Greetings everyone,
I really do hope your day is going on well, in spite of everything that’s happening.
I wanted to quickly give you some updates about the decision we are taking around how we will work going forward, because of the uncertainties surrounding COVID-19, in addition to the already frustrating system occasioned by the ban on Keke NAPEP and Okadas, and the skyrocketing cost of commute for most of our staff.
As you are aware, the WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. So far, many countries around us are taking precautions to make sure they mitigate the risk, and manage the issues.
Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Ghana have all already announced different measures ranging from complete lockdown to quarantine advisories for visitors from all the identified high risk countries (1000 cumulative cases and above).
The Nigerian government announced yesterday and today a couple of measures including mandatory self home isolation for everyone returning to Nigeria from overseas, and social distancing.
Today, the government has followed up with the announcement of five new confirmed cases in Nigeria, and travel restrictions affecting the following countries: China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Japan, France, Germany, Norway, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Switzerland. This travel restriction will come into effect from Friday, March 20, 2020.
The steps by the government are okay. And we commend all the hard work the NCDC, FMOH and other professional bodies and practitioners have put in to ensure that everyone is safe.
But as an important further precaution, I have approved today, a COMPULSORY WORK FROM HOME policy for ALL OUR STAFF.
We are not sure what is happening, and what will happen, as the situation continues to be completely unpredictable and fluid. But it’s a thin line between planning and panic. And that is the line I want us to thread carefully.
So our decision is as follows:
- All staff are to, starting tomorrow Thursday, March 19, 2020, work remotely, from their homes. This will be for an initial ONE WEEK (7 DAYS).
- All staff are to adhere to the Federal Government’s advice on social distancing, hygiene, reporting and responsible communication.
- We will do all we can to support everyone that needs some kind of help to work remotely, be it WIFI, electric power, personal computer, or other tools.
- If you have a peculiar living condition, or fear working from home full time for this period may affect you adversely physically or mentally, please communicate to your supervisor, or to me directly and I assure you we will work with you to provide a good alternative.
- All staff will be required to participate in daily Zoom update meetings. These will be communicated in detail by your team head.
- The office will remain open and can be accessed in case you need to pick up documents or use a facility. But you must obtain a line head approval before visiting.
- At this point, we believe our work will not be impacted negatively. In fact, cutting off commute time, we expect productivity to go up. So whilst we will inform all clients of this new policy, we definitely are hopeful that you will continue to do your job professionally and passionately. That is what we are known for.
- All staff are to reduce or avoid all non-essential visit to client offices, public gatherings, including parties, religious houses, or mass transit systems. This is mandatory.
- If you, or anyone you live with or have interacted with feels ill, falls ill, or shows some of the COVID-19 symptoms, you are to immediately contact Omolade Opanuga or your CEO; and call the numbers provided by the government. We will be happy to provide all the support needed.
- Again, we are taking this essential precautionary method because we believe it is better safe than sorry; better to be cautious and wrong, than to find ourselves in a situation where we are gnashing our teeth.
I strongly believe that a lot of organisations should and would take similar measures in the coming days. But we cannot control what other parties do. What we do have control over is what we do as a responsible organisation that puts our people before profit. And what I ask you to do is to also put yourself and your family first; to put the public’s health first, and work with us to make sure that even if we are limited in how we can help the government and health care providers at this time, we do not add to the problem.
I thank you for reading, and look forward to hearing your thoughts if you have any questions or suggestions,
Cheers,
Ayeni Adekunle Samuel
Group CEO