As a valued member of the HFG family, we sincerely appreciate the trust you place in us.
Given the dynamic nature of the COVID-19 epidemic, we wanted to take a moment to review the aggressive steps HFG and LPL has taken to preserve and ensure business continuity in the event of a pandemic emergency.
How We’ve Prepared
HFG’s policy is to respond to a significant business disruption by safeguarding employees and clients, making an operational assessment, implementing a work-remotely initiative including well-tested tools, technology, capacity and security measures to support a remote workforce, quickly recovering and resuming critical business operations, and protecting all of our books and records.
In the event that HFG staff members are unable to work from our office location due to a pandemic event, we have developed and tested a multi-tiered action plan based on guidelines from the World Health Organization. Please know that based on our plan, at no point in time will you be unable to communicate with our firm. You will always be able to reach staff members via phone or email and we will do our best to continue business operations as normal with as little disruption as possible.
Below are a few highlights from our Business Continuity Plan.
- Designated alternative physical location of employees
- Continued access to all necessary programs and technology
- Continued access to HFG computer systems through a secure virtual private network
- Continued access to the HFG phone system
- Continued access to the HFG email system
- Secure and accessible back-up of all vital business records
In addition, as a branch office of LPL Financial, we have the large-scale, back-office support of LPL. LPL has a dedicated Emergency Response Team that manages all risks to business continuity, including public health issues. Their team is meeting daily on the Coronavirus and is in continuous contact with members of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). LPL also has a very strong Business Continuity Plan which outlines the steps LPL will take before, during and after any type of emergency event. Please keep in mind, while this is not something we anticipate, in the event that we determine we are unable to temporarily continue our business, we will direct our clients to the LPL Financial Service center at (800) 877-7210 for emergency assistance.
Guidelines to Follow
The safety and health of both our employees and clients is of utmost concern to us, which is why we wanted to remind everyone that currently, we are only holding meetings as phone and GoToMeeting appointments.
In addition, we have taken steps necessary to clean and disinfect our office premises more regularly following the Department of Health’s guidance in maintaining a clean and healthy work environment.
Our business continuity plan was devised to help preserve and protect business continuity and cope with the coronavirus outbreak or other possible crises. We promise to continue testing our plan for effective implementation and making improvements when needed and as quickly as possible. Transparency is one of our core values, and we are committed to keeping you fully informed as this situation evolves.
Thank you for your continued trust in HFG! We are all in this together.