In an attempt to quantify the effects of the Coronavirus on the Israeli tech ecosystem, we’ve sent out surveys to our forums of HR and C-level professionals. With a combined total of more than 150 responses, the data set shows that the virus is already affecting major business decisions, including hiring policy, travel policy, demand generation, deal close, and more.

All in all, the surveys indicate that Israeli companies are taking responsible precautionary measures in response to the Coronavirus. These include contingency planning for changes to the business environment as well as the implementation of new policies aimed at encouraging work from home.

Let’s take a closer look at the data:

Survey: Impact on Business

1. Do you see any impact on business due to the Coronavirus?

The majority of companies are seeing a slowdown in demand generation and deal close, while a small but significant number already describes the impact as “major.”

Survey: Impact on HR

1. Have you changed hiring policy due to the Coronavirus crisis?

Around 30% of companies have already frozen or are planning on freezing talent acquisition except for key positions. It’s worth noting that two companies have already started firing people, or plan to.

2. Have you changed your travel policy?

A majority of companies have instituted a blanket ban on flights, while almost all the rest are making exceptions only in the case critical business needs.

3. Have you asked your employees to refrain from personal travel?

The virus is affecting the personal lives of employees, as nearly half of companies have asked their workers to refrain from even non-business traveling.

4. What is your “Work From Home” (WFH) policy?

Nearly 10% of companies are requiring all employees to work from home, and another ~20% are allowing employees to decide for themselves.

5. Have you changed your meetup / business meetings policy?

About a third of companies are imposing limits on attending business meeting and meetups.

6. What is your compensation policy for employees in quarantine?

More than half of companies who have formulated official policies have decided to continue fully compensating employees under quarantine.

We will update the results of this survey weekly.