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Tag: Packman Packaging

  • 16 Founders shared Steps Taken by Companies after the Outbreak of CoronaVirus

    The COVID-19 pandemic has effectively brought normal life to a halt in whole world. Social distancing, work from home and a lockdown are the only ways to stop the spread of this virus. Situation is not different in India too. The Indian government has done the smart thing by implementing a 21-days lockdown along with an international and domestic flight ban, and a stoppage of the railway service. But, this lockdown, work from home will impact Indian economy.

    Transportation has stopped, manufacturing units are closed, shops which sell non essentials are closed, so this will affect economy for sure. One of the biggest potential impacts to India’s employment and economy could be the shuttering of manufacturing plants and assembly lines in the tech sector. So, this will affect startups too.

    Also read  – How Government is helping startups fight coronavirus

    We have asked few companies about what policies they have adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of CoronaVirus.

    Policies the company has adopted for the recent outbreak of Corona Virus

    MyGate

    MyGate is India’s leading security and community management solution for gated premises. MyGate helps residents to manage guest entries and delivery executives. We talked to Vijay Arisetty, Co-founder & CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    Quick access to medical expertise and credible information, particularly in the era of social media, is extremely important in the fight against coronavirus. We are very keen on raising awareness on the matter and ensuring the availability of qualified medical advice for our 1.5 million+ users, and found strong partners in digital healthcare platforms DocsApp and mfine who promptly agreed to offer online consultation via their nationwide doctor network. Their doctors were kept busy over the weekend, with 2800 consultations completed over the last weekend alone, at no cost to our users.

    Rising Sun

    Inatur Ayurveda & Aromatherapy manufactures Organic and Natural skin, hair care and wellness products. These are safer, eco-friendly, and more effective skin care products. We talked to Pooja Nagdev, Founder and CEO,on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    We have taken the following steps to ensure the safety of all our customers, our partners & most importantly our employees.

    1. Our manufacturing facility, office and retail stores are being disinfected regularly.
    2. All employees have been given complimentary gloves, sanitisers & masks which are to be used at all times, without fail.
    3. Strict measures are taken against anyone working in an unhygienic way.

    Zamit

    Zamit- a one-stop platform that networks & supports school ecosystems to be future-ready. It is an information, engagement and interaction platform that networks schools, students, teachers, parents, and school service providers. We talked to Aarul Malaviya, Founder, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    The various steps taken by the company are as follows-

    1. Our HR has created a ready-to-refer document and shared it with every employee of the company which contains all the information related to the virus and preventive measures to be taken. (The information is taken from verified sources)
    2. Hand sanitizers are being placed at every entrance of the office and in all cabins/rooms of the office. The employees are asked to wash their hands at regular intervals and only enter the office premises on washing your hands using waster or Hand sanitizers.
    3. The employees have been asked to communicate using various communication platforms like slack, hangouts etc. as much as they can to maintain social distance.
    4. All the employees are being given strict instructions to clean and sanitize their stuffs like laptop, bags, mouse & mouse pads, phones etc. using Antiseptic Wipes which are placed in every room/cabin of the office.
    5. The cleaners are instructed to clean the office using an antiseptic liquid throughout the day in equal intervals of time.
    6. Disposable gloves are being provided to the cleaners and the people managing the pantry. The gloves will be worn every time they are serving any food item to anybody in the office.
    7. Time slots have been given to each department of the office for lunch in the pantry to avoid employee’s exposure to crowded areas.
    8. Face masks are made available in the office for every employee. Whoever feels the need, someone who is coughing, sneezing, running nose or symptoms of COVID-19 will have access to the mask.
    9. Lastly, info graphics, posters are set up across the office as a way of encouraging the employees to eat food & adopt practices which will help in immunity building of the human system.

    CASA EXOTIQUE

    The company has been exploring the depth of Interior Designing and Styling with the help of a remarkable team of professionals who takes each and every turn to make your vision come to life. We talked to Ms. Bhawana Bhatnagar, Interior Stylist, Founder, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    After consulting with experts in the field, we have adopted a number of routines to ensure that the risk of any possible outbreak is minimized.

    1. The workplace is routinely cleaned and sanitized to provide a safe working environment for our employees.
    2. Travelling, especially overseas, has been restricted and is permitted only in urgent or exceptional cases.
    3. We have also employed a temperature gun at the office so that in case anyone contracts the sickness, it could be detected at the earliest. This would help prevent the disease from worsening and would also prevent the infection from spreading.
    4. We have also asked sick employees to stay at home and we’re providing flexible leave policies as well. The alcohol-based sanitizer has also been made mandatory at the workplace.

    121 Experiences

    121 Experiences specializes in experiential brand communicating solutions to drive behaviour changing consumer habits. We talked to Aniket Sharma, Co-founder & CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    Following policies have been implemented starting this week –

    1. Office will be open from 11am to 4pm Monday to Saturday.
    2. No visitors will be allowed within the office premise.
    3. All employees who have laptops need to work from home; also they need to be available on phone calls and emails during office hours.
    4. For those who cannot work from home, a rotational cycle for attendance will be applied.
    5. Avoiding non-essential local travel.
    6. Domestic and international travel must be prohibited.

    Also Read – Tips to work from home efficiently.

    MyStarHub

    In their endeavor to create the most authentic and memorable fan experiences across the world, MyStarHub provides a platform where fans can book personalized video shoutouts from their favorite celebrities. We talked to Swapnil Mahajan, Founder, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    The safety of our employees is of utmost importance for us, and understanding the seriousness of the situation, we have been constantly tracking the turn of events.

    1. We have been maintaining the highest hygiene standards within the office premises and communicating detailed guidelines for personal safety and hygiene.
    2. Initially, we started by restricting travel and face-to-face meetings to only urgent ones. But as the coming few days are crucial for India to control the spread of Coronavirus, we have declared work-from-home for all our employees since March 18.

    Sify Technologies

    Sify is the largest ICT service provider, systems integrator, and all-in-one network solutions company on the Indian subcontinent. We talked to Praveen Krishna, Investor Relations, Public Relations & Corporate Communications, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    At Sify we have taken certain precautionary measures to safeguard the employees like daily mailers on hygiene, use of santizers, awareness through WHO videos, reporting colleagues who might be coughing or sneezing inordinately, no physical contact with each other, etc –
    Specifically, these are the is what is being implemented.

    People

    1. Stipulation that everybody should sanitise their hands a minimum of 4 times in the day.
    2. Report anybody who is coughing or sneezing inordinately.
    3. No shaking hands
    4. Hydrate with warm water regularly.

    Precautions

    1. Daily mailers on maintaining hygiene.
    2. If in doubt, get it checked at the nearest designated hospital.
    3. Recommended home quarantine for 14 days on the advise of a medical practitioner.
    4. In the event of co-habited work space, they have to have sanitisers on the desk.
    5. WHO videos on best way to avoid and if contracted what to do.
    6. Videos on fundamentals, for e.g. how to wash hands, how to wear a mask when out in public, what to avoid etc
    7. All events, offsites etc have been cancelled.

    Travel

    1. If carpooling, recommended to exercise caution and not drive other’s vehicles.
    2. International travel has been completely barred.
    3. Domestic travel is also being monitored with hot spots like Delhi, Hyderabad and now Bangalore not recommended.

    Quarantine

    1. Anybody who has internationally travelled in the last 30 days is quarantined for 14 days as a precaution and a report is shared with the travel and health authorities.

    Team Pumpkin

    Team Pumpkin is a 360 Degrees Marketing & PR agency commenced its operations in 2012 with a clear mission to help brands win in the Marketing and PR space. We talked to Ranjeet Kumar, Co-founder, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    1. We were one of the first few offices to declare WFH for all our teams.
    2. We had taken a note right from the beginning and have been preparing to tackle the situation.Initially, we created a COVID-19 response plan and shared it across teams to keep them aware of the probable actions according to the corresponding situations. This was shared along with detailed information about the transmission of the virus and guidelines to ensure safety.
    3. Sensing the seriousness of the situation we had limited travel only to the critical ones and restricted in-person interviews and meetings at all our offices.
    4. The use of the biometric machine has been completely stopped and attendance management is being done through the partner app.

    75F

    75F provides Internet of Things (IoT) hardware & software building products that makes office building more energy efficient, controlled and comfortable. We talked with Mr. Deepinder Singh, CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.  

    1. 75F Technologists and Sales Teams is working remotely to provide troubleshooting, ongoing training, best practices, and guidance to its customers.
    2. Their Facilisight are fully operational through which customers can monitor, manage, and control buildings remotely through their desktop, tablet or 75F apps to lower set points, power down building lighting, or bring down unused zones or floors selectively to conserve costs and equipment.
    3. 75F warehouse are fully staffed, and their flexible cloud-based infrastructure will ensure minimal disruption to the business.

    Dineout

    Dineout is India’s largest Dining out and Restaurant tech platform, helping more than 17 million diners monthly discover new restaurants, reserve a table, pay for their bills and get offers and discounts combined with a SaaS product offering to its restaurant partners manage their operations. We talked to Ankit Mehrotra, Co-founder & CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    At Dineout, our team is our extended family, and their health and safety always comes first! When the coronavirus outbreak first hit globally, we were as surprised as everyone else however we did start taking preventive measures right from the beginning.

    1. Rigorous office sanitisation, availability of masks and sanitisers, as well as a Self-quarantine policy was implemented under which all employees (or family) with a travel history outside India, or those who have been in contact with affected persons or even flu like symptoms were asked to self-quarantine themselves for 14 days.
    2. We also urged our teams to cancel any work related travel, reduce visitors and fever screening through IR thermometers at the entrance for the last 2 weeks.
    3. We also practiced social distancing at all our offices by sitting at alternate work stations and maintaining 6 feet distance at all times.
    4. From Monday, 16th March, we implemented work-from-home policy for our teams across all cities until March 31st 2020.
    5. Our sales teams have also been advised to focus on virtual training and virtual client support for the next two weeks. In fact our teams are also having lunch together digitally!

    In such challenging times, we continue to work together to overcome operational hurdles by leveraging technologies like Google Hangouts, Slack and Google Meets to stay connected virtually and ensure continuity of work.

    Huddle

    With a rich pool of dedicated experts and mentors to support the growth of early-stage ventures, Huddle enables the ventures to take their business to the next stage. We talked to Sanil Sachar & Ishaan Khosla, Co-founders & CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    The current challenges due to Covid-19, act as a reality check for a lot of startups and large ventures to realize who their real customers are and how valuable their product/service is. In an environment where doing less is helpful, there is a lot of reduction in spends which is funneling out and reducing customer base, which indeed has a detrimental impact on the cash flows of a venture. For us, we have taken measures to help our ventures from day one to create businesses that have a strong back end and therefore, not only those that can sustain during such unfortunate and unexpected times.

    This period of isolation and in the day and age where social distancing is important, companies will see a reduction in funding, financing of their working capital due to reduced sales or utilization of their service and product, but the gain from this ‘downtime’ is to create sustainability within ventures through offerings that can add value despite the environment. We are prepared to support our startups through infrastructure and our team, with the resources we have to help them sustain and not succumb to any of these losses. At a time like this, is when our Huddle of portfolios are standing strong together to support one another. For us, we are preparing all the measures to support our ventures. Luckily we have not seen any decline in the speed at which our companies are working, and our onboarding of newer companies, because innovation is needed now more than ever.

    Zolostays

    Zolo provides fully managed, long-term affordable stay options with a warm and homely environment. We talked to Dr. Nikhil Sikri, CEO & Co-Founder, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    At Zolostays, the safety and health of our residents and our employees is of out utmost priority. Since we operate a co-living model, we have come up with specific policies to tackle the spread of COVID-19 for both our employees and our residents.

    For Employees

    1. We have advised employees to ‘Work from Home’, if they are experiencing any kind of flu, cold, cough and breathlessness and have been asked to self-quarantine and get in touch with a doctor.
    2. We have also encouraged hand hygiene by placing hand sanitizers around the offices and the commonly touched surfaces and objects are being wiped with disinfectants regularly.
    3. We have also cancelled non-essential business trips and our efficient HR team regularly shares all the advisories released by the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs.

    For Residents and HouseKeepers

    1. We have initiated special training of the housekeeping staffs for the best practices of personal hygiene and sanitizing for COVID-19 prevention.
    2. Personal Protective Equipment have also been provided to all our housekeeping and kitchen staffs including gloves and masks which are disposed off at regular intervals.
    3. We have also provided hospital-grade disinfectants and cleaning agents approved by WHO for cleaning purposes.
    4. All community activities have been suspended and a special trained support team is kept on standby to help the residents of any related COVID-19 instances.

    Ozonetel

    Headquartered in Hyderabad and Singapore, Ozonetel has several industry firsts to its credit in the area of Cloud Communication. We talked to Chaitanya Chokkareddy, Co-founder & Chief Innovative Officer, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    1. Ozonetel has adopted Work From Home (WFH) as one of their policies with respect to the recent COVID -19 outbreak. We believe that remote working model can be as efficient as working from office if we use the right tools. And since we can offer this option for our employees, we did.

    Tjori

    Imbibing cultural and traditional crafts from around the globe, Tjori is a platform for treasured designs across apparel, footwear, bags, decor, and jewellery. In keeping with the essence of our brand, it also offers a range of organic and ayurvedic skin care products, using secrets whispered through generations. We talked to Mansi Gupta, Founder & CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    We at Tjori are trying our best to create awareness and precautionary measures for our Tjori family, our employees, our vendors and our customers.

    1. The measures taken under the office premises are that of compulsory mask on everyone who enters the office, a sanitization process for our vendors and customers who walk-in for their respective needs. The sanitization process contains the simple steps of handing a surgical mask and using an alcohol derived sanitizer has that helps killing the viability of the office.
    2. The everyday cleaning processes has amplified and now every two hours a thorough cleaning is done.
    3. The people who are ill have been given grace leave in-order to help them recover without any stress.

    Packman Packaging

    Packman Packaging is one of India’s largest manufacturers of corrugated boxes, corrugated rolls, bubble rolls, bubble pouches, courier bags, POD jackets, duct tapes, e-commerce shipping bags and more. We talked to Gaurav Jalan, Director and Founder, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    Packman Packaging is trying what it can by implementing some of the things not just for the betterment of its employees but in a broader aspect its customers as well. Packman Packaging has already implemented certain work policies that include everyone from the workers and the management.

    1. Packman Packaging is primarily working as a manufacturer so in the manufacturing unit, Packman Packaging has adopted a policy where the workers are being asked to work in shifts so that there will be a lesser number of attendances at a given time.
    2. It will also ensure that every worker has a proper space to work because it is not crowded as it used to be before the pandemic days. As of now, this seems to work well.
    3. Packman has a huge advantage because of its online store. And because of that the majority of the staff related to IT and customer service the marketing and sales teams are working remotely from their homes most of the time.
    4. As for the senior management teams are concerned, the employees are working on a rotational basis. The management team members are working on alternate days. This way it not only helps the normal flow of work but also, ensures everyone remains safe.
    5. The most important thing Packman Packaging has assigned its guards an added responsibility that whoever is entering the premises of the office and manufacturing unit he is making sure that everyone is getting their hands sanitized and wearing masks.
    6. Also, there has been a floor manager assigned who is monitoring that everyone is washing their hands with sanitizer and wearing masks for every exit and entry in the respective floors.
    7. Sick employees are advised to stay at home as much as possible.

    Bridged.co

    Bridged uses a combination of AI and a 13,000 strong highly skilled workforce to develop unique and vast data at scale significantly improving the quality of data models. We talked to Ashwin Chalam, CEO, on policies the company has adopted with respect to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus.

    1. We’ve educated our employees on best practices (such as washing hands often and limiting physical contact) to implement during this health crisis.
    2. We’ve placed hand sanitizers across spaces in the office, and even requested employees to practice social distancing and avoid unnecessary travel.
    3. We’ve implemented a work from home policy.

    With these efforts, we hope to flatten the curve by reducing the probability of our employees catching the virus, which is essential to mitigating this pandemic.

  • 14 Founders Shared Opinions on how Industry and Customer Behavior will Change after Coronavirus Fight

    Covid-19, which has shaken the whole world has brought everyone’s life at halt. This highly contagious disease is spreading so fast that Indian Government has ordered 1.3 billion residents to stay home. In this lockdown period, all malls, theaters, companies, shops, restaurants, manufacturing units are shut. This will affect businesses and economy badly. Many companies have told their employees to work from home. But, its not possible for all companies like manufacturing units, theaters, malls to let their employees work from home.

    People are also scared of going out. This coronavirus has made people’s lifestyle slow and it will take time for everyone including companies to come back on track after this long period of lock down. COVID-19 has put slowdown to a business everywhere. Travel, Hotel, Events, and Entertainment are the sectors that are suffering. But on the other hand, other sectors such as eCommerce, EduTech have benefited immensely.

    How Industry and Customer Behavior will Change after Coronavirus Fight? 

    We have asked few companies about changes in industry and customer behavior with respect to their company after this coronavirus outbreak.  

    Also Read:

    Rising Sun

    Pooja Nagdev, Founder and CEO

    At this time people have become more aware and going back to the basics. I see that with respect to FMCG ethical labelling will be enforced and people will more watchful of the ingredients they are consuming. The trend for natural and organic care will be the rise.

    Indi Collage

    Anuradha Singh

    At the moment people are more inclined towards online shopping but once the epidemic comes under control we expect to see more of experience based buying & shopping as a social interaction

    Tres’Chic Academe

    Chitra Balasubramaniam, CEO

    Since we operate online most of the time doing business the customer satisfaction is high & this corona virus situation has made us realise our step taking our business online earlier & given us good dividends by doing so.

    CASA EXOTIQUE

    Bhawana Bhatnagar, Interior Stylist, Founder

    There is no denying that business has taken a real hit because of the spread of this menacing disease. Many business firms are closing their stores, and numerous art and design fairs have been either canceled, postponed, or their upcoming plans have been modified. Moreover, due to the hindrance brought about in the global business, overseas procurement has become impossible. Due to this, the supply chain is going to be affected and this will change the dynamics of business. Customers are looking at products customized for them, made locally by us.

    MyStarHub

    Swapnil Mahajan, Founder & CEO

    Well, we are already experiencing a shift from traditional gifts to personalized online gifting due to the digital revolution. With isolation being the key preventive measure in checking the spread of Coronavirus, digital gifting solutions will certainly get a boost.

    While celebrations have been put on hold and people are staying indoors, getting a personalized video message from one’s favorite star on a special occasion will be a unique gift to cast off gloom in the environment and bring some cheerful moments to make the day memorable. Especially in the current scenario, being able to send and receive these celebrity video shoutouts that too without any fear of being exposed to the virus will gain popularity to keep the celebratory spirit on.

    Also Read:

    Team Pumpkin

    Ranjeet Kumar, Co-founder

    Just like every other industry, the digital media and advertising sector is also strongly impacted by the virus outbreak. Since consumers are locking themselves indoors to stay safe and social distancing has become the norm of the day, there is a likely boost expected in the consumption of content online. Internet penetration has already taken B2C marketing online, the isolation mandate due to COVID-19 will now de-popularize out-of-home advertisement and also lead B2B ad turn towards digital.

    As people keep avoiding social gatherings and public places, they eventually would rely more on social media and therefore, the digital media consumption will increase significantly. Social networking platforms will shine even brighter during the need to stay connected and access content. And above all, digital marketing will provide immense opportunities for businesses to create leads without traveling and having any face-to-face interactions.

    Ozonetel

    Chaitanya Chokkareddy, Co-founder & Chief Innovative Officer

    We are already seeing many companies curious to understand how the work from home model can work for their industry. We have executed Work From Home facility for Acko General within a quick time span. We do think this might act as a point where companies start thinking about their backup for remote functioning.

    Dineout

    Ankit Mehrotra, Co-founder & CEO

    The pandemic has severely affected our operations and we’re seeing a heavy downfall in demand of our services at the moment. Social gathering is the key to our industry, while social distancing is the key to fighting this virus today and we’re strongly promoting it on all our platforms.  

    While we are not sure of the full consequences of the ongoing crises, this is certainly going to affect consumer behaviour as far as the F&B industry is concerned. Consumers will take some time to gain the confidence to go out again. The key is to provide for the safety and confidence for our diners once the pandemic subsides. We need to go above and beyond to make customers feel safe and engaging with them over the topic. A slew of measures can be taken as per the protocol prescribed by the Health Ministry, including increased access to hand sanitizers and hygiene procedures, body temperature checks for everyone at the premises, etc.

    Meanwhile, we stand strong with our partners and are hopeful and positive for the betterment of the situation. We shall be ready with the help of technology to help serve both our diners and restaurants stronger and better than ever.

    Packman Packaging

    Gaurav Jalan, Director and Founder

    It is too early to say currently, the industry is still operating as much as it can. But if it becomes a prolonged situation then there might be some issues but they will be temporary not permanent.

    There might be a possibilities that sales of packaging materials may dip a bit because of several advisory such as not going outside a designated territory in that case several businesses that uses packaging materials will be affected.

    One may also see rise in online sales that may still boost the packaging industry as it will open an avenue for supplying their products to several e-business platforms.

    For Packman, their customers are the assets so it will ensure that it can continue its services to its clients and customers. In general one should be prepared and monitor where the company and industry will go in these tumultous times. Customers also understand what is going on so we are sure that our customer will still view us in the same light as they do.

    Bridged.co

    Ashwin Chalam, CEO

    We expect potential and present clients to become conservative with their expenses. Businesses will not be looking to experiment much (with good reason) and will only want to work with teams that have a proven track record and can satisfy critical requirements.

    The coronavirus outbreak doesn’t change the fact that businesses are in the information age, and they will need access to high-quality data. Bridged’s USP is that we provide businesses across industries (primarily AI/ML and financial services) with a cost-effective and scalable data solution. During these trying times, we will leverage that.

    Zolostays

    Dr. Nikhil Sikri, CEO & Co-Founder

    With respect to the co-living space that we operate in, we will most likely see a decline in the number of bookings as this is a pandemic situation which has been declared by the World Health Organization and social distancing is the need of the hour. However, we do have single room occupancy which could also have higher response rate for our prospective customers and existing residents to shift into.

    CarveNiche

    Avneet Makkar, Founder & CEO

    The online education market is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 44% between financial years 2019 and 2024, these trends are expected to disrupt the industry going forward. Keeping current trends in mind, ed-tech services will offer immersive and industry-specific learning across larger groups. Online learning and personalization of education will garner prime importance.

    ZEUX Innovation

    Hemal Gathani, Co-founder

    Post the COVID pandemic, we will see the world becoming even flatter. COVID will teach people how to work remotely. And companies would want to take advantage of the best available talent from across the globe at the right price with the location not being a factor.

    We will also see a surge in spending on digital initiatives. Industries would want to digitize everything possible. But going digital won’t be a differentiating factor and won’t necessarily lead them to success. Companies that provide the best user experience on digital channels will take a lead.

    This is the time to invest in enabling best in class user experience as not only businesses will be compelled to go digital but there will be a massive shift in user behavior to do more things online.

    Tjori

    Mansi Gupta, Founder & CEO

    The most important thing is to inform the customers about the exact reality of the scenario and give guarantees and assurances about the safe guarding of their money and products. Nobody loses anything because of this and all people need to realise that we are just at a halt for the next 21 days’ post which all activities would resume better than normal.

    The pre planning done at any situation always help the company and we are also banking on ours, but at this unforeseen times we solve every problem as it comes. Through this platform I wish to advice people to stay indoors and safe.

    Also Read:

  • 9 Founders Shared their tips on Surviving Coronavirus Outbreak?

    Apart from being a threat to public health, COVID-19 has also emerged as a threat to the global economy. Indian Government has put restrictions on regular movement, malls, public spaces, offices. Everything except essential things has been locked down. During this time of uncertainty and unrest, small businesses have been hit the hardest.

    Flight, hotel booking firms are the worst hit. Whereas, at the same time, video conferencing providers and online education companies, messaging platforms and of course healthcare & pharmaceutical companies are witnessing a boom in demand but the situation has become for worse for the startups & small scale businesses as they have limited sources and capital.

    Indian benchmark indices (BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty) have fallen over 20% this month with foreign investors pulling out around Rs. 38,000 crores fearing recession Analysts predict that the impact of coronavirus in India will shave off 0.5% of India’s GDP growth in FY21. The impact on Indian trade alone is estimated to be more than Rs 34.8 crores.

    These macroeconomic headwinds have already affected sale of white labelled goods which contribute half of the GMV of ecommerce companies. Retrenchments and downsizing in the startup ecosystem have started to accelerate as businesses take a hard look at steep operational costs and dipping demand in an uncertain environment made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic. Oyo, Bounce, Udaan and Drivezy have begun laying off staff.

    While India has taken early measures to contain the virus, there is still uncertainty around how long this pandemic might last. Governments in Europe and USA have already announced aid packages for small businesses and India might have to go down the same route to revive the economy.

    Also Read:

    How will small businesses survive during Coronavirus India outbreak
    How will small businesses survive during Corona Virus outbreak

    We have asked few companies how small companies can survive when Corona Virus has affected the economy and so many businesses around the globe.

    Rising Sun

    Inatur Ayurveda & Aromatherapy manufactures Organic and Natural skin, hair care and wellness products. These are safer, eco-friendly, and more effective skin care products. Lets get views of Ms Pooja Nagdev, Founder and CEO, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.
    The Coronavirus crisis presents the economy and businesses with challenges but also with some opportunities. All of us have got time now to review and reflect. This is the time to plan new strategies, check all costs and overheads. Small businesses will have to cut down unnecessary costs and expenditures in order to be profitable.

    Indi Collage

    Indi Collage is a Fractional Retail platform. It helps brands expand into new markets without the overheads of expensive retail spaces. We talked to Anuradha Singh, on how will small business can survive during Coronavirus outbreak.
    We are focusing on building a base & giving flexible options to our customers to take later tentative dates for booking their popups at our spaces.

    Zamit

    Zamit is an information, engagement and interaction platform that networks schools, students, teachers, parents, and school service providers. We talked to Aarul Malaviya, Founder, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.
    Coronavirus has created a deep global recession across the world. In case of the Indian market, all the small businesses will suffer a short, serious but not catastrophic recession. Consumers should help these small businesses in any possible way they can since they’re the driving force for these businesses.

    • Tax relief is something which will help in relieving a major amount of pressure from these small business owners.
    • All the business owners need to opt for extra cost cutting in their businesses which includes- minimized travel, cancelling any non-essential subscriptions, reduce online sponsored posts, reduce or eliminate meetings to reduce expenses, pause any large costs that could be undertaken at a later stage.
    • They also need to set clear and realistic business plan and at the same time, motivating the employees to pull this off together as a team and irrespective of mode of working, every employee should be there to help each other as in when it is needed to keep the boat floating peacefully.

    CASA EXOTIQUE

    Established with an urge to deliver incredible experiences, Casa Exotique has redefined a new benchmark for remarkable interiors and exquisite finishes. We talked to Ms. Bhawana Bhatnagar, Interior Stylist, Founder, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.
    Needless to say, this outbreak is detrimental to the economy – especially the small business firms that do not have very deep pockets to support their staff without doing business in the time of this crisis.

    • To survive this pandemic, there is a need to have open communication with the staff. Everyone can pitch in their ideas on how to keep the business running in such a tough time. By starting the chain of dialogue, more innovative ideas would come to light and effective plans can subsequently be put into place.
    • Obviously, if the situation gets worse, work from home will probably be the only option. Businesses that are based on IT infrastructure would find it easier to manage work than the ones that require fieldwork. Alternate working hours can be one option for such firms.
    • The time is beckoning to the employers to put contingencies and crisis management plans in action. Those who have worked out such plans would be at an advantage in the coming months in terms of managing their business.

    121 Experiences

    121 Experiences is India’s first ever out of the Line agency. 121 Experiences specializes in experiential brand communicating solutions to drive behaviour changing consumer habits. We talked to Aniket Sharma, Co-founder & CEO, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.

    • All small businesses will need to learn to optimise their resources.
    • Maintaining transparency with the internal employees and customers can help with innovate solutions.
    • The spirit of survival is going to be the key, staying positive will help think straight in these times of difficulty.
    • Collaborating with competition instead of cutting costs will be pivotal to sail through together instead of trying to on up the other.

    MyStarHub

    In their endeavor to create the most authentic and memorable fan experiences across the world, MyStarHub provides a platform where fans can book personalized video shoutouts from their favorite celebrities. We talked to Swapnil Mahajan, Founder, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.

    • Even though the Coronavirus has a negative influence on the market worldwide, it has also opened up doors of opportunities for smaller and unconventional businesses in the longer run.
    • In situations like this, the reliance of overseas suppliers will decrease and demand for local products will increase. Also with limited resources in hand, these small scale businesses, in particular, will innovate ways to survive the uncertainties and bounce back.
    • Besides this, the government aid and relaxations will help a lot of small businesses manage funds to keep the business going.

    Also Read:

    Dineout

    Dineout is India’s largest Dining out and Restaurant tech platform, helping more than 17 million diners monthly discover new restaurants, reserve a table, pay for their bills and get offers and discounts combined with a SaaS product offering to its restaurant partners manage their operations. We talked to Ankit Mehrotra, Co-founder & CEO, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.
    We work with more than 40,000 restaurants in India, and the common concern right now is that since no one knows when this will end, there is no way to evaluate the potential business impact. However, it is also severely impacting the bottom line of small businesses like restaurants since their dining operations are temporarily closed.

    • We are advising our partners to look for ways to stay connected with their customers by means of adding flexibility in their operations. By offering a discount on take-home orders, free delivery, using popular delivery services and special discounts for its existing members opting for home deliveries.
    • While, no one knows how much longer this situation is going to persist, the one thing that has emerged from this crisis is the absolute need of technology! We’re working closely with our restaurant partners to support them with our B2B technology products in effectively managing deliveries.
    • We are also preparing for when this pandemic subsides and it’s business as usual to help our restaurant partners get back up and running powered stronger by technology.

    Packman Packaging

    Packman Packaging is one of India’s largest manufacturers of corrugated boxes, corrugated rolls, bubble rolls, bubble pouches, courier bags, POD jackets, duct tapes, e-commerce shipping bags and more. We talked to Gaurav Jalan, Director and Founder, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.

    No doubt coronavirus has impacted several businesses. But one needs to think about the bigger picture. Yes these are hard times particularly for small businesses. But with proper information and following certain guidelines they can survive it too.

    If you take an example some markets in Mumbai have decided to work on alternate days just like an odd even program. One day markets on right and on other day the shops on left will remain open. This is a good concept and also ensures time to time income is generated. But yes cannot rule out certain degree of financial losses.

    Bridged.co

    Bridged uses a combination of AI and a 13,000 strong highly skilled workforce to develop unique and vast data at scale significantly improving the quality of data models. We talked to Ashwin Chalam, CEO, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.

    • Here’s an opportunity for businesses to reassess their spending and identify areas of unproductivity. After that, businesses should direct all their efforts into ensuring that their money-making product/service keeps them afloat. Or, they might need to pivot and update their gameplan with new offerings, offerings that a coronavirus-affected market will accept.
    • Businesses will also have to make difficult decisions such as laying off loyal employees and scaling down on certain perks. But, until the coronavirus phase passes, they will have no other choice but to exercise monetary caution.

    St. Angelo’s VNCT Ventures

    With a unique approach to real estate development, SAVV Global offers value deliveries, superior design, world class amenities and infrastructure, coupled with timely deliveries and after-sales service. We talked to Mr. Agnelorajesh Athaide, Co-founder, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.
    The pandemic is supposedly estimated to hit the economic growth by up to 50bps in FY 21, with the first two quarters slowing down at 4.4.5%, as per government sources. Although these are tough times, entrepreneurs can actually use this to effectively reflect and strategize the way forward, with a resilient attitude and a winning mindset.

    • Instead of spending the time counting the losses or panicking over the situation, the slowdown could actually be a boon. It is an opportunity allowing start-up founders to take stock of the situation, envision the market needs and demands after the pandemic is over, and gear up for a fresh start.
    • From learning new skills, conducting employee reviews, collaborating with new vendors/ chalking out an innovative product, to diversifying the business, the current lockdown can be effectively used as an opportunity by visionary and resilient entrepreneurs.

    Skilfinity

    Skilfinity is full service Digital Marketing & Analytics Company, with operations in Singapore & India. We talked to Ujjal De, Co-founder, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.
    Now is the time for longevity and surviving the crisis and not trying to use the situation and health scare as an opportunity.

    • Build community and trust for your brand by giving back in any way possible, to ensure, when this all is over, people invest in your brand.
    • Evaluate the offline marketing strategy and switch to bring as many online eyeballs as possible for all business, across industries.
    • Keep calm, be tenacious, support other businesses in any way possible and take the necessary steps so that you come out of this disruption stronger than ever.

    Grooming Naturals

    Groominh Naturals owns the brand RAWNATURE which is a line of conscious beauty products that is natural, vegan and designed to work within Indian weather conditions and suited to our people. It cover products across skin care, hair care and bath and shower and cater to both men and women. We talked to Mohit Saxena, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.

    The key to survival will lie in managing what we can control. We will hopefully soon emerge from this crisis but even if we do, it will be far from over as the aftereffects of the COVID syndrome will stay for a while even after it is gone. Some of the areas we as a company need to be focussed on:

    PRODUCT LEVEL

    1. Look at our product portfolio and focus on what sells the most (say top 3 products). FOCUS ON OUR HERO PRODUCTS. This will help us reduce slow moving inventory risk and increase sales cycle. Also, the manufacturing will be easier as we will have only 20% of the SKUs that we will largely focus on.
    2. Relook at what people need in this time and if we can offer that as a solution. We make grooming essentials that are natural and clean. For us introducing a line of hygiene products that are plant based and effective will be more important and a natural extension than say a line of skin care. CREATE A MUST HAVE PRODUCT LINE from our portfolio.
    3. The consumers will be a bit wary for a while till the time the influence of COVID goes in the backburner. It will be prudent to GET MORE AFFORDABLE either by changing pack size or by offering more of the product at old price.

    ORGANISATIONAL LEVEL

    1. We will need to stay lean – Morally the last option is a lay off in these times. As entrepreneurs, we are responsible to our people and their families. Having said that, even the employees will agree that in these tough times, all hands need to be on the deck. Looking at salaries and minimising it basis seniority will be the need of the hour. Reducing manpower cost v/s the manpower itself should be the 1st priority
    2. A complete freeze on hiring for a substantial period going ahead will also be needed. Multi-tasking, multi skilling and figuring more efficient ways of managing day to day operations using technology or even outsourcing of certain operations will become key.

    PROFITABILITY and CASH FLOWS

    1. Post COVID, the need to be profitable will be ‘urgent’. This immediately will become the new buzz word. Not growth rate, not GMV sales, not multiple markets but positive cash flows and profitability.
    2. Plugging leaks in marketing and acquisitions drives, strategic alliances to reduce cost of sales, CRM and customer management, new markets and better GM’s on new products will be areas of focus till this financial winter thaws out.
    3. Reduce all additional costs and go back to being a bootstrapped venture. Shut every single cost head that can be closed and rationalise/minimise the others.

    FUNDRAISE

    1. While it may sound contrary to the market sentiment, if your product and business model is solid, fundraise will happen. However, 9-12 months from now this sentiment may change in case the after effect of COVID does not subside. So, we need to get what we can and brace for a longer runway. Since our focus now will be on profitability, this runway can will be substantially longer with the same money than we expect and must be the way ahead till we see the summer again.

    Emerging from this crisis will be a gradual process. It’s important to plan appropriately and find various alternate ways of sales and financing.  

    Also read:

    Hipcouch

    Hipcouch is an end to end interior design + build solutions startup based in Lower Parel, Mumbai. We talked to Pankaj Poddar, Founder, on how will small business survive when Coronavirus has affected the economy and so many businesses around the globe.
    Small businesses, as a first measure, have to look really hard at their expenses and trim out anything that might constitute as fat. Secondly, and equally importantly, you have to put in place a business continuity plan coupled with scenario analyses. We have never collectively faced so much disruption and uncertainty on a global level and preserving capital should be the topmost priority.

    IoTfy

    IoTfy is a #MakeinIndia IoT & AI cloud suite that superpowers consumer durable brands to add IoT capabilities to their device categories. We talked to Arpit Chhabra, Founder, on how will small business survive when Coronavirus has affected the economy and so many businesses around the globe.

    At IoTfy we are deploying a futuristic approach to mitigate the impact of the 21 days lockdown, on the business. Given we are a products’ company, we have already started focussing on the next set of features/products that are in the pipeline. The idea is to utilise this time well and invest in future product conception and planning during this period, where most businesses are trying to focus on the recovery aspect. To that end, we have already started planning two quarters ahead and are gearing for the spike in demand IoTfy is expected to witness from the brand partners, who have suffered huge losses on account of the global supply chains being disrupted due to Covid19 outbreak.

  • Why should you Focus on Upskilling Employees in Your Organisation

    Studies show that the cost of one worker leaving an organization could be expensive. This doesn’t include costs associated with interviewing and hiring a replacement; it’s a cost of time and money that goes into the training and development of a new hire.

    Upskilling, or reskilling, is a smaller investment than hiring and training a new worker. As you reskill your employees, you create a more well-rounded, cross-trained workforce, and increase your team’s effectiveness.

    94% of global learners perceive upskilling as an employer benefit, similar to paid time off and health insurance according to the 2020 LinkedIn Workplace Learning report. Employees want to learn, so the challenge for employers is to make learning convenient, useful, and most importantly, relevant.

    In recent times, Indian startups have also started to focus a lot on employee upskilling. We got in touch with the heads of a few companies to understand employee upskilling helped organization.

    How upskilling employees help organizations

    upGrad

    Founded in early 2015, upGrad offers online programs for working professionals. Owing to its commitment of making a future-proof workforce, upGrad provides its employees with a number of opportunities to help them enhance their employability quotient. It not only educate employees of the products and services but also, help them upskill their existing skill-set and knowledge horizon. You can read more about upgrad here . We talked to Mr. Mayank Kumar, Co-founder & MD, on how upskilling employees helped upGrad.

    Companies on an average spend a minimum of INR 30K to a maximum of INR 1.5 lakhs per fresher, to hire and train them, before they become productive. Through upGrad, companies can reduce this cost by as much as 50-60%. The rigorous learning that a learner goes through allows them to be able to hit the ground running on day 0.

    Plus, there’s no training cost incurred by companies post recruitment. Future employees and employers are getting to know each other well in advance. This is enabling them to develop a professional relationship even before joining formally. Companies adopting pre-boarding programs will witness a lesser churn, as these learners are developing deeper connection and more ownership in their roles.

    At upGrad, we provide training to new joiners of Fractal and Wipro. For these companies, a new joiner in Data role has to go through upGrad’s pre-boarding program, once the offer letter is rolled to the candidate. This allows the candidate to get acquainted with his/her role and be ready with the relevant job skills, even before he / she formally starts working for the organization as an employee.

    This kind of program is reversed engineered – basis the requirement of the role, these programs have been customized for the specific role in a specific company. Constant feedback is shared by the companies on updating / modifying the program, basis the company’s needs.

    On completion of the program, the candidate is absorbed in the workforce.

    PolicyX

    PolicyX.com is an insurance comparison portal helping consumers compare, choose and buy policies online. PolicyX provides health, motor, life, travel & corporate insurances from a wide range of insurers. We talked to Mahima Pandey, Founder, on how upskilling employees helped PolicyX.

    Upskilling employees help the organization improves its productivity and the performance per employee. The focus is to upskill the employee in accordance with the competencies and knowledge required for that role and this is a regular process which is being held on a periodic basis which in turn improves the overall performance of the Company.

    Rising Sun

    Inatur Ayurveda & Aromatherapy manufactures Organic and Natural skin, hair care and wellness products. These are safer, eco-friendly, and more effective skin care products. The company focuses on ethically sourced natural ingredients and drew inspiration from Ayurveda and Aromatherapy and ensured that every single product was crafted with Purity and Passion. We talked to Pooja Nagdev, Founder and CEO, on how upskilling employees helped Rising Sun.

    Yes absolutely training and upskilling employees works at all fronts. All of the employees stay positive and motivated. It further leads to increased productivity and employee retention.

    CASA EXOTIQUE

    Established with an urge to deliver incredible experiences, Casa Exotique has redefined a new benchmark for remarkable interiors and exquisite finishes. The company has been exploring the depth of Interior Designing and Styling with the help of a remarkable team of professionals who takes each and every turn to make your vision come to life. We talked to Ms. Bhawana Bhatnagar, Interior Stylist, Founder, on how upskilling employees helped CASA EXOTUQUE.

    As talented as an individual might be, there is always room for improvement and those who are hungry to learn more are the ones that end up on the top of the ladder of success. I believe by up-skilling our staff, we can produce people who are confident in their abilities. Consequently, they will feel motivated and would be able to attend to the customer’s needs in a better way – which helps both the customer and the organization.

    Packman Packaging

    Packman Packaging is one of India’s largest manufacturers of corrugated boxes, corrugated rolls, bubble rolls, bubble pouches, courier bags, POD jackets, duct tapes, e-commerce shipping bags and more. We talked to Gaurav Jalan, Director and Founder, on how upskilling employees helped Packman Packaging.

    Packman has seen several positive results through employee upskilling training. We have witnessed once the existing employees get trained they tend to stay longer with the organization. Also, this leads to good productivity.

    Once, the employees are working longer in terms of tenure it also means lesser time to spend for headhunting for new employees. The employees know that their routine will not be monotonous as the organization keeps on hosting such projects that also, keeps the employees motivated because they also feel that the company cares for them. And a content workforce is always a great asset.

    CarveNiche

    CarveNiche is an innovative edtech start-up, which is using latest technologies such as machine learning and advanced data analytics to personalise learning for K-12 education. We talked to Avneet Makkar, Founder & CEO, on how upskilling employees helped CarveNiche.

    Upskilling is the need of the hour and specially with e-learning gaining prominence in today’s situation. Ed-Tech companies have to be hands on in delivering the best personalized learning experience for students, at the comfort of their homes. For this, our employees have been trained in the latest technology and tools to help us deliver quality education to students.

    Esper

    Esper is a cloud platform that automates application deployment and management for Android devices. Using Esper, enterprises can configure and monitor Android devices for various use cases, keep them secure to help their business function seamlessly. We talked to Shiv Sundar, Co-Founder and COO, on how upskilling employees helped Esper.

    Esper’s employees need on-demand access to answers on how to do their job more effectively, but they also need content that’s engaging, entertaining and sparks new learning journeys. Sometimes, this isn’t related to their job responsibilities. Sometimes, it’s related to future skill sets and work requirements or individual interests. Esper hires curious candidates and we foster this curiosity with a broad range of learning journeys.

    We use peer-to-peer learning and social learning tools to spark new collaborations and the types of friction-filled exchanges that are behind real innovation. We’re continuing to explore new ways to make learning more convenient and on-demand for younger employees.

    Finally, Esper believes that preserving the human and social elements of learning is crucial —the same LinkedIn report found that the APAC region is doubling down on learning automation. Learning is ultimately about people.

  • Different Policies the Companies have Adopted to Upskill the Employees

    Today, business has changed its pattern. Technology is must to run any business.  Any business can invest in advanced technologies, but creating a workforce that’s ready to use them is much harder. So, Upskilling employees is one of the top most thing companies focus on.

    Upskilling is basically the practice of teaching employees to use technology to do their job. Using advanced technologies can save time, increase productivity, minimize human. So, companies are ever ready to add an advanced emerging technology in their portfolio, but if employees don’t know what and how if it, it won’t be useful.

    What Indian Startups do to upskill
    What Indian Startups do to upskill

    In recent times, Indian startups have also started to focus a lot on employee upskilling. We got in touch with the heads of a few companies to understand what they are doing for employee upskilling.

    upGrad

    Founded in early 2015, upGrad offers online programs for working professionals. Owing to its commitment of making a future-proof workforce, upGrad provides its employees with a number of opportunities to help them enhance their employability quotient. It not only educate employees of the products and services but also, help them upskill their existing skill-set and knowledge horizon. You can read more about upgrad here . We talked to Mr. Mayank Kumar, Co-founder & MD, on how they upskill employees.

    As a part of the new joiner induction process, we offer our programs to every new joiner in the company during the first month of their employment. This allows them to experience our learning platform + student mentor support + submissions grading and, of course, learn a skill that will add value to their profile. This program broadly consists of 1 week of ‘HR Bootcamp’ (explaining about corporate structure and an overview of the company) + 3 weeks of any other program as specified below:

    • HR Bootcamp + Customer Focus, Customer Behaviour, and the Digital Landscape + Branding (Digital Strategies-Digital Marketing Program)
    • HR Bootcamp + Exploratory Data Analysis (Data Analytics -PG Diploma in Data Science Program)
    • HR Bootcamp + Understanding Problems & Formulating Hypotheses (Business Analytics Program)
    • HR Bootcamp + Divide and Conquer Algorithms (Software Development – PG Diploma in Software Development)

    These bootcamps and workshops are conceptualised with an aim to keep our people well-aware of the industry trends both, domestic and global.

    Being a company that endorses upskilling, we encourage our employees to take up our courses to upskill themselves by offering them our programs at 100% discount for an employee who has completed 18 months with us and 50% discount for an employee who has completed 6 months with us.

    Also, there’s an in-house Learning & Development team that conducts workshops for employees at frequent intervals.”

    PolicyX

    PolicyX.com is an insurance comparison portal helping consumers compare, choose and buy policies online. PolicyX provides health, motor, life, travel & corporate insurances from a wide range of insurers. We talked to Mahima Pandey, Founder, on how they upskill employees.

    We have a dedicated team of qualified and experienced professionals who focuses on upskilling the employees so that they perform as per the expectations set for their role. They are involved in conducting new hire trainings, refresher trainings, bottom quartile trainings and other skill based trainings as and when required as per the training need analysis and requirements.

    Rising Sun

    Inatur Ayurveda & Aromatherapy manufactures Organic and Natural skin, hair care and wellness products. These are safer, eco-friendly, and more effective skin care products. The company focuses on ethically sourced natural ingredients and drew inspiration from Ayurveda and Aromatherapy and ensured that every single product was crafted with Purity and Passion. We talked to Pooja Nagdev, Founder and CEO, on how they upskill employees.

    At RisingSun we provide constant evaluation and training to the employees relating their job skill sets, health, safety, and hygiene. We encourage them to read more books and learn more with regards to their job.

    CASA EXOTIQUE

    Established with an urge to deliver incredible experiences, Casa Exotique has redefined a new benchmark for remarkable interiors and exquisite finishes. The company has been exploring the depth of Interior Designing and Styling with the help of a remarkable team of professionals who takes each and every turn to make your vision come to life. We talked to Ms. Bhawana Bhatnagar, Interior Stylist, Founder, on how they upskill employees.

    Up-skilling is very important for the growth of employees as an individual and the organization as well. We have approached up-skilling on multiple platforms because to foster an all-round skillset development. With our technical skill development training, we equip our employees with the ever-evolving technical skills needed to run the organization. With our soft skills development workshops, we teach communication skills to our employees to make them experts in communicating with clients and stakeholders. Last but not the least, we also arrange product and service training workshops to ensure that we develop good relations with our customers.

    Packman Packaging

    Packman Packaging is one of India’s largest manufacturers of corrugated boxes, corrugated rolls, bubble rolls, bubble pouches, courier bags, POD jackets, duct tapes, e-commerce shipping bags and more. We talked to Gaurav Jalan, Director and Founder, on how they upskill employees.

    Regular training programs are conducted at Packman to upskill the employees. also, employees are promoted faster, if they upskill themselves faster, this gives them further motivation. Packman makes sure to give balanced reward system so that other employees get motivated after seeing the growth of employees with better skills.

    Policy-wise Packman Packaging makes sure that every employee from the respective department stays updated about the latest technologies and trends. Employees working in the manufacturing unit are always trained whenever a new machine or technology comes in the unit or it is about to be installed. Similarly, from time to time Packman Packaging also conducts upskilling training for its employees from all the departments that include, marketing, customer service, and management teams.

    Packman strictly believes it is important to upgrade the existing workforce because only then the employees and company can grow together.

    CarveNiche

    CarveNiche is an innovative edtech startup, which is using latest technologies such as machine learning and advanced data analytics to personalise learning for K-12 education. We talked to Avneet Makkar, Founder & CEO, on how they upskill employees.

    Companies need to formulate a good development strategy to build comprehensive upskilling in the organisation. Having a plan would help you get buy-in from the organization’s leadership and from the workers themselves too. We conduct training for our employees on a regular basis.

    Esper

    Esper is a cloud platform that automates application deployment and management for Android devices. Using Esper, enterprises can configure and monitor Android devices for various use cases, keep them secure to help their business function seamlessly. We talked to Shiv Sundar, Co-Founder and COO, on how they upskill employees.

    Esper encourages employees to continually reskill, upskill, and pursue their passions and interests. Our employee upskilling programs includes peer-to-peer knowledge sharing. Every department gets one hour each week to share the knowledge of a subject matter expert with peers in an informal, open forum discussion.

    Hack Day

    Every other week, Esper’s entire team gets our hands dirty with a passion-based project. These hack days aren’t usually related to Android DevOps. Sometimes we work together to develop an app or learn new photography skills.

    Training and Courses

    Esper is continuously investing in new tools to help our employees learn in the flow-of-work. Our goal is to provide employees with tools to build their existing specialties and work more proficiently, like micro-learning and mobile eLearning. We’re also conscious that the future of work could require rapid reskilling, and we’re an agile brand, so our training options are forward-looking in that sense, too.