Covid-19 BRINGS SOME POSITIVES

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SunFish DataOn Philippines Inc. develops, implements, and supports SunFish and GreatDay HRIS software for the Philippines.

We went into the lockdown with a Business Continuity Plan that allowed for earthquakes and flooding.  The Covid-19 was not considered as a cause in our BCP, but lucky for us, it fitted into the same scenario as the earthquake measures, we had in place.

During the last 6 months, our sales have increased significantly.  We are also steadily increasing our workforce.  These are some of the reasons in no order:

Current Situation

  1. HRIS systems are more in demand due to WFH and changing business models
  2. We modified our HRIS programs fast to assist companies to adapt
  3. Added many new features to make our product more relevant like contactless biometrics, activity and task settings for employee, GPS, GEO Location and GEO Fencing, remote T&A, facial recognition etc.
  4. All Sales were done online via webinar. This takes travel time to client offices out of the equation.
  5. Our staff adapted well to the WFH environment
  6. Implementation for clients was all done via webinar
  7. Training and support are also done via webinar
  8. We developed our own Webinar Site called GreatDay Meet. This is a fully secure webinar system and available to our clients as well.

Going Forward

While not final as we still have no timeline for a vaccine, we will continue with the above operational plan as it is working well for us.

We used the remote implementation methods before the lockdown for clients HRIS in remote cities like Davao and Cebu etc.  Doing the same for NCR has worked well and we will continue using this model.

Benefits of remote working for our clients and us

  1. Lowers the risk of spreading Covid-19 to our staff and our clients.
  2. It cuts the time required for a client’s system to go live.
  3. Having a great Mobile App has allowed clients and their employees to remain connected and not isolated from each other.
  4. Allows for companies to digitalize their HR faster
  5. Clients now see the full value of a paperless HR system
  6. Reduces costs for us which we pass on to clients
  7. Employees are happier with the partial or full WFH
  8. Employees have less travel time and the costs associated with travel to work and client sites.

Long Term

We feel that after the lockdown, the situation may never return to the Old Normal.  There are many benefits that companies have found in this enforced lockdown or New Normal.  In many cases, these benefits and new systems will be integrated into the company’s policies going forward.

Many companies will continue with the WFH model either in full or partial mode, with two of the major benefits being the reduced congestion on our roads and lower office costs.