Hiriyanna Kowshika, Partner, India Lead at CAPCO, shares with us how his firm has maintained business as usual in the midst of the Covid 19 crisis
As a matter of policy, we issue laptops to all our employees on induction, so we are effectively automatically configured for remote working in terms of our infrastructure, though sometimes we have to address connectivity issues. Ultimately, we are very well-positioned to handle these scenarios and to take the decision to trigger remote working at the right time.
Our clients have always been very supportive of WFH because our employees continue to interact with them and maintain good visibility around the work that is being done. In the current unprecedented situation, there have been some instances where a response has taken a little longer, and we have seen some initial questions around data-sensitivity. But we haven’t seen concerns around productivity or availability.
So far our systems and protocols have stood up to having almost 100% of our employees working from home (WFH), and I am confident that will continue.
Prepared for BCP scenarios
Our employees are used to working remotely and on BCPs scenarios, so they are well prepared. A significant proportion of themhave client facing roles, which automatically brings in a sense of responsibility and ownership to manage their time and also client expectations, and to maintain self-discipline.
Our employees are staying connected with clients, team members and other colleagues within the firmvia our Microsoft Teams communities or Skype or WhatsApp. In addition to facilitating business-related activities, those tools also allow less formal interactions within the firm, which is also key to keeping people motivated and engaged.
I’d add that currently everyone is going through the same situation, not just here in India but globally, and there is some comfort to be taken from that – it makes it easier for people to understand and accept the new working environment and difficult circumstances.
Important to stay connected
This is an unprecedented scenario, so it is very hard to gauge how comfortable people are prepared to work from home for an extended period, even if they are used to regularly doing so one day a week. So it is important we maintain a steady drumbeat of communications from our global leadership and from the senior team at the local level. The delivery leads on individual accounts are also connecting with their team members far more frequently, staying in touch to understand their challenges, and our HR team are also on hand.
The key is to stay connected with one another, to follow the guidance from our leadership team, to keep track of what’s going on in the news, and to understand the precautions and steps we need to take. We all need to stay focused on what is in front of us, taking things once step at a time and staying on mission