The capacity of human and technological adaptation in the era of Coronavirus

The health crisis caused by COVID-19 has made it clear – for the better – that it is possible to drive change. An extraordinary situation has indeed triggered this momentum, but the reality is there: contingency plans to give continuity to the business, WFH strategies to work remotely as far as tasks allow, virtual meetings that avoid unnecessary travel and minimise costs… We have planted the seed and will soon harvest the fruits.

We have always been told that every crisis brings new opportunities. But perhaps we had never suddenly found ourselves in an emergency like the one we are in. It is not enough to talk about technologies, applications or trends anymore. Today we are at the eye of the hurricane, and there is no other choice but to refer to things by their name. Are we in a state of alert? Yes. Can we get anything positive out of it? Of course, we can.

I imagine that, like us, you will be a little overwhelmed by the amount of news that is continually published around the Coronavirus. Information that arrives, moreover, from the most diverse and varied sources that you can imagine. Suddenly we are all doctors, statesmen, crisis managers, etc. Some are catastrophists; others are incredulous, others are optimists, and others are continually resending WhatsApp messages with jokes about the most famous virus in the world.

There are approaches to suit all tastes. But the reality, whichever way you look at it, is that we cannot and should not leave our homes except for some issues, including work when strictly necessary: health services, protection, security, emergencies, transport of goods, pharmacies, food, etc. And as long as the working conditions do not allow for remote operations. For everything else, #StayHome.

However, to be more specific, you will be asking yourself what companies are doing to respect preventive and organisational measures to avoid social contact without halting their activity. And, of course, what to do following the indications and recommendations of the health authorities. In our case, there are several things to take into account:

1.People above all else. Our company focuses on people on all of us. And it does so as a differential element, as a rule, as a strategy, as the key to its success; and we have ALWAYS done so. Our company is flexible and adapts our schedule so that we can take care of our children or our elderly while the crisis lasts. It does so now as an extension of what it did before the pandemic. We have talented people with specific skills to perform specific functions, who are trained and educated; oriented in the appropriate training to balance their career plan with corporate sustainability; we adapt to dominate the circumstances avoiding a situation that compromises our business, our services, our teams, our CUSTOMERS or our PEOPLE.

2.The client at the centre of operations. The customer is the King. This is a motto that we work within every one of the areas that make up the organisation. In business development, marketing, finance, People & Talent… in all environments we put the focus on the customer. So what about COVID-19 and the customer’s environment? We continue to provide the same services but remotely through a high-quality virtual support just like the one we provide in person, because the professionals are the same and the technology allows it. At VASS we have been prepared for this for years. We meet, share knowledge and perspectives and work with the sole purpose of offering our clients the service they demand, at the time they need it and following the quality standards defined by our company, exceptional levels of quality precisely because we are facing an extraordinary situation.

3.Innovation at all levels. We have always been known for innovation. We are capable of implementing end to end solutions, still under a layer of innovation to optimise them.

It is rare to talk about the good things that COVID-19 will leave behind because at present, we are only able to foresee the short term. And in this short-range we only see headlines with figures of contagion that increase exponentially, countries that are added to the list of those affected or devastating data on the economic consequences of this crisis.

From this period onwards, nothing will be the same. We will meet on-line more often; we will increasingly use video conferences or calls to exchange opinions, to debate, to make decisions; we will use technology to avoid travel, energy consumption and time. But in our DNA we will continue to have the Mediterranean character, that which, at the very least, makes us go out to celebrate, that which brings us together with friends around a very fresh beer and that which puts us in “family mode” on Sundays.