What Got Us Through The LOCKDOWN
A world of highly-skilled and creative professionals that had been functioning in a certain way, accustomed to certain practices, and comfortably yielding high productivity for decades was turned upside down at the news of a pandemic outbreak within a span of days. Without a warning, every person around the globe was forced to accommodate to a new normal.
A new normal where every day brought with it unpredictable challenges and uncertainties. When a storm hits, some sail and some sink.
At RMT, we were determined to sail through it, NO MATTER WHAT.
We are a team and as a team, we sail together or sink together. We take pride in saying that we have gracefully sailed through this storm without any PAYCUTS OR LAYOFFS.
Here’s the story of RMT’s survival through a pandemic.
The very moment we heard of the virus hitting India, we were aware that it’s only a matter of time before we all part socially for an indefinite period of time but we had to work through it. We had to come up with a strong internal control system to work remotely from over 7 cities and districts and still be able to deliver the best to our clients. Our best services also included us providing them with an option of deferring their payments for a period of three months.
So, we parted the RMT way. We got beers, we got snacks, we laughed till our stomachs hurt and our CEO made it very clear, “Don’t be brave. Stay at home from tomorrow and work from there” and before we left the office, we all had a detailed and long email waiting for us with the guidelines to work from home.
By the time lockdown was mandated by the central government, RMT was already working remotely and had accommodated to it.
In other words, we had given ourselves a headstart.
The Red Matter Advantage
Unquestionably Reliable Team
We are a team of strategists, developers, designers and writers who are tied together by the common goal of getting the job done. A pandemic or not, work from office or work from home, our highly reliable team is our strength.
A prudent approach
We were all prepared to take on any possible challenge that was headed our way. With a highly prudent approach of not underestimating any expenses or overestimating any possible revenues of the upcoming future, we were already prepared. This prudent approach did not just help us sustain ourselves as a team, but also provided a very minimal risk of any unpredictable challenge, further raising our chances of success.
Physically Distanced. Socially Connected
Distance only makes the heart grow fonder. With every passing day of lockdown, we were missing each other so much more. As a team, we were in line with all the physical distancing protocols of the pandemic, yet, we were socially connected throughout. To stay connected, we even conducted virtual challenges, meetups, various activities, shared pictures of our work from spaces and made sure we are strong.
Our Digital Detox campaign was a huge success.
What did we do in Digital Detox?
We all went on Instagram and announced that we are turning off all our phones for two hours. We challenged our friends and family too. When we were away, we picked up activities that we like and spend our time doing them. The challenge was viral in our community and we were glad that we had helped drive a change!
#MyFavouriteView Challenge
Flexibility
The key to our highly effective and productive work-from-home operation was the flexibility of work timings. While the team understood that their workload was bound to increase due to the global crisis, the management also understood that the team’s personal workload would increase too. Accommodating for all possible delays, we had a highly flexible schedule which facilitated the comfort of the team.
Communication
We are all a bunch of talkers. We all love communicating. At RMT, there is no such thing as “overcommunication”. Everything is discussed in excruciating detail leaving out a minimum or no space for any possible error. We communicated as much as we possibly could to yield the best outputs to our clients.
Before we knew it, the lockdown was liberating and the unlock phase was about to begin! Our Management put on the gloves and masks and was at the office in no time to get it completely disinfected. The office was all ready to welcome us back!
With the Unlock phase 1 announced by the government, we knew that when we re-enter the office, we would be returning stronger and more productive than ever before. We were entering with more value for the fun we have at the office and the work we are blessed with. We were entering our little social bubble.
By RMTeam
