Work in the Times of COVID-19 Pandemic: a Guide to Moving Your Business Online

The whole world of business changed in 2020 and we don’t know for how long. Some businesses can’t afford staying fully offline, but switching to online is still a challenge.

In this article, we want to give companies our advice on what they can do to transfer to the digital space. Staying online might not only bring businesses additional value but skyrocket the overall demand in the times of seclusion and in the long run.

Sharing: onboarding new drivers

Carsharing expects an increase in drivers as people refrain from public transport over the fear of catching the virus in stuffy trains and buses. As more people decide to drive themselves to work, there comes a problem of onboarding people in person, which is risky to do in the times of a pandemic.

What a sharing company can do:

• Verify new drivers via remote identification services to avoid personal contact.
• Disinfect fleets every time they are brought into a depot.
• Provide wipes and the necessary products for drivers to give the car a good cleaning before driving it. Give them a list to wipe: door handles, cup holders, seat belts, keys, steering wheel, switchgear, shifter, center console, dashboard and anything else passengers touch. Any of these cleaning products from the Environmental Protection Agency will effectively fight against the coronavirus.
• Instruct drivers to let (a lot!) of air go through the car to clean it from stuffiness and infections.

Logistics: managing shipments

Keeping track of the vehicles and drivers in person is canceled, but the cargos still need to get moving. However, it is expensive to give room for fraud in logistics, where the price of cargo might be worth millions of dollars.

What a logistic company can do:

• Pass on the cargo to the drivers online. Verify the driver’s identity remotely by asking them for a document and a selfie with it. It decreases personal contact to a minimum and still gets the job done.
• Make the drivers check in with you before taking over the cargo and once they have delivered it.
• And again. Provide wipes and the necessary products for drivers to give the car a good cleaning before driving it. Give them a list to wipe: door handles, cup holders, seat belts, keys, steering wheel, switchgear, shifter, center console, dashboard and anything else passengers touch. Any of these cleaning products from the Environmental Protection Agency will effectively fight against the coronavirus.
• And again. Instruct drivers to let (a lot!) of air go through the car to clean it from stuffiness and infections.

Delivery services: recruiting new staff and contactless dispatch

In quarantine, apart from crushing Netflix, people are also buying up everything on Amazon. To be honest, any service that offers shipping and delivery is currently overwhelmed. And while ordering is remote, recruiting and assigning deliveries are not.

What a delivery service can do:

• Increase delivery and support center staff—recruit remotely! Verify the necessary documents via automated tools and a couple of pictures. Request the same documents as you would online, automation might even be better at detecting inconsistencies.
• Check-in with your employees via video selfie or liveness at the beginning and at the end of the shift.
• Give customers “leave at the door” delivery option. Ask them to leave a request for the order to be left at the door or in the lobby, if they prefer so.
• Use postamat (a sort of a parcel locker) if it is an option. You can place the order in the slot for the customers to pick it up later themselves using a delivery code.

Healthcare: remote medical attention and purchase of drugs

Pandemics fuel panic. Many people are rushing to purchase prescriptions. Others seek to be diagnosed by a medical professional. But, not all places are can satisfy the demand for the drugs and doctors.

What a pharmaceutical/medical company can do:

• Sell pharmaceuticals online. Verify the purchaser’s identity, age and insurance remotely to avoid scams.
• Provide remote consultations and medical check-ups for CONVID-19. Help people determine if they are actually sick or the panic is kicking in. Being able to receive trusted information instantly is very important, especially in times like these.
• Verify the identities of remote patients. Keeping track is crucial to the prevention of the further spread of the infection.

Education: taking exams online

Most of the affected by the pandemics areas are closing down their universities and schools, postponing exams and not giving any dates as to when students would be able to return to their studies. As students prepare for their term and entry exams at home, there is a question of would they be able to do it online and how to prevent them from cheating?

What a university/school can do:

• Use remote verification to confirm the identities of the students that are taking exams. Just like in real life, it could expose those who could try to receive better grades by letting an impostor to take an exam for them.

How Sumsub can help

Although not from a medical perspective, we can still help people not to fall victim to the virus. Sumsub is a remote and fully automated solution for business lifecycle management, identity verification, and anti-fraud. Anything that has to do with verifying documents and people, onboarding new staff and managing these processes from afar, we can help with. From checking the authenticity of the insurance to buy the prescribed pills to onboarding a new guy to handle deliveries.

If anything, now is the time for a big change if you have always wanted to shift or try remote. Make it your opportunity to act.

Working in close contact is out of the question. Are you ready to work remotely?