Long before the Maharashtra government made it mandatory for private-sector employees to work from home, Edelweiss Group had started preparing to enable its employees to work from home.

The company started implementing various tools and partnering with companies like Microsoft, Zscaler and AWS for better productivity and a better experience for its customers, even in these unprecedented times.

Currently, more than 90% of Edelweiss Group employees, i.e. approximately 9000 people have been enabled and are working seamlessly from home while ensuring that client information and data are protected at all times.

Nitin Agarwal, the CTO of Edelweiss Group said “Employees are using digital tools for online video meetings and secure instant messaging through Microsoft teams. They are accessing internal applications hosted on our ‘On-Premises Datacenter’ as well as AWS/Azure Cloud, using the zero-trust security platforms of Zscaler and Microsoft. Our digital engagement internally has gone up 30 times in the last week. We currently have over 1500 online video meetings/ per day (up from just 30 last week). Our colleagues are exchanging over 50, 000 instant messages daily (up from 2000 messages per day).”

Edelweiss Group has always been a progressive and socially responsible organisation, going beyond profitability to align with societal causes. It has always been conscious of the fact that sustainable and responsible growth is the only acceptable model for business.

As a leading organisation in Indian financial services, Edelweiss Group is in a unique position to influence or reinforce responsible governance positively – be it as a business or as an employer. Thus, considering the current environment, Edelweiss Group has taken several proactive and timely steps to mitigate the threat and spread of COVID 19.

Travel Advisory:

All Edelweiss Group employees have been asked to restrict International and Domestic travel, both for official and personal reasons unless there is a dire emergency. It has been made mandatory for all employees to report all travel history (domestic and International) for themselves and any of their family members.

Alongside, for those who have travelled or been in contact with any person recently travelling from affected locations, self-quarantine has been made mandatory. In case of any difficulty requiring an employee to travel, they will self-quarantine for 14 days.

Hygiene:

All the Mumbai premises have been deep sanitised over the weekend of 14th March 2020. For other branches, especially in affected cities, a schedule has been prepared and shared by the Incident Services Team for sanitisation. In fact, all offices in Mumbai are equipped with non-contact thermal checks at entry. These checks will be performed on all guests, employees or third-party staff entering the office premises for any emergency staff)

Besides, all visitors are being advised to sanitise their hands thoroughly before proceeding further within any Edelweiss Group building/office premise. Additional sanitiser bottles are provided at every entry point and monitored by the security/receptionist for the emergency staff. Edelweiss Group has procured over 5000 masks for the safety of its ground personnel.

Reporting:

If any employee develops any symptom of COVID-19, they have been advised to immediately notify the same to their manager and HR team member, for appropriate precautions and further advice.

Client Servicing:

Client Servicing remains the core of the business ethos and in these uncertain times, continues to remain a priority. Edelweiss Group has undertaken the necessary business continuity steps to mitigate any disruption that may occur in the coming weeks. The company is well placed to ensure that the support and delivery for clients’ unique requirements will continue at the highest standards.

Teams are in constant communication with all clients via email, Edelweiss Group websites and social handles to assure them the company’s proactive precautions to contain the virus, which includes — the safety of employees to avoid any disruption of client activities and data security measures in light of employees working from home. Employees are using remote/digital channels to minimise physical contact and ensure containment. Employees are also given tips on remaining safe and minimising spread.