JMI Equity Makes AlertMedia a Central Part of Its COVID Return-to-Work Strategy
MoraleAllows employees that feel isolated working at home during COVID-19 to return to work, improving engagement
SafetyHelps JMI keep employees that opt in to return to work during the first phase of the company’s reopening safe and healthy
ContinuityEnables the organization’s employees to access the office during the COVID-19 pandemic in a responsible way
VisibilityProvides real-time self-reporting of employee health so JMI can comply with state reopening guidelines
- IndustryFinancial Services
- Locations2
- Employees50
- ProductsEmergency Communication Software
- Primary UsesEmergency, Business Continuity, Operations
Disclosure: JMI Equity is an investor in AlertMedia.
JMI Equity Prioritizes Employee Safety When Returning to Work
JMI Equity is a growth equity firm focused on investing in leading software companies
Founded in 1992, JMI has offices in Baltimore and San Diego and helps growing businesses become industry leaders. The firm has invested in over 150 businesses, completed over 100 exits, and raised $4 billion of committed capital.
In May 2020, JMI began planning its COVID-19 return-to-work strategy. JMI wanted to proactively plan for a phased, safe approach to reopening its offices—something many employees expressed interest in after two months of working remotely. Already an AlertMedia customer, JMI turned to AlertMedia’s emergency communication system to help safely reopen the company’s offices to employees that wished to return. Using AlertMedia, JMI can conduct mandatory employee health screenings prior to the start of each workday. This enables JMI to comply with local reopening guidelines and provide employees access to the office in a responsible way.
Facilitating a Safe, Responsible Return to Work to Keep Employees Happy and Healthy
“We recognized that a cohesive back-to-work strategy with real-time reporting and effective communication would be essential.”
When COVID-19 began to spread in March 2020, JMI Equity closed its offices and transitioned to full-time remote work. For the company’s 50 employees, this shift was a significant change. Until that point, all employees worked in-office at the company’s Baltimore or San Diego locations. Many of the firm’s investment professionals also traveled frequently for business.
After two months of the entire organization working from home, JMI’s HR team began developing the firm’s return-to-work strategy. In May 2020, JMI sent a survey to employees to assess their attitudes and viewpoints about returning to the office. The results showed that some employees had a strong desire to be back in the office.
Adds Melissa Guttman, Principal, Talent at JMI, “Many of our employees that live alone saw returning to work as a welcome opportunity. We needed to find a way to support these employees that felt isolated and ready to return to the office, but in a safe, thoughtful, and responsible way. To do this, we recognized that a cohesive back-to-work strategy with real-time reporting and effective communication would be essential.”
Conducting Daily Employee Health Screenings Using Survey Notifications
As JMI began developing the firm’s COVID-19 employee communication tactics, using AlertMedia seemed like a logical fit. As an investor in AlertMedia, JMI was familiar with AlertMedia’s emergency communication system prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization had been using AlertMedia for more than a year to keep its business travelers and office workers informed during critical events such as severe weather and facility emergencies.
Guttman and her team had already developed pre-built notification templates in AlertMedia for a range of scenarios, from office closures to fire drills. With the ability to communicate across multiple channels—including text, email, and voice call—JMI can ensure the fast, reliable delivery of time-sensitive information.
“The entire customer success team is incredibly responsive and proactive. Our customer success manager is always checking in to share best practices and help us get the most value out of the system.”
AlertMedia’s intuitive interface and expertly-trained customer success team made it easy to quickly get up and running on the platform. Adds Guttman, “The entire customer success team is incredibly responsive and proactive. Our customer success manager (CSM) is always checking in to share best practices and help us get the most value out of the system.”
As part of the firm’s COVID-19 reopening plan, employees that choose to work in-office must complete a daily health screening. With AlertMedia’s survey functionality, JMI can easily and safely conduct these mandatory daily screenings. All employees that choose to work in the office will receive a survey via text message each morning they are scheduled to work and receive an immediate response and notification if they are cleared to go to the office that day.
All of the survey responses can be viewed by Guttman from the AlertMedia dashboard, even from a mobile device. This enables her to proactively follow up and rapidly notify other employees in the event of a positive diagnosis or potential exposure. This readily accessible documentation can also help JMI conduct contact tracing quickly and effectively.
Adds Guttman, “Using AlertMedia’s survey functionality gives us real-time insights into employee health and well-being during COVID-19. It also gives our HR team the visibility we need to support our people and ensure compliance.”
Safely Reopening to Boost Morale and Maintain Business Continuity
With JMI scheduled to enter the first phase of its reopening in August 2020, AlertMedia provides confidence and peace of mind. “With AlertMedia, JMI can reopen its offices responsibly and boost employee morale. We are pleased that we can start giving our employees the option to reenter the workplace if they are ready,” says Guttman.
As the organization fully returns to work and resumes its normal business operations, AlertMedia will also continue to be used in a number of other ways. With location tracking capabilities and threat alerts, the system can automatically notify administrators of any critical events in areas where employees may be traveling. If a severe winter storm is expected to hit Chicago, for example, JMI can proactively help an employee traveling there depart on an earlier flight. Adds Guttman, “Our investment professionals can travel to three or four cities in a week meeting with potential investment prospects. AlertMedia allows us to keep our business travelers focused and productive by limiting operational disruptions,” says Guttman.
Reopening During COVID-19 Requires the Active Leadership of HR
As organizations around the country begin to prepare for a return to work, Guttman highlights the importance of HR’s strong leadership and active involvement. Says Guttmann, “HR has to lead COVID-19 back-to-work strategies because of the profound impact they will have on a company’s people and culture. It is the single biggest event impacting the employee experience that most HR leaders will see in their lifetime.”
With AlertMedia now an integral part of JMI’s reopening plan, Guttman is exploring how else the platform can help HR improve employee communication. She adds, “AlertMedia goes far beyond emergency communication. HR teams need to be able to reach employees quickly in a way that they will read, and AlertMedia allows us to do just that. AlertMedia solves the challenges of communicating with a highly mobile workforce to ensure all business-critical communications get seen immediately.”
