SoftServe’s United Approach to COVID-19

The health and safety of our associates are always top priorities for SoftServe. In March 2020, after the quarantine was announced worldwide, most SoftServe employees transitioned to working remotely.

We formed a dedicated cross-cultural team responsible for ensuring all safety measures are identified and taken within the company. This team is called the SoftServe Emergency Response Team. Members are responsible for monitoring the COVID-19 situation globally and taking necessary actions to support the interests of our communities.

The health and safety of our associates are always top priorities for SoftServe. In March 2020, after the quarantine was announced worldwide, most SoftServe employees transitioned to working remotely.

We formed a dedicated cross-cultural team responsible for ensuring all safety measures are identified and taken within the company. This team is called the SoftServe Emergency Response Team. Members are responsible for monitoring the COVID-19 situation globally and taking necessary actions to support the interests of our communities.

Supporting Our Associates

Moving to Work from Home Mode

Starting in March of 2020, we've enforced remote work to suppress the virus during its highest outbreaks. In addition, our IT support organized necessary assistance to transfer associates to work from home (WFH) mode. It ranged from installing required programs such as virtual private networks to providing home office equipment.

“Practically overnight, we transitioned from 38 to nearly 9,000 offices all over the world.”

Although most of our associates could continue performing their day-to-day job remotely, some teams became our first line of defense at the offices. It’s all about office guards, secretary team, office cleaners, IT support, and the HR ERM teams. We organized increased office disinfection procedures to ensure their safety.

coffee-picture

Helping Our Associates Abroad

The pandemic began unexpectedly. Many of our associates were abroad on vacation or were working onsite. When country borders were closed because of the quarantine, our Business Trip Office representatives helped each of our SoftServe associates return home safely.

23
active business trips when borders were closing
3
personal vacations when borders were closing
26
people brough home before the border was closed

Mental Well-Being Program

We launched a mental well-being program with online webinars facilitated by psychologists and doctors specializing in stress, emotional burnout, and other topics.

flower-picture

Location Specific Communication on Quarantine Restrictions

SoftServe associates receive up-to-date information on the current situation in all cities where we maintain company development centers. The relevant information includes a list of institutions that can be contacted in case of suspicion or tested positive for COVID-19, doctor recommendations and consultations, psychologists' advice, and other necessary support.

New Office Safety Rules

Nearly 5% of our associates have business need to work from the office. We made it a priority to give them safe surroundings. We prepared our offices for new safety rules, even while most of our associates remained working from home.

OUR OFFICES WERE UPGRADED WITH SAFETY-MINDED SIGNAGE AND PRACTICES:

  • Reminders to keep physical distancing at a minimum of 2 meters
  • Reminders about wearing masks in office public places
  • Recommendations to use stairs to avoid crowds in and next to elevators
  • Meeting rooms were closed, and virtual options were recommended
  • Kitchen areas were configured to facilitate safety

Our Return to Office Plan

We announced an approach on how our company plans to return to the office depending on the COVID-19 situation. That's how we created the Return to Office (RTO) plan. It consists of 4 phases:

  • Phase 0Preparing for the Organized RTO

  • At this stage, all associates work from home. Business trips are strictly limited—available only with the highest level of approval. Events organized by SoftServe are virtual.

    Associates who can visit the office are limited to 5%.

  • Phase 1RTO begins

  • At this stage, up to 15% of our associates can return to the office. It's based on the following criteria:

    • There is a business-critical need to return to the office
    • Population density is not more than 15% in each office space, allowing for a safe physical distancing
    • Associates adhere to the established rules and guidelines

    A manager's involvement in this phase is crucial. They are responsible for monitoring office density and the number of associates from their teams who visit. In addition, managers approve the eligible list of associates who visit the office based on project requests and personal needs.

  • Phase 2RTO scales slowly

  • This phase incrementally increases the population density to up to 25%, using the manager's assessment of a need to return to the office. High-density areas remain closed. Meeting rooms are opened but with limited occupancy. Business trip approvals are simplified but still highly recommended for limitation.

    Offline open-air team gatherings are allowed with the responsibility of managers to ensure safety measurements are in place. SoftServe continues to follow country-level and governmental safety recommendations.

  • Phase 3New model of working: Future of workplace, adapting to the new reality (remote + office work)

  • This phase reopens all areas and removes office density limits. The "Future of Workplace" is a new concept of our approach to the office once the pandemic is over. This model offers a hybrid work mode: office and remote, based on each associate’s needs. Our team is currently working on preparing the "Future of Workplace" model.

Supporting Our Communities

Charity

We announced financial assistance to medical institutions after the COVID-19 worldwide outbreak. SoftServe is committed to supporting medical institutions' efforts to combat COVID-19 by providing essential healthcare resources, tools, and financial donations. Our corporate charity fund "Open Eyes" makes these donations to address urgent medical needs in Ukrainian cities. At the same time, SoftServe associates have donated additional funds through a single social security tax donation, as well as fundraising events organized by associates.

$35000
was gathered on the fund's website
$178000
was raised by employees

SoftServe also provided medical equipment:

9
devices for mechanical ventilation
10
oxygen concentrators
20500
respiratory and other protective masks
7500
protective suits
4000
protective glasses
3860
express COVID-19 tests
600
medical suits

Stop COVID-19 Online Platform

SoftServe helped with the STOP COVID-19 online platform and chatbots for the Lviv Regional Council. The platform features:

  • Comprehensive information about local medical institutions
  • A list of physicians
  • The current distribution map of COVID-19 cases in Ukraine

FightCovid19 Project

This project was developed in cooperation with the Lviv Regional Council. It supports the coordination of four Lviv hospitals with donors and investors. The project collects and facilitates the current needs of those at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19.

New Tools for COVID-19 Data Collection

SoftServe, in cooperation with Ukraine's Public Health Center, introduced new tools for COVID-19 data collection and analysis with UNICEF support. These collection tools enable better visualization of information about the situation and modeling of possible scenarios.

Supporting Our Clients

  • 01Communication With Clients

    When the pandemic began, we kept close online communication with our clients to ensure that our partnerships remained effective.

  • 02Performance and Engagement
  • 03Innovative Solutions for Our Clients
  • 04People Counting Anti-COVID Solution
  • 05AI-enabled Hand Hygiene Device
  • 06COVID-19 Triage Chatbot