Corona in times of New Work – A crisis as an opportunity for digitalisation

The corona virus confronts us all with new challenges, not only in terms of health. We now have to break up familiar structures and find new ways of working together in creative processes.

As a provider of location-independent software, we naturally wanted to gain our own experience right from the very beginning and answer the questions that almost certainly concern all our customers: What does it mean to have a fixed “desk” (main location) and to be supplied by the “local offices”? What are the difficulties, where are the advantages? Does the efficiency of the employees suffer or is motivation perhaps even increased? What conditions must be met so that each employee can carry out his or her tasks in a structured and reliable manner? And last but not least: How do we maintain an overview of the workload and joint processing?

The results of our implementations are worth seeing!

Most companies that have several locations in Germany have already acquired relevant ways and methods for such cooperation. This includes alfa Media – with locations in Rödermark, Kiel, Koblenz and Munich – we established digital communication channels right from the start to ensure smooth workflows. As a provider of complete solutions, the modules are developed locally, but regular consultations are still essential. For this reason, the home office arrangements for employees have been expanded more intensively over time. Completely in the spirit of New Work, it is now possible to work spontaneously from home. This also pays off in the options for a quick coordination of field staff. However, it is not only the telephone or mobile phone that is required, but also video telephony and the composition of various thematic project groups, which are located in different field offices. Well? Do you recognise this concept from somewhere?

Using Microsoft teams as well as a combined document repository, we can access the necessary documents from anywhere at any time now. No matter where we are. Access to customer systems from outside the company is also no problem. The only requirement: a VPN tunnel that leads us into the internal network and provides the indispensable security. But even this tool is a standard and nothing new for our employees. Probably everyone has already used the “home office” option to let a craftsman into the house or because it just fitted in well with their own life plan. Video conferencing helps people feel that they are part of the team and does not transfer the physical distance to social interaction. Management also explicitly requests the usual office chit-chats in order to promote team spirit and thus move closer together despite the necessary distance.

For us internally, the corona crisis is therefore only an extension of the already lived digitisation culture. Information on this can be found under the buzzwords “New Work” or “Work-Life-Balance”. This is not only about flextime and core working hours, but also about flexibility and home office. In addition to the appropriate tools for location-independent collaboration, an open mindset is also required.

For many others, there is now an opportunity to try out such new methods and – even if forced to do so – to adapt to modern ways of working. Of course we would like to support them with our experience, as our software has done so for many years. From the very beginning it was clear to us that software for the creation of content and for multimedia publication must be used independent of location and mobile. If you are already using our alfa products, then you probably already know the possibilities and can probably move your employees into the home office without any major difficulties: Editorial content can be quickly and easily coordinated via alfa EditorialOrganiser or delivered via the alfa ReporterApp. In the same way, AdSuite Market can be used by the advertising department in the browser to work comfortably in the home office. No local installation is necessary.

Do you need support for the external provision of your systems? Our service department will certainly be happy to assist you. Even from our home offices, but without any restrictions. Just as efficiently as we can act during the crisis, we want to provide you with the opportunity to master the challenges yourselves!