[BLOG] Coronavirus: How have the Blockchain Alliance Europe members approached the crisis?
The outbreak of the coronavirus has caused not only a major shift in the health system but also a change in the way we do business, as strict instructions regarding the socialization in working environments followed quickly.
In an effort to protect employees and follow the instructions issued by the government, the BAE members were also challenged to take a series of workplace measures within a relatively short period of time. To contribute to the fight against the spread of coronavirus, they have followed a similar principle as many global companies did, and instructed the employees to work from home as much as possible.
Even though the IT industry is undoubtedly among sectors where remote workplaces are easier and faster to establish the situation is new to all of us and we will all need some time to fully adapt. Our members have summed up their experiences and challenges during this shift:
Tomaž Furlan, Lucis: “At Lucis, we have organized work in a manner that we can ensure all processes are running smoothly and business continuity is guaranteed. All of our clients, including those from the healthcare sector, continue to receive our support in the same extent as before. On this occasion, we also thank all healthcare professionals for their sacrifice during these difficult times.”
For Gregor Županc, CEO of Solidum Capital, working from home is also not something new: “Even before the coronavirus outbreak, we were used to working from home, so for us, nothing has significantly changed. We have excellent working discipline and all the tools in place.”
Tomislav Mučič, Netis: “We have been monitoring the situation abroad and somehow anticipating what was coming next. As a team, we take an agile approach, therefore setting up remote work was a rather easy and seamless process. The members of the team trust each other, we all know what we have to do and have a strong motivation to come out of this situation as winners. As a very innovative industry, we are also advocating the use of modern tools for business that allow us working and meeting on remote, but of course, we hope and wish to return back to normal soon.”
The devastating effects of coronavirus can certainly be felt in the music industry too, which is primarily intended for socializing and having a good time. Of course, the latter is something we all must give up now. But, as is in the case of Viberate, these challenging times can also give birth to new beneficiary ideas:
“Like most of the other Slovenian companies, we at Viberate also work from home. Still, productivity remains high. In fact, we quickly hacked together a service Sick Festivals (https://sickfestivals.com) that monitors cancelled and postponed music festivals. The service took off, and in just a few days, the news about it scored the Editor’s pick at Forbes,” commented Vasja Veber, co-founder and business development director at Viberate.
Like most companies, our member Eligma too had to undertake measures to protect both its staff and business operations. As their CEO Dejan Roljič explains: “GoCrypto remains fully operational, and most of our team have been working from home for the last two weeks, so far, in full numbers. We keep expanding into new markets through partnerships with local cashier and payment solution providers, ambassadors and distributors, but will see changes as we are currently unable to expand abroad directly with our swat teams on the ground. On the other hand, we see a high demand with online stores wanting to offer crypto payments in their webshops as they are moving their focus online.”
Besides working from home, facing the type of situation that has never happened before, can bring upon new challenges and difficult decisions too. “While we are dealing with risk management in the field of law and economy, our clients are sending us quite a lot of questions connected to new government measures and situation in general. Finance, law, and HR are the most common topics that we advise our clients on to help them accept difficult and at the same time as optimal decisions as possible,” says Viljem Minoski, partner at the Bonsis Cooperative.
Alen Šalamun, CTO of BC Vault: “Given the nature of our work, switching to working from home did not present us with any major problems. By utilizing powerful and secure VPN channels, we can do the job exactly the same as if we were sitting in an office. In a spirit of solidarity, we have also provided free tools for safe remote work for businesses and individuals for a period of 3 months. You can find them and use them here.”
During this time, the BAE leadership also exchanged networking and meetings for the convenience of the home office. To help others organize their time and work, here are some useful practices and best homework tips from all of our members:
- Morning online meetings: Morning online meetings will help you dedicate tasks to your employees, monitor the progress and solve problems that may occur during the working process. The most useful tools for online meetings are Zoom and Skype — if you have any other tips, you are welcome to share them with us!
- Chat groups: You can easily organize chat groups for working groups in your company. That will result in the fast exchange of information and people will feel more connected using tools such as Telegram, Skype, Viber and also Messenger.
- Daily work reports: At the end of the day workgroup leaders should receive a daily work report from each employee.
- Work from home is a real job! Start your day with a daily routine that does not derive from your regular daily routine. It is advisable you don’t work in your pyjamas from the bed or while you are watching TV. To keep your working routine healthy and to set boundaries between work and free time, you should also set up your designated working place or a working room and a schedule of work activities, including those that involve preparing and eating a meal.
- Cyber-criminal: In these days when many people are working from home with their data and web links probably less secure than in the office, Europol is particularly alert to cyber-crime, so pay attention to unusual activity and double-check your security!
