Three ways your Constructionline membership can help your business through the COVID-19 outbreak

The outbreak of COVID-19 is a global pandemic that has affected our well-being, as well as our communities and taken a toll on our day-to-day lives. The impact it has also had on businesses, and the wider economy, has been an evolving situation that is changing dramatically week-by-week.

Since the government announced at the end of March that all-non-essential businesses should close to the public, the UK lockdown has seen many employees working from home where possible. Within the Construction industry, this is not always possible, as certain roles require people to travel to and from their place of work. And with the government classing the industry as an essential sector, it is imperative that those who are still working follow government guidelines and the Site Operating Procedures that have been put together by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC).

Whether your business is still operating fully, working partially with some workers on furlough or completely closed, all organisations within the Construction industry will be facing momentous challenges, and we’re here to support you. Being a member of Constructionline can help your business in these challenging times, and we’ve put together three ways that you can use your membership to get you through.

Being verified has never been more important

Having a verified profile status is imperative as Construction sites are looking at ways to reopen over the coming weeks following the updates to the Site Operating Procedures, which will see national and local Buyers looking for verified Suppliers to keep their projects moving. It is important that your profile is fully verified allowing you to appear in Buyer searches, showing that your business is ready to work.

Our main contractor group, who meet with Constructionline every week, have acknowledged that there is a high likelihood of supply chain disruption over the coming months, and businesses will need to source suppliers at short notice. They have requested that all suppliers look to ensure they get verified and maintain that status.

With a verified profile you’ll be up to ten times more likely to appear in Buyer searches. Did you know, when Buyers source Suppliers on our platform, the verification status is the most common criteria used to narrow the search is whether that firm is verified?

Suppliers who are verified are up to four times more likely to have stronger Buyer relationships. Once you are verified, you will increase your chances of being added to a Buyer’s list and as a result, gain the opportunity to enhance your working relationship with them.

Are you ready to become verified? Our handy Application Checklists will provide you with thorough guidance on what’s required to complete your profile, and typically, businesses who have used our checklists in the past have reduced the time it takes to get verified by 65%!

You can also get a helping hand in completing your verification by speaking to a member of our customer success team who can walk you through what is needed.

Answer the questions in our new COVID-19 Question Set

At Constructionline, we are committed to ensuring all our Suppliers are ready to work, and during these uncertain times this is even more crucial.

Our main contractor group have requested that we make available a small subset of questions related to the preparedness of Suppliers for the COVID-19 pandemic and to track the ongoing impact of the pandemic on their staff and businesses. These questions will not be assessed or used to calculate your Constructionline verification status.

By answering this set of questions, you are also allowing the main contractors to gauge vital information on how they can best support suppliers during this difficult time.

Over 4,000 Suppliers have answered the questions so far and the data shared with the main contractors, the wider construction industry and public health bodies. Take a look at our Infographic Blog Post to see the full visualisation of this question set. We update this weekly with fresh stats as the situation evolves. The data has given the main contractors greater insight into how the industry is coping and has allowed them to track where the COVID-19 standard operating procedures are in place.

Access the COVID-19 questions here

View our COVID-19 question set help guide here

Use the opportunity to check out our support pages and speak to our helpline

We’re here to support you through these unprecedented times, and whether that’s walking you through the updates required to get you verified, or answering a query about an invoice, whatever you need, we can help.

The good news is that even though our employees are remotely working, our phone helpline is still fully functioning. If you prefer to speak to someone about any queries you have with your Constructionline profile, then give one of our friendly team a call so they can help you. Our normal working hours of 08:30 – 17:00 Monday to Friday still apply.

If you’re looking for help online, we also have a Support Page that’s committed to helping you make the most of your membership with us which features handy PDF downloads such as our Quickstart Guides, Important Documents and also an FAQs section.

We have also created a dedicated COVID-19 Support Page on our website as a hub of information you and your business may find useful during this pandemic. You will find links to government advice as well as updates from Constructionline.

We understand that this is an uncertain time and we are here to support you in any way. Businesses should continue to follow the most up-to-date Government guidance and also the guidance from the NHS.