Detroit Regional Chamber > Business Resources > COVID-19 > Miller Canfield: We Want Our Businesses to Be Safe, to Stay Open for Economic Health

Miller Canfield: We Want Our Businesses to Be Safe, to Stay Open for Economic Health

July 17, 2020
Though Miller Canfield staff are still working from home, they are doing their part to encourage all employees to wear a mask, and helping to spread the #MaskUpMichigan message. Michael McGee, the president and CEO of Miller Canfield shared how their workforce is staying safe amid COVID-19.

Why did Miller Canfield take the #MaskUpMichigan pledge?

It’s a positive message, one that puts the focus on something that we all agree on: We want our businesses to be safe and to stay open for the health of our economy.

It does apply to our business operations. Right now, our attorneys and staff are working from home because the governor’s order states that work that can be performed remotely should be. But we will be returning to the office, and we want to be safe when we do. Also, it impacts our clients who have on-site work being performed. What affects them affects us. Going even further, what affects the greater business community affects us all.

Is Miller Canfield doing anything unique or specific to encourage mask-wearing/face covering among employees and/or customers?

From day one, we have regularly communicated with attorneys and staff about safety and CDC guidelines and staying healthy. So when the #MaskUpMichigan pledge was launched, we were eager to sign on right away! Within the firm, we are all working apart, but are having some fun with the #MaskUp selfie challenge. We used our firm newsletter to launch the challenge to everyone to send masked selfies to enter a gift card drawing and encourage some friendly competition and interactions (the truth is, we miss seeing our coworkers’ faces!). We’ll feature the photos in our newsletter as we continue to encourage safety and protecting ourselves and our community. As for clients and other visitors to the office, we know that not every visitor is keen on mask-wearing. We understand. It takes some getting used to. But we are committed to remaining firm because we care and we want to do business safely. We will offer our visitors empathy and understanding … and a mask.

Please share anything additional your business is doing to keep employees and customers safe during this time:

The main thing we are doing is encouraging our employees to stay home and stay safe, and to minimize in-person contact with clients. We communicate with clients telephonically and by video and email, and when we are able to resume in-person contact, we will adhere to stringent safety rules to keep all of us as safe as possible.

Our offices have been closed for on-site business since March 16. We do have a small number of people in our offices to manage functions that must be performed on-site. We are currently working on our plans to return to the office. When it’s safe to do so, we will take the return to the office very slowly and carefully. Our reopening plans will follow CDC guidelines and local orders and will include employees and visitors wearing face coverings, adhering to social distancing recommendations, and thorough cleaning and sanitizing as described by the CDC. We want to do this right so that our workforce stays healthy and businesses can remain open.