Safety is Always Our First Priority
Clayco Enterprise Pandemic Response
Since founding Clayco, Bob Clark has put innovation at the forefront of all projects, internal initiatives and Clayco’s fundamental mission of empowering communities. Bob’s entrepreneurial spirit and industry influence enabled him to trailblaze an award-winning corporate response to COVID-19. In March 2020, a portion of Clayco employees across all offices started working remotely, although offices were never formally closed because it was imperative to continue to support ongoing field operations. Clayco retrofitted offices nationwide to allow people to rotate in and out safely while socially distancing. The team co-created industry guidelines to keep construction going during the pandemic, and worked directly with the CDC to develop and implement those guidelines nationally. Clayco also stationed registered nurses at every jobsite and office to ensure employee safety. Bob transparently communicated via email and live videos to over 2,000 employees throughout the course of the pandemic, launching Clayco TV and reminding people of his open-door policy to field employee concerns.
Early in the pandemic, Clayco staff collected and distributed personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies to every person and company in need, including to Clayco field staff, subcontractors and suppliers, and minority- and women-owned contractors that didn’t have immediate access to tools needed to continue working. With projects taking place across the country, Bob also established new rules for work-related travel. While many travel plans were canceled in the beginning of the pandemic, some trips, deemed essential, needed to remain on schedule for project managers, inspectors and field supervisors.
Bob spearheaded weekly mentoring calls with MBE/WBE contractors and subcontractors across the country to ensure they had the means and resources to adapt and sustain through the pandemic. Clayco has always prioritized empowering underserved individuals and communities. In February 2020, before many understood the gravity of the growing pandemic, Bob immediately considered underserved business owners throughout the country, and knew he needed to act quickly to prepare them for the pandemic’s impact. Thus, Bob began “Monday Mentoring Calls”, which warned Clayco’s network of small business owners about the severity of the pandemic and how to navigate their businesses in a time of heightened health and safety guidelines. The calls expanded to include over 500 businesses, providing mentorship opportunities and a virtual space for business owners to lean on one another. Focusing on cash flow, PPP loans and Small Business Administration loans, the Monday afternoon calls also added bank representatives to assist in navigating the pandemic loan and grant process.
In October 2020, Bob Clark launched a nationwide tour visiting 45 active jobsites to demonstrate his appreciation for Clayco’s in-person essential workforce. Hand delivering 600 giftboxes and personal thank-you notes, Bob found ways to personally connect with employees during a time of isolation.
Clayco has consistently encouraged workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and implemented a mandatory return to offices on May 10, 2021—pioneering moves made early to keep workers safe and help instill confidence in other businesses to do the same.
Below are the resources and examples we made available on our website throughout the pandemic.
Owners / Subcontractors / Suppliers
Click to download documents that you can use and brand with your team.