It was mid-March just a few months ago and the global Covid-19 pandemic was in its early days in the US. The applications process for the 18th Annual Greater Washington Government Contractor (GovCon) Awards was about to be kicked off and questions were asked, understandably, about how to shape this year’s awards program. Will the contracting community respond? Should we …
A Message From Our CEO
Dear Members, The Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) believes we must move forward together to create a more equitable future for our region. The Chamber articulated our values in an Inclusivity Statement shared with all members last month. Earlier this year, the Chamber invited candidates for statewide office to join us for an ongoing “Policy Series” lunch for members to get to …
Establishing an impactful corporate responsibility program in times of uncertainty
The past few months, our country and our economy have been tested in profound ways. Business leaders have had to move quickly to address the shifting needs of their workforce, their communities, and their clients—ushering in a new era for corporate social responsibility. But in a time of so much uncertainty and change, how can businesses develop and maintain a …
Let’s Challenge Ourselves to Be Active Corporate Citizens, A Message From Our CEO
Now more than ever. This is a phrase that has been top of mind for many of us as we watch and react to 2020’s heartbreaking headlines. Fortunately many in our community are hearing the call and acting “now.” What we’re all learning from the economic and social challenges of today – notably the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on …
Maintaining On-Site Employee Safety During a Pandemic
With the Governor’s recent lifting of his “stay at home” order, many companies rushing to reopen facilities are facing a collective challenge: ensuring employee safety while the nation is still dealing with a pandemic. It’s a challenge made all the more difficult by the uncertainty surrounding the next few months and what will happen once they open the doors again. …
Northern Virginia Reopening, Guidelines For Now and Questions About the Future
by Clayton Medford, Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President, Government Relations The Chamber has been heavily engaged in COVID-19 rescue and response advocacy since mid-March when our community went into lockdown. Those first few weeks were a chaotic sprint, with everyone working tirelessly to identify what needed to be done to keep the economy from collapsing and then to …
Keeping Employees Motivated, Engaged, and Supported During COVID-19
From a two-week original slowdown to the current over two-month shutdown, employers and managers are trying new and innovative things to keep employees engaged as their teams assume more responsibilities and fears about what will happen next. Working from home is not a new concept, of course; but being forced into this situation very quickly and to have massive numbers …
A Message From Our Chamber CEO
Dear Chamber Members, As the pandemic’s weeks have settled into months and what was once odd has become our new work and life normal, you can rely on the stability of your Chamber and our ongoing work on your behalf. I’m proud to boast that we have not missed a beat and continue our member advocacy work, including leading …
Tough Times Call For Innovation: 5 Steps to Help You Kickstart the Process
It may be difficult to recall in today’s environment, but pre-pandemic business was far from simple. Almost all organizations faced myriad challenges in terms of fierce competition, discriminating customers, longer sales cycles, and difficulty in differentiating their offerings, which were all compounded by tremendous advances in technology and a demand for greater transparency. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, these business …
Preparing your business for post-pandemic growth: steps you can take now
For most, recent weeks have been a fog where awkward distancing, conference calls, and decisions-on-the-fly have run together with seemingly no end in sight. As business leaders, we’ve reacted quickly to challenges and made decisions in a period of hours or days that, in pre-pandemic days, we would have analyzed and deliberated for weeks or months before making a move. …