It's been 61 days now that we have been working from home. This has been a phenomenal time. We've managed to adapt our ways of working, arguably working more effectively in some areas. Every one of our member companies has been affected by the pandemic. The good news is that the overwhelming majority of company member employees in Ukraine are healthy and safe, and thanks to everyone for maintaining the lockdown guidance. We share our sincere sympathy to colleagues around the globe who have suffered a loss or illness.
We are now preparing for a gradual and controlled exit from the quarantine. We would like to share with you our Lockdown Exit Plan, which we presented to AmCham Ukraine Board of Directors earlier this week. This virus is not going away, and we need to adapt our modus operandi accordingly. Our employees' health and safety are at the heart of our strategy as we focus on a smooth and gradual return to work as soon as we get the green light from Ukraine's Government.
The starting point for us will be the 4th stage of quarantine, in the Ukrainian Government's COVID-19 plan. We don't have an exact date for when that may be at the moment, but after that is announced, we will introduce one week of mandatory work from home. In the second week, we will recommend working from home for most employees. In the third week – we will start introducing flexible work arrangements. And only on the fourth, we will be able to talk about returning to the office for selected employees.
For every stage, there are a number of detailed steps that we will implement. Timely and transparent communication is critical in this process. During the first and second weeks, the most important of them include complete daily office disinfection and sanitation, purchase and provision of employees with personal protective equipment, workspace occupancy redesign plan to meet social distancing requirement (1,5-2m). We will also continue to stick to these measures in the future. We are also reviewing testing for COVID-19 infection for employees.
During the third and fourth weeks, we plan temperature screening, the introduction of clean desk policy, "cohorting" (i.e., keeping teams of employees working together and as small as possible). We also plan to have the staggering working hours (not all staff is in the office at the same time), and implement restrictions on travel/company visits/gatherings to only essential ones, following all safety rules. Psychological readjustment is also a vital component of returning to the office.
Throughout the quarantine, AmCham Ukraine has been delivering the voice of business and held a large number of online events for member companies. We plan to continue events online and will monitor and review all possibilities of what we can to bring people together in a safe manner.
We continue to do our best to deliver your voice, your priorities, and your needs, helping your business to continue operating. Starting from this week, I will be meeting selected stakeholders in person.
Please review the plan following the above link and feel free to reach out to me with any questions or queries that you may have.
Stay healthy and safe. I look forward to seeing you soon.
