How Earth Class Mail is Responding to the COVID-19 Crisis

As VP of Operations at Earth Class Mail, my last 8 weeks have been heavily focused on our response to COVID-19. I meet daily with my leadership team to monitor the situation, discuss any relevant developments, and make necessary adjustments to operations. 

We’re a technology company, but we’re human-driven, with teams working every day to deliver, open, scan, ship and deposit mail. Our offices remain open as an essential service, ensuring our customers across the country are able to continue doing business. 

Our COVID-19 response focuses on four major pillars: preserving the health of our staff, ensuring continuous service for our customers, maintaining consistency in our operation, and anticipating additional impacts. 

The health of our team

The health of our employees is our guiding priority. In accordance with social distancing protocols, any Earth Class Mail employee that is able to work from home is doing so. 

We are paying close attention to CDC guidelines. For those essential locations that require on-site work, we have created split shifts and increased sanitization protocols to minimize contact. We are providing assistance with ride-sharing alternatives for those employees dependent on public transportation.

In recognition of the essential service they are providing, we have increased wages for all our hourly employees. 

Business continuity for our customers

Every day, we process over $1 million in check deposits and thousands of mail documents, services our customers depend on to keep their businesses running smoothly.  

To continue meeting their needs, we have increased our operations staff and capacity so that we ensure continuity of service. We remain in constant contact with our vital business partners to understand their responses to COVID-19, and we communicate frequently with our customers to keep them informed of relevant developments. Through these efforts, we have been able to provide consistent service throughout the month. 

Consistency in mail processing operations

Our business is built on a refined process to get mail from the USPS, UPS, and FedEx; deliver it to a customer account; and get it opened, scanned, shipped, and deposited. 

As we work to keep our employees healthy and maintain service for our customers, we are modifying operations and making necessary spending cuts. Like every business responding to this crisis, we are finding inefficiencies that can be corrected without impacting our customers’ experience. 

Planning for the possible

None of us knows how the COVID-19 crisis may continue to impact our personal and business lives. The Earth Class Mail team is dealing with this uncertainty by preparing for the possibility of future business interruption. 

We are creating backup locations in Oregon and Texas and monitoring changes with the USPS, UPS, and FedEx daily to understand how their actions may impact our customers. We are also reviewing and testing all facets of our business continuity and disaster recovery plans, focusing on providing uninterrupted service for our customers.  

COVID-19 presents a challenge for us all. No matter what the future brings, we remain committed to our values, our customers, and our employees.