kahlerslater.com/covid
Please use this site https://www.kahlerslater.com/canvas You may notice your Quarantini photo there already!
To get us started for this week, in the spirit of Jimmy Fallon, please submit:
My Quarantine in 6 words or less and, please add a photo to help illustrate your 6 word story about your “Safer at Home” experience.
We are eager to see your submissions. Have fun! (Yes, you can submit more than one.) We may select a few to share at our next staff meeting.
As always, please share your suggestions and questions for future updates.
Kelly
Hi Everyone,
We have a very light update for you today. Please see Erica’s message from 5:41 PM yesterday 4/9/10 for some important information.
Have a great Easter weekend everyone!
Kelly
Hello Kahler Slater,
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) became law on April 1st. The FFCRA was designed to help small businesses (< 500 people) by providing resources to support “Expanded FMLA” (eFMLA) leaves for:
If you want to explore the requirements of the FFCRA, please see the federal poster, located at https://www.kahlerslater.com/covid.
The intention of this email and the attached instructions is to provide guidance on what Kahler Slater requires of our staff who are covered under Item 1 above; that is, those who are caring for a child/ren as a result of the loss of daycare/school/childcare due to COVID-19. We will issue additional guidance in the next few days on the eFMLA requirements in regards to Items 2 and 3 above. In the meantime, if you need to take leave because you have/may have contracted the virus yourself, or because you need to care for someone who has/may have the virus, please contact Erica or John Horky immediately, who will assist you to navigate the paid sick leave options through the FFCRA.
If Item 1 above does not apply to you, you may stop reading.
What Kahler Slater is Doing
What You Need to Do
After having read this email and the attachments, if you still have any questions as to what you need to do, Erica and John Horky will be holding a Q&A session on Friday at 10:30 AM and will be sending out the invite shortly. If you can’t make that meeting, please send your Qs to Erica and John. We will compile, curate and provide to all a Kahler Slater FFCRA-eFMLA-FAQ. : )
Erica & John
All,
The staff meeting last week was such a big hit that we are scheduling an extra staff meeting on May 4. A planner will follow. Let George know if you would like to make a presentation. The agenda is quite open and we can try some different things. We are open to new ideas.
The Exec Team will continue to add their individual messages to you in the weeks to come. Here is Glenn’s message:
Communication: Stay in touch with your friends at work, about all the non-work stuff you typically would. There are many ways to do this for in-house chats; Skype instant messenger, Skype calls, teams and of course RingCentral.
Home Technology: If your home Wi-Fi network allows it, (google mesh Wi-Fi network is my example) prioritize your work machine so that any other network usage does not degrade your performance.
On the Federal side, we are making the application for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding thru the Coronavirus Aid Relief & Economic Security (CARES) Act. We have been ready to submit since the program opened a week ago. The process has been difficult and frustrating. Banks are processing single-owner companies for first. Our PPP application and back up materials have been ready to upload since last Friday. We are waiting for the bank to open the portal for multi-owner companies. On the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and Expanded Family Medical Leave Act (eFMLA) leave, this week, Erica will be issuing information for those caring for children who are home from school or daycare. This will be guidance on the information you are required to provide to the firm and how to record your time. This is complex and important, please review it if you are one of those people. Next week, Erica will provide information regarding those with the virus and those caring for someone with the virus. Currently we know of no Kahler Slater employee who has the virus or is caring for someone with the virus.
We have been blessed with clients who want Kahler Slater to continue to provide services. We do see our backlog pushing out into the future. Our 3-month backlog continues to weaken and our 6-month backlog has strengthened. Monday’s Staffing Coordination meeting showed more people with availability than projects needing assistance. We are not sure how projects will proceed in the coming weeks, and we are hopeful that our clients will continue with projects. If you have completed your chargeable time, we have some ideas for you. Al developed this list of priorities for the HC team and we are recommending this to all teams:
Let your Team Leader know if you need a new assignment. This is a great opportunity to build some new skills and to get to know your team business plan better.
This will pass. We are a strong company and we will survive.
Enjoy your marshmallow Peeps and chocolate bunnies.
Happy Easter,
Jim and George
Hi Everyone, a work plan is available to plan your time associated with COVID-19. If you have been using the COVID project number on your timesheet (with any of the phases listed below) and wish to have future hours appear on your staffing chart, please contact your staffing advocate or project manager. Inform them of the estimated # of hours/week your life has been impacted, and project out for the next few weeks. We will only track total COVID time for planning purposes, not phase specific.
10: Leave for having COVID-19 myself
20: Leave for caring for my family with COVID-19
30: Leave to care for my children (or if applicable, my significant other’s kids) due to school/daycare closure for COVID-19
Please feel free to copy me on your requests or contact me if you have any questions.
Ava Casey, CPA
Hello Everyone,
I hope this email finds you well.
Thanks to everyone for doing your part to slow the spread of the Coronavirus! The best way we can Enrich Life and Achieve Powerful Results right now is to stay home and do all you can to stay healthy!!
A few updates for you and a reminder that you can find ALL past updates on our special site: https://www.kahlerslater.com/covid
Thank you.
As always we welcome your questions.
John and Kelly
Hi Everyone,
It was great having everyone at the Staff Meeting and Leadership Group Meeting yesterday. I’m pretty sure we beat any prior Staff Meeting attendance record!
Today, we have three items for you.
Have a great weekend everyone! Remember those times when you said, we are SO busy, I am just wishing for a weekend at home? Well, we’ve got it! Let’s make the most of it.
John and Kelly
All,
Let me remind you of the Staff Meeting at 3:30 today. The 15 presenters conducted a “technology rehearsal” yesterday and we are ready for our first all company conference call. We can all join, but we only have 15 video feeds. So join, watch and listen to the staff meeting. Remember BYOQ (Bring Your Own Quarantini)
The Exec Team will be adding their individual messages to our message in the weeks to come. Here is Al’s message:
Thanks for putting your energy into balancing work from home and living from home. This time for me reinforces how social we really are, and should be for daily health. Interact intentionally whenever you can. Social distance, but without isolation, and then compensate for this by taking care of your own daily health. Walk around during the day, stretch, get outside and get some fresh air, walk the dog, do some yardwork, and find healthy balance. Thanks for all you are doing!
On a sad and personal note from George, many of you know my mom passed away in January at age 93. Last week my father passed away at age 90. They were married for 63 years and really only spent the last two months apart. They are both happier now. I was in Ohio to see my dad on March 12. We were together for a couple hours before the assisted living center adopted its no visitor policy. He was happy and healthy when I saw him. He fell a few days later and did not recover. A celebration of his life will be scheduled at a later date.
Stay safe and take care of your loved ones.
Jim and George
Happy Friday Kahler Slater!
We hope you have a good weekend ahead.
Here is your latest COVID-19 update.
For today, we have some IMPORTANT NEW things and a RECAP to ensure that you have the latest guidelines that we are asking everyone to follow. Here goes:
NEW
RECAP of Things you NEED to know
Here are very important points culled from our last several updates. As you know, we are taking our guidance from city, state and federal officials including the CDC. More CDC information here, CDC Business Guidelines
We have three different phase codes for this project:
Overhead Project:
COVID
Phase Codes:
10: Leave for having COVID-19 myself
20: Leave for caring for my family with COVID-19
30: Leave to care for my children due to school/daycare closure for COVID-19
We hope no one needs to use phase 10 and 20!! However, please use them if you do. We are sure that many of us will record some time to phase 30. For example, if you work from home on a school day and you worked on Kahler Slater stuff for 5 hours in one day, then you should record 4 hours of Phase 30 time to take care of your kids if their school/daycare was closed due to COVID-19. This is not PTO. If you wish, you can take a day of PTO if you are not working on a school day. The choice is yours; you know if you are working or on PTO. Sorry, no phase 30 time allowed to care for your dog because doggie daycare was canceled. Your dog just wants to take another walk with you. Sorry no phase 30 time is allowed to care for your grandkids or neighbor kids. You can care for your significant other’s kids under Phase 30. Please add this Project to your time sheet for this week and while we’re working from home, and record any time you spend in these phases. Given the newly passed Families First Coronavirus Response Act we are evaluating how this time will be counted toward your total hours in 2020 and will provide more information soon.
As always, please share updates, thoughts and suggestions with us.
John and Kelly
Hello Everyone,
We know you all have a lot on your plates in addition to our work and clients. In asking how people are feeling, we are hearing: isolated, optimistic, scared, concerned, grateful, introspective, and unsure. All are unexpected and real feelings. We have seen the dogs, cats and children on the video conferencing; we have felt maxed out on video conferencing; many of us have concerns about loved ones who are ill and we are not available to be with them; we see small businesses re-tooling to provide carry out, and we are all struggling to provide everything on-line.
We have received several questions about 2019 bonuses and 401(k) matches. We do not know yet. We are not canceling these, we are just waiting to decide. We are unsure of cash flow from our clients. Our backlog remains very strong. A few projects have pushed out. A few projects have accelerated. We need some time to understand our clients’ needs coming out of this crisis. For these reasons, we are delaying a decision on paying bonuses and 401(k) match.
With Governor Ever’s “Safer at Home” Emergency Order issued this week, the closing of our offices will correspond with the timing from the Governor until 8:00 a.m. on Friday, April 24, 2020 at the earliest. So, without being together in the office, we are having a virtual staff meeting this coming Thursday as a 125 person Ring Central Meeting. We have room for everyone to call in. This should be interesting. Bring Your Own Quarantini (BYOQ).
Our recommendations to you are:
We deeply appreciate all you are doing to keep Kahler Slater moving forward in these challenging times,
Have a good, healthy weekend.
Optimistically Yours,
Jim and George
We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival.
— Winston Churchill
Hello Kahler Slater – We hope that everyone is doing well during week 2 of working from home!
Here is your latest COVID-19 update. We are no longer numbering our UPDATES, we are dating them. Also, you can find all past UPDATES along with Erica’s video on how to work at home on this site: https://www.kahlerslater.com/covid
For today, we have NEW things and a RECAP to ensure that you have the latest guidelines that we are asking everyone to follow. Here goes:
NEW
RECAP of Things you NEED to know
Here are very important points culled from our last several updates. As you know, we are taking our guidance from city, state and federal officials including the CDC. More CDC information here, CDC Business Guidelines
We have three different phase codes for this project:
Overhead Project:
COVID
Phase Codes:
10: Leave for having COVID-19 myself
20: Leave for caring for my family with COVID-19
30: Leave to care for my children due to school/daycare closure for COVID-19
We hope no one needs to use phase 10 and 20!! However, please use them if you do. We are sure that many of us will record some time to phase 30. For example, if you work from home on a school day and you worked on Kahler Slater stuff for 5 hours in one day, then you should record 4 hours of Phase 30 time to take care of your kids if their school/daycare was closed due to COVID-19. This is not PTO. If you wish, you can take a day of PTO if you are not working on a school day. The choice is yours; you know if you are working or on PTO. Sorry, no phase 30 time allowed to care for your dog because doggie daycare was canceled. Your dog just wants to take another walk with you. Sorry no phase 30 time is allowed to care for your grandkids or neighbor kids. You can care for your significant other’s kids under Phase 30. Please add this Project to your time sheet for this week and while we’re working from home, and record any time you spend in these phases. Given the newly passed Families First Coronavirus Response Act we are evaluating how this time will be counted toward your total hours in 2020 and will provide more information soon.
As always, please share updates, thoughts and suggestions with us.
John and Kelly
Happy weekend Kahler Slater!
I hope you are all taking a step back this weekend. As you gear up for next week, we wanted to share some of the best tips and finding balance and success in our new work spaces both physical and virtual.
I’ve narrated a presentation – kick back with a cup of coffee or tea for 12 minutes. Or feel free to just look through the slides themselves. Both links are below.
Video
https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/726c9384-8cd6-438d-a5d6-f485a43ce11c
Slides
Here’s to a successful second week of a total remote workforce!
Erica
Hello Kahler Slater Home Office Network -
Don’t forget about our virtual Friday@4 Happy Hour today at 4:00 PM. Please email a photo capturing your version of Quarantini @4 to photos@kahlerslater.com
I hope to see your fun photos from today and maybe over the weekend too. A collage coming soon!
We have three different phase codes for this project:
Overhead Project:
COVID
Phase Codes:
10: Leave for having COVID-19 myself
20: Leave for caring for my family with COVID-19
30: Leave to care for my children due to school/daycare closure for COVID-19
We hope no one needs to use phase 10 and 20!! However, please use them if you do. We are sure that many of us will record some time to phase 30. For example, if you work from home on a school day and you worked on Kahler Slater stuff for 5 hours in one day, then you should record 4 hours of Phase 30 time to take care of your kids if their school/daycare was closed due to COVID-19. This is not PTO. If you wish, you can take a day of PTO if you are not working on a school day. The choice is yours; you know if you are working or on PTO. Sorry, no phase 30 time allowed to care for your dog because doggie daycare was canceled. Your dog just wants to take another walk with you. Sorry no phase 30 time is allowed to care for your grandkids or neighbor kids. You can care for your significant other’s kids under Phase 30. Please add this Project to your time sheet for this week and while we’re working from home, and record any time you spend in these phases. Given the newly passed Families First Coronavirus Response Act we are evaluating how this time will be counted toward your total hours in 2020 and will provide more information soon.
It is almost the weekend. Kick it off right with your Quarantini and have a good weekend everyone!
John and Kelly
Good Morning!
As always, your suggestions, thoughts, and questions are welcome. The Exec Team and John are meeting every day to keep a close eye on the situation.
John and Kelly
Hi Kahler Slater,
For some of you working remote can be a normal day. For others, coming to an office each day is a routine and comfort. Either way, being completely remote for a time can be a big change. Being productive in a time of uncertainty can be very helpful so I wanted to share a resource that came across my desk. LinkedIn learning is currently providing several classes you might find useful for free to help adjust to working from home, structuring your day, time management, and staying productive. While there are many sources for this, LinkedIn Learning is one of the more credible ones.
Check out the courses here:
Here’s to staying well and keeping others around you well too!
Erica
Hello Everyone,
Here is your UPDATE #5.
We just finished a call with the Executive Team and John Horky. After discussing yesterday’s Federal, County, and City recommendations, we have decided the following:
During these unusual times, please focus on your health, on your families and doing your best to be productive. We are Kahler Slater. We are strong. We will get through this together! As always, please send questions, ideas, etc. to John Horky and me.
John and Kelly
Hi Everyone,
Here is your COVID-19 UPDATE #4.
I want you to know that the Executive Team and John met on Friday, we met this morning and we will meet as often as needed to continue closely monitoring the situation and make decisions. In fact, the President and his team just concluded today’s press conference and we have not discussed that as of yet. If you have any question, thought, suggestion, please share with John and me so that we can answer and/or discuss as an Exec Team.
Thank you also for your positive attitudes, your messages of support and for sharing your creative plans for remaining productive! I’m not surprised, this is Kahler Slater!
Please re-read the previous 3 updates, here are some additional items for you:
John and Kelly
Hi Everyone,
What a week. Because the COVID-19 situation is quite fluid, John and I will be updating you frequently. For example, know widespread school closings will affect many of our employees.
Our emails from March 3 and March 12 are still valid, and we are adding the following updated information.
Please know, that everything we are doing is because we care about the health and well-being of our employees, your families and the community at large. We all need to do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Please reach out to John Horky or me with any questions/concerns or clarifications you may need. We will continue to update as frequently as necessary.
We will get through this. Please continue to be positive and supportive of your co-workers!
John and Kelly
Hi Everyone –
The email I sent on March 3 (see below) is still valid and we are adding more. Here are several IMPORTANT COVID-19 updates:
We are all in this together! Let’s stay positive. Please share any new information or questions with John Horky or me.
Kelly
Hi Everyone –
Assuming you have been following the Coronavirus/COVID-19 in the news.
While the CDC monitors the situation, let’s do what we can to limit the spread of all respiratory infections and while we are at it, all illnesses! Here are some important guidelines:
(most of this information came from the CDC’s page on guidance for businesses)
We are putting tissue and hand sanitizer in each conference room. Please share any other helpful ideas.
Thank you all!