Well Set-Up Despite COVID-19

Like so many other teams, all byte5-ers are working from home these days. However, this does not have a major impact on our clients’ projects or on our teamwork. The efforts of the byte5 management make sure of that.

Clients will hardly notice a difference to our usual work during the coronavirus crisis: As usual, we provide them with the development of high-performance web solutions and a wide range of consulting services. This is made possible not least by the existing flexible structures that we have established over the last years. Four years ago, we moved our entire business to the cloud. Home office is therefore possible at any given time without any hurdles and was often used by the team, even before the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this crisis, our team members and the company itself greatly benefit from these structures – simply because all the tools to make work more flexible have been in use for years. When in mid-March the entire team stopped working at the office and started working from home, the adjustments necessary were rather small.

However, a cloud-based business alone does not guarantee good, sustainable work. The team that does the work must also be doing well. That is why the byte5 management – in these times especially – is very committed to transparency in communication and strengthening the team spirit. To do this, it continues to break new ground. With regular hangouts, such as the daily virtual coffee kitchen, there is a place for interpersonal relationships and exchange, whether professionally or privately.

In addition, a new format was launched this month: the byte5 vlog "Push Notification". Once a week, managing directors Christian Wendler and Chris Köhler bring the team up-to-date with news regarding the company. And they do this in good byte5 fashion: with a specially built geeky Snapchat filter.

“We have found that working from home all the time means that you are less aware of the issues that concern the company outside the projects. There is no longer an office grapevine”, explains Christian. “This is how our vlog was born.” The vlog will be continued after COVID-19 restrictions end. After all, transparency and care for each other are among our most important values.

The very first vlog was all about the effects of the coronavirus pandemic for byte5. Chris and Christian had good news for the team: The effects are limited to occasional postponements – but our project business continues to be stable. “We don't want to make it a secret how byte5 is doing, we want to give the team all important insights. If someone was worried, hopefully we could resolve these concerns with our vlogs. byte5 is resilient, also in times of the coronavirus”, says Chris.

With his face mask campaign, byte5 founder Christian also provided healthcare supplies for his employees. In the week before wearing face masks was made obligatory across Germany, he sent several masks to each byte5-er to make it easy for them to comply with anti-coronavirus measures and to protect others. Another sweep of face masks is also waiting in the office to be used when it reopens.