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CEO Covid-19 Update
CEO Covid-19 Update

Coronavirus Expert Helpdesk, our general response, and other ways we can help

Brian Caouette avatar
Written by Brian Caouette
Updated over a week ago

Friends --

I wanted to share this brief update on how OnFrontiers is responding to the Coronavirus pandemic which is affecting all of us.  Whether you are a client or an expert on the platform, there are some important updates here and resources and opportunities which may be relevant to you.  

We remain committed to supporting you at this time and - as you’ll see - we are redoubling our efforts to do so.  Thanks for reading and for being part of our community.

Yours,

Brian Caouette
CEO

OnFrontiers is launching an Expert Helpdesk for the Coronavirus response.  This will be a handpicked selection of our experts who support organizations in one or more focus areas. As a service to the community,  OnFrontiers will waive booking (introduction) fees on connections with helpdesk experts. The primary initial focus areas for the Expert Helpdesk are (a) transmission, (b) diagnosis and treatment, (c) global prevention and containment, (d) development organizations in the global response, (e) procurement & supply chain impacts, (f) understanding and communicating risk, (g) building resilience to future crises, (h) regional and national responses, and (i) remote work. We will add to these focus areas based on demand. Derek Willis, our Global Health Lead, is leading this effort.

  • Join the helpdesk: If you are an expert in any of the areas above or can support with some other aspect of the response, please read more and sign-up to join.

  • Ask a question:  What are the main questions you are grappling with now?  Please tell us in this quick survey which we’ll use to calibrate the composition of our expert panel

Besides the Expert Helpdesk, here are some of the primary ways we are responding.

  • Ensuring health and safety of our team. Fortunately, as a dispersed remote-first company offering an online service, the direct impact has been modest so far.  Last week, we suspended discretionary travel and encouraged teammates who work from a co-working space to re-situate at home.  We’ve been sharing frequent updates, information, and emotional support with the team.

  • Bolstering our capacity to serve you.  We’ve added to our research and support capacity and launched hiring for new roles to meet an uptick in demand as organizations seek expertise to navigate uncertain times and need ways to complete critical work despite travel restrictions.  At this point, we don’t foresee any deterioration of service levels.

  • Eliminating user restrictions.  For our Advanced accounts which included a capped number of user seats, we have dropped this restriction for the remainder of your current term so people in your organization in need can avail themselves of the platform.  Please contact your OnFrontiers account manager for more details.

The primary way we can help is by continuing to do what we do -  helping you access quality expertise on any topic quickly which helps you accomplish critical work despite travel restrictions, respond with agility to a rapidly changing landscape, and eventually start playing offense during this crisis to future-proof your organization.

  • Keeping pace on critical work: Customers who cannot travel now to provide technical support, develop new business, and forge partnerships are utilizing the platform to accomplish these goals remotely.  Whereas for some OnFrontiers has been a supplement to travel / in-person work, OnFrontiers has now of necessity become the primary means.

  • Respond to changing landscape:  Customers are engaging experts to access support in crisis management and who can provide specific actionable information and advice on how the situation is impacting their clients, suppliers, and how to frame options and tee-up decisions to ensure success over the short, medium, and longer-term.  

  • Building a more resilient operating model: Customers who have built their knowledge networks on OnFrontiers are able to react more quickly.  Their overhead and cost of change is lower and they can engage new talent more flexibly, whether to revamp their entire marketing approach or re-orient a business line to do something completely new.

Whether you are a current customer looking to expand use of the platform to meet the immediate challenge, or are not but would like to explore OnFrontiers for your organization, we invite you now to schedule a time with our customer team to discuss your needs and how we can help you now.

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