In a nondescript corner of the world, nestled in luscious greenery stands a white, unassuming building we call our second home. We work happily here proudly calling ourselves one big family, the ‘Opteamizers of Opteamix’.

It was some time in the middle of March 2020 when the news of COVID-19 hit us. We were unaware and unprepared for what was about to come – bombarded with disturbing visuals of escalating cases, near-empty streets, and people trying their hardest to adhere to social distancing. Before we could grasp the gravity of the situation and make sense of it, we found ourselves locked in our homes, PG’s, and some of us even stranded in our hometowns.

Amidst the chaos, what transpired at Opteamix was a pleasant surprise to all. Every leader transformed into a ‘Crisis Manager’ and every department turned into a ‘Crisis Management Center’. To respond to the challenges ahead, Executives, the Leadership Team, the IT team, and Admin devised and executed strategies and plans at a breakneck speed, never heard of or seen before.

Distancing and How!

With the onset of COVID-19 in India, came strict lockdowns with seemingly no end in sight. But Opteamix, the Organization with heart, rose to the challenge of combating colossal difficulties, and dilemmas. At the forefront of it all, was to ensure that our Opteamizers would not face issues such as isolation, stress, work challenges, etc.

Opteamix responded promptly to the challenges posed by COVID-19 by implementing a host of employee-friendly measures and processes. As the pandemic raged on, employees at all levels and departments were empowered to work from home or remotely. With amazing speed and agility, the IT team helped set up and support the digital infrastructure and remote collaboration tools.

The result was a greatly enhanced employee engagement with the day-to-day deliverables of work to all our customers and stakeholders alike. The crisis on a scale such as this, enabled Opteamizers to realize their untapped potential, bringing attention to individual capabilities, flexibility, strength, and even weaknesses. At a personal level, whether you were a new hire undergoing virtual interviews or experiencing virtual onboarding/induction or you were a junior, senior, lead, manager, executive, or of any rank, everyone was kept engaged, enabled, and empowered at a scale unimaginable a few months ago.

Client delight

When the COVID-19 crisis first hit, we Opteamizers quickly articulated our next steps, put those practices in place and our mantra soon became,

• Never lose sight of our client’s needs, deliverables, and quality.
• Do things right and on time.
• Bring laser focus to productivity.
• Attain client delight.
• Ensure clear and constant communication with clients and stakeholders.
• Engage with team members frequently and transparently.
• Be agile and adaptive.

And the results speak volumes. Our clients are happier than ever, and we continue to build innovative solutions that drive us to be the best at what we do.

Staying true to our Values and Culture

COVID-19 has made working from home unavoidable. While doing this keeps us safe, healthy and saves lives, it is hard to ignore the significant challenges this new norm poses for the employees’ wellbeing.

To combat feelings of loneliness or burnout, Opteamix addresses and encourages practices that aim to improve employee wellbeing and health, both physical and mental.
This is achieved through the following guidelines:

• HR and Function Managers are advised to have frequent open conversations with their team members about how and when work can be accomplished.
• Admin and IT are always on stand-by to address technical or operational issues, concerns and impediments.
• Opteamizers are encouraged to be physically and mentally active by way of engaging in short stretches, strolls around the workstation, meditation, yoga, or breathing exercises. Company-wide sessions led by external experts are conducted to teach employees the basics of healthcare and well-being.
• HR and teams conduct virtual birthdays, celebrations of milestones, and achievements via video conference and personalized calls.
• Teams are instructed to plan and engage themselves in technical/soft skills/ managerial training and knowledge transition activities.

Research has shown that such reciprocal supportive interactions, value systems, and open fair culture are directly linked to employee well-being. Opteamix has left no stone unturned to ensure the Happiness, Health, and Well-Being of all Opteamizers.

What next?

The Novel Coronavirus threat has forced us to move towards finding newer ways of working and serving our customers through innovative digital methods and technologies.

Some of the measures Opteamix took as part of the reopening are as follows,

• Office physical space reorganization to meet social distancing norms along with frequent sanitization of the office.
• Educating all employees on COVID-19 safety measures.
• Staggered staff attendance.
• A whole new way of implementing WFH (Work from Home) and WFO (Work from Office).

We have the greatest opportunity to adapt and test innovative methods and tools without the usual levels of risk aversions acting as barriers. This period will be used as a rapid prototyping phase on a larger scale.

One thing is for sure, whether in our current state or in a post-lockdown scenario, there is a monumental change in our way of thinking, working, innovating, etc.