#FightBackCorona: ZoloStays’ Nikhil Sikri shows the real way to tackle the crisis

These are extraordinary times and we all are in uncharted territory. There is a lot of fear and negativity in all spheres due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. While the Corona Warriors are doing a tremendous job fighting from the frontlines, we at Adgully are embarking on an endeavour to highlight the positive developments during these challenging times. 

Over the next few weeks, Adgully will be featuring a series of brief interactions with industry leaders in India and find out how they are keeping their spirits up as well as keeping their employees motivated, also how they are joining in the fight against the adverse impact of the global pandemic. 

Nikhil Sikri, Chief Executive Officer, ZoloStays, has several practical suggestions on how businesses can stay productive, motivated and keep their employees and stakeholders safe, even as lessening the financial impact of the COVID-19 crisis. 

What steps are you and your organisation taking to help out the society at large or those engaged in the war against Covid-19?
In alignment with official WHO recommendations, Zolo has implemented the following measures across its properties:

• Zolo has actively taken residents who have reported concerns (due to travel history, close contact with other possible carriers, etc.), for the required medical consultation across the 10 cities. The team is encouraging residents to come forward if they are concerned or display any symptoms.
• On-call doctors have been placed across Zolo’s 450+ properties in 10 cities in India for Zolo residents.
• Self-declaration forms have been placed at the reception counters for all residents to record their travel history and list out emergency contacts.
• Special Training of 1,500+ Housekeeping Staff for best practices of personal hygiene, proper method and frequency of sanitising and cleaning for COVID-19 prevention
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) have been provided to Zolo’s Housekeeping and Kitchen Staff, including masks and gloves. which will be disposed of at regular intervals.
• Zolo is using hospital-grade disinfectants and cleaning agents approved by WHO for deep cleaning of rooms, washrooms and kitchen utensils. Special attention will be paid to cleaning of frequently touched surfaces.
• All community activities which required coming together of Zoloites have been suspended
• A specially trained support team is on standby to help customers with any issues that they might face related to COVID-19.

How are you keeping your employees motivated and are encouraging them to give their best, even as they are working from home?
COVID-19 has transitioned Zolo to enable remote work at scale. To keep employees motivated and reduce stress in these uncertain times, it has adopted the following measures:

• To reduce their anxiety, Zolo has gotten every employee insured for treatment of Coronavirus. The employees have also been extended counselling services to ensure their mental wellbeing.
• Zolo employees have been provided desktops and laptops to enable them to Work from Home.
• Zolo has invested in video conferencing and collaboration tools to enable employees to work together.
• All teams are conducting daily stand-ups to provide a forum for employees to share personal as well as professional updates.
• Tasks have been specifically modified to make them more collaborative, thus encouraging team members to work together and stay connected.
• Resources have been provided to employees to encourage them to learn new tools and concepts, upskill themselves and share them with colleagues.

What is most needed in challenging times such as these:

From the general public:

Personal hygiene is of prime importance to contain the spread of Coronavirus. Everyone should stay indoors as much as possible and follow these WHO approved practices:

• Covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing.
• Washing your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
• Standing at least 3 metres away from people whenever in public.
• Seeking medical attention immediately if you have symptoms of flu.

From the authorities:

The Government has already imposed a lockdown for 21 days across the country to flatten the curve.

Several fiscal and monetary measures have been proactively trying to soften Coronavirus’ impact on India. Apart from easing tax deadlines and business regulations, a 1.7 lakh crore relief package has also been announced for the poor.

Corporates are still expecting a combination of monetary, fiscal and financial market measures to help the businesses cope with the crisis.

Providing special liquidity support, easier credit facilities, reduction in GST and excise duties, incentivising employers to keep workers and relaxing factory compliances are some of the suggested policy interventions which may protect companies with already overstretched balance sheets from going bankrupt and reduce the risk of a recession.

The state governments are also proactively working with private companies and start-ups to keep essential items available to the public in spite of the lockdown and sealed borders at several places.

From business leaders:

• Keeping employees who are working from home motivated and productive through regular communication, daily interactions through video conferencing and working collaboratively towards clear goals.
• Redeploying any company’s unique capabilities to meet society’s immediate needs to fight this global crisis and engaging with local and federal regulators and public-health officials.
• Mitigating the financial impact, especially for staff on contract, vendors and suppliers. Communications to B2B customers, especially on scenario-based risk communications.
• Customer communications on COVID-19 practices with fact-based reports on issues and situation communications
• Supply chain stabilisation, operational-impact assessment and trigger-based portfolio of actions (across all work streams) to reduce impact on services.

Also Read:

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