CEOs predict remote technology won’t disappear post COVID-19

By Herald Staff and

Updated November 13, 2020 5:56 PM

Members of the Sylvester Cancer Center Survivorship Choir practice via a Zoom session on May 24. South Florida CEOs were asked: What is one business practice that you’ve adopted since the pandemic that you don’t see changing even if COVID were to go away?

Even if COVID-19 goes away, I will use Zoom for kick-off calls on transactions, so that all parties can meet face-by-face, albeit in a digital platform. The opportunity to see the faces of the individuals with whom you are working on a transaction adds a personal touch that I will replicate in my practice going forward.

Luis Flores, managing partner, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr’s Miami office

Clearly there are ways that we have had to reinvent the way we do business and meet with people. In order to limit exposure to our staff, we have not allowed vendors to work onsite. Continuing this practice post COVID-19 is a likely outcome. It is more work in preparing for their assignment, but certainly less disruptive with vendors not onsite. Technology has enabled us to do a variety of meetings and training via Zoom. I am not sure that we will resume in-person training, except in limited circumstances.

Veronica Flores, executive vice president, First National Bank of South Miami

Moving forward, in addition to continuing to promote our free Jessica Harvey’s Expedition Notebook educational videos at GuyHarvey.com, we will continue the marine-inspired art instruction sessions my daughter Jessica and I do live on Facebook and Instagram, where I share my art techniques, talk about where I draw my inspiration from and take questions from viewers. We began these Facebook and Instagram Live sessions specifically to help families stay engaged, entertained and educated while they spend time at home during the pandemic. We also recently partnered with Discovery Education to develop online marine science courses that will be available to students globally, filling the gap in marine science and conservation education.

Guy Harvey, founder, Guy Harvey Enterprises

Maybe because of the isolation of working alone more often, my to-do list has become much more important in the COVID-19 work environment. Whereas routine was a driving force in my work output pre-COVID, I have had to supplement that with a detailed on-line to-do app that has been keeping me focused and on-task.

David Jobin, president, CEO of Our Fund Foundation

The use of video conferencing. Whether it is Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or a similar program, I believe that video conferencing is a practice we have all now learned quite well and is here to stay.

Coralee Penabad, principal, Urban-X Group

While not a business practice we implemented as a result of COVID-19, we have seen a material change in our members adopting remote ways to do business, and doing so in remarkable numbers. We have invested significant sums in remote banking technology for many years and member adoption had been encouraging. The pandemic quickly overcame the inertia of fear of change for our members that were hesitant to utilize remote technologies in the past and has spurred impressive adoption rates. We expect, once these members utilize our friction-less remote channels, they will continue to do so from now on, after a pain-free journey to register and a positive experience interacting and transacting.

Allan Prindle, president, CEO, Power Financial Credit Union

There are several new business and service strategies resulting from COVID-19 that are here to stay. From employee portals, virtual all-staff meetings, a more personalized client approach, paperless processes to online classes, adopting new digital technologies and practices has led to increased communication and efficiency for staff and clients. So, these digital solutions will remain a part of how we do business post-COVID. One example of how we have transitioned to digital solutions to better serve our families is by evolving how we approach our Court Care and Kid Space programs, so that we may continue defending clients’ civil rights and protecting them and their children from harm despite the closure of court houses. We accomplish this with critical pre-court services that allow clients to bridge the digital divide to participation in their proceedings and provide a digital childcare setting to keep children away from court conversations in the home and avoid re-victimization. We plan to continue offering pre-court services to best serve our clients.

Kerry-Ann Royes, CEO, YWCA South Florida

Cautionary measures regarding sanitation in the work place.

Mindy Solomon, owner, director, Mindy Solomon Gallery

We have a great team at the museum, and one business practice that I would like to see adopted moving forward is the extreme flexibility and fast reaction time the team has had in responding to new opportunities and challenges.

Frank Steslow, president, CEO, Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science

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THE MIAMI HERALD CEO ROUNDTABLE IS A WEEKLY FEATURE THAT APPEARS IN BUSINESS MONDAY OF THE MIAMI HERALD. RECENT QUESTIONS TO THE ROUNDTABLE HAVE INCLUDED:

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