Recently CoreMedia executives Glenn DeKraker and Susan Renaldo sat down with the Performance-Driven Marketing Institute (PDMI) to discuss their efforts to ensure employee safety and comfort during COVID-19. Here are a few highlights from their conversation published in the PDMI’s Results Magazine in September 2020.
“We’re in lockdown here at least until January,” says Glenn DeKraker, founder and CEO. “We have learned so much over the past 15 years about how to handle business when faced with hurricanes and extensive flooding. We have always been ready to flip the switch and run remotely. It’s incredibly satisfying to watch how every department has stepped up in our work-from-home environment. The velocity of work from our client service and development teams has been extraordinary.”
“We re-signed our lease in January and had plans to make configuration changes and upgrades to the existing 16,000-square-foot space,” Susan Renaldo, president/COO, says. “Work was scheduled to start in March, but the project was put on hold. In May, we re-engaged with our architect and design team to adjust the plan for our new world. We are finalizing a strategy that allows for a more socially distanced work environment but will still foster collaboration across the company.”
“We must do what we can to ensure every member of our team and clients feel safe and on board with how we handle this new norm.” And, as usual, DeKraker and team have looked for a way to give back. CoreMedia’s Response Responsibility charitable efforts have invested more than $2 million in the past two decades to serve communities and causes across the country.
In response to the pandemic and folks’ qualms about returning to the office, DeKraker and team funded the design and production of a 20- page “Returning to Work Safely During COVID-19” booklet and safety kit (containing masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer) for CoreMedia’s employees once they begin to return. “Making sure our employees and their families feel safe and comfortable as they eventually return plays a huge role in who comes back to the office and when,” he says. “Providing this handbook along with the safety kit of personal protective equipment (PPE) is just one thing we can do to foster that feeling.”
CoreMedia’s ad agency, IGM Creative, is able to brand each book and kit contents for individual companies while supporting Response Responsibility. “Customization allows for the upgrade of the booklet to include company logo, revised content, and changes to illustrations,” DeKraker says. “And you can also pick up the safety kit from us. We’re sharing the opportunity with our agency partners, local New Jersey businesses, and more. You can view the offering by visiting returningtoworksafely.com.”
“For CoreMedia, philanthropy and technology will forever be intertwined. Find a need and fill it. It has always been an inherently important part of our culture to want to give back,” DeKraker adds. “Putting employee safety and comfort foremost is just another initiative CoreMedia has implemented to show its responsibility to his staff and others who feel the same commitment to giving.”
