Date posted:
Fri 15 May 2020
We are here to do one thing, to make compliance as simple and cost-effective as possible for independent hospitality and retail - in our short 18-month history, we’re proud that our products and services have helped over 50 businesses in this way. However, there is a new challenge facing the sector we serve, one we feel the need to combat head on.
The Coronavirus crisis (Covid-19) has dealt a particularly tough hand to these businesses. Theirs were the first to close, under direct instruction from Government and they will be the last to re-open. Even with the financial support measures so far announced for these businesses, many will struggle financially over the next 12 months - unfortunately, it's likely many won't survive.
The scale of the challenge facing our friends in this sector can’t be overstated. In order to survive, and then later thrive, we believe all help offered must: 1.Be relevant, tailored to the situation at hand and address the challenges of Covid-19 directly 2.Be bold, decisive and take the severity of the situation into account.
We’ve been thinking hard about how Foursquare Group can contribute to this recovery. Here’s what we’ve come up with:
1. Covid-19 is a new virus and may circulate in society for months, years or even permanently. Its very high transmission rate means businesses will need to adapt many of their systems to protect staff and customers. We are actively monitoring science and guidance updates in order to develop new services and adapt our current products which will help our clients to operate safely.
We are already working on a ‘Covid-ready’ system for our clients, including risk assessments, increased hygiene control, staff training and day-to-day management. As the threat from the virus decreases and the economy begins to re-start, we will be here to help hospitality and retail get back on its feet.
2.Fundamentally, we believe that business compliance, and the fight against Covid-19 in particular, shouldn't be compromised by cost. Cash flow is a huge concern for the sector in the short and medium term, and this concern should never find itself in a trade-off with operating safely.
So, we have made a bold decision. Going forward, all of our products and services will be delivered via a ‘pay what you can’ pricing model. This means that all businesses will have access to the tools required with no financial risk.
Whether that’s a compliance diary to manage your day-to-day business, food safety training for your chef or an infectious disease control risk assessment for re-opening your site, you will now pay what you can instead of a fixed price.
Organising this change within our business has been a challenging process. In order to ensure that this model is deliverable and sustainable, we’ve teamed up with the Economics Group at Liverpool University who will support us throughout this journey - we would like to extend our gratitude to them for their input so far.
As far as we know, we are the first B2B business in the UK to attempt this. There’s no doubt that there’s risk involved for us as a business and to a large extent, it places our own future in the hands of the very clients that we serve…
But, it's the right thing to do. If we didn't do this, we wouldn't be living up to our own slogan, our own standards and the business wouldn't stand for what we believe in.
Now more than ever, we are in your corner.