Clear Communication: Communicate, Communicate, Communicate - with your teams, with your customers, with your partners!

I have been in the IT Industry for about 30 years (yes!! that’s how old I am) and as luck would have it have been on numerous business continuity planning committees. We have had customers who have asked us about the business continuity plan for earthquakes, floods, terrorist threats, and even for simpler issues like electricity or Internet outage.

The current outbreak of the novel coronavirus has brought many industries and countries to a standstill. As an organization with over 3,000 employees, present in 66 countries, we understand the gravity of the situation and are prepared to work around the pandemic.

Experience does count, we have done it in the past!

From Ebola to Coronavirus

The virus has changed, but the situation is very similar to what we had seen during Ebola in 2014. When Ebola had wreaked havoc, we ensured that our customers’ businesses do not suffer. After all, for Newgen, customers are the top priority. Given the trust our customers' place in us, they too demonstrated flexibility in getting the required support. For example, our banking customers in Nigeria relaxed their internal IT policies and provided external VPN access to our employees so that they could work remotely in their time zones.

Our employees, customers, and partners are important for us and more so in a situation like this. While we respect the uncertainties inherent to the coronavirus outbreak, we are working hard to ensure that the business outcomes do not suffer.

Employee Safety: First things first! Employee safety is paramount. We have prohibited cross-border travel and are avoiding any non-essential travel. To provide seamless delivery and service to our customers, our employees are remotely working in customers’ time zones.

This is over and above the steps like sanitization of all the offices across India and abroad, access to warm water for washing hands and alcohol-based hand sanitizers for the skeleton-staff.

Work from Home: Newgen has moved to work-from-home for over 80% of its employees. We could do it over one weekend, thanks to the fact that Newgen was already a digital organization. Digital meetings, online support, etc. were already part of routine working methods at Newgen. Delivery methodologies, product support, product development – all our critical functions are digital.

Digital Meetings and Online Support: Whatever the situation is, the show must go on. While we have put restrictions on travel, we are ensuring that the work does not suffer. Meetings are happening the digital way through videoconferencing. We are continuing to provide support and services online for our customers through service portals and web meetings. We have also canceled the physical events and are organizing more and more webinars.

Clear Communication: Communicate, Communicate, Communicate - with your teams, with your customers, with your partners!

In times like these, rumors are as dangerous as the disease itself. We are keeping our employees updated with the relevant information while advising them to avoid spreading rumors or falling prey to them. We are keeping them motivated and digitally equipped to ensure the productivity does not

suffer. We are also keeping our customers apprised on our business continuity and disaster recovery plans so that their minds are at ease.

Our experience has taught us that global health emergencies like these are beyond our control and it’s important to be prepared and adaptable to keep serving customers. In addition to diligent planning and continuous efforts, innovation is part of our DNA, and we keep finding new ways to solve problems while protecting our employees, customers, and the business.

Times are challenging but we are ready to deal with every crisis that comes our way.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house