Staying connected despite social distancing.

HOW WORK WAS CONDUCTED AT INFORMATICS DURING THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

The defining issue of the year—or perhaps even the decade—will undoubtedly be the coronavirus crisis. COVID-19 has kept us on edge, and in some ways still does. And all this at a time when the economy was already struggling somewhat, and the word “recession” was already being whispered behind closed doors.

Suddenly, we find ourselves in a crisis that spares no social class and no industry. We are facing a virus that does not respect national borders. In short: we are in a situation that was not planned and that initially left us feeling powerless. Like any crisis, however, this one has also revealed the possibilities we actually have. That is why I would like to reflect on this time from the perspective of INFORMATICS.

OUR TEAM

First and foremost, the entire team clearly deserves recognition here. The past few weeks have shown just how strong the bond is among the people in our company and how important understanding and solidarity are. Individuality and flexibility were the order of the day, and new challenges—such as homeschooling, full-day childcare, and supporting families—suddenly took center stage. And yet, together, we managed to understand and meet our customers’ many needs. Because short-time work was never an option for us. Our goal was to support our customers and suppliers during this situation while also bolstering the economy. I am proud of our ecosystem, which has proven itself to be the right approach. I am proud of our team!

CORONA – THE DRIVER OF DIGITALIZATION

Looking inward, it was a major challenge for us as well to implement the process digitization initiatives we had been advocating so strongly within our own organization. Even though many projects had been on the table for a long time, we consistently lacked the time to implement them. But suddenly the need arose, and entire workflows were digitized within a matter of days. The fact that we ourselves have been using SAP for our processes for many years helped us in this effort.

Thankfully, our infrastructure was already set up for digital collaboration. Since we are subject to very strict data protection regulations in our industries and with our clients, we still host all our collaboration platforms in our own data center. That’s why the transition to a fully remote work setup was easy.

COUNTERING SOCIAL DISTANCING

What was most important to us, moreover, was countering social distancing. That’s why we held frequent virtual meetings and coffee breaks via webcam, which emphasized informal interaction. There was also a huge increase in appreciation for the personal coordination and project collaboration that had previously been considered normal and taken for granted. The value of the shared workspace became clear the very moment it was no longer available. In that sense, the return to the office was a relief for many.

We would like to take this opportunity to once again extend our heartfelt thanks to the entire team, our customers, our suppliers, and our families.

Otto Kitzmüller, Managing Director of INFORMATICS Holding