We help #FlattenTheCurve

Last night, managing director Holger Wolff (representing the management board) informed the people at MaibornWolff how we would like to proceed regarding working environment and Corona. The decision is driven by the thought of “FlatteningTheCurve”, especially as the next few days are crucial now.

Update:

The original post was dated March 13th. Since members of staff, quasi-colleagues of customers or partner companies also visit this page, we added further rules to the information here on 24 March or adjusted them where necessary.

All measures are still voluntary measures of caution. Fortunately, as of March 24, 2020, no one is infected yet. We hope, you stay healthy, too.

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As of yesterday (March, 12th) we can officially speak of a worldwide corona pandemic. This keeps us all on our toes and requires a permanent reassessment of the current situation. Nothing has changed in our basic assessment of the situation. All suspected cases in oput company so far have been tested negative! We continue to consider the risk of illness and the severity of illness for our colleagues to be low.

However, out of social responsibility we want to make our contribution to “flattening-the-curve” and actively interrupt possible chains of infection (social distancing) in order to avoid “Italian conditions”.

The next few days will be decisive.

That is why today we have decided on the following measures:

• HomeOffice is the new normal. From now on, anyone who can work at home stays home.
• If needed in individual cases, individuals can work onsite in our offices. Here, we ask you kindly to spread out.
• A few of our colleagues from technical infrastructure and office management ensure a minimal on-site supply at the locations, everything else runs remotely.
• All meetings with more than 5 people will be held remotely or cancelled if that is not possible. This applies to internal and external events alike.
• If absolutely needed (feature) teams of up to ten people may meet at our offices. A minimum distance of 1.5m per person is to be maintained.
• Our All-Hands-Meeting Friday round takes place remotely (edit March 24: Please only participate in a meeting room onsite only with sufficient safety distance and with max. 10 persons). Just leave empty a seat next to you and turn back when the room is full.
• Please cancel participation in larger events such as congresses, trade fairs or external seminars. Also, we also strongly advise against private trips to high-risk areas. Please review your own participation in events critically until further notice.
• Avoid business trips. If necessary, take the car instead.
• As always, common sense and personal responsibility applies in the interpretation of these rules.

This applies for the time being throughout March. Should the situation then ease as hoped, we will gradually relax these measures again.

Edit on March, 24th:

We try to switch all appointments to remote.

This includes applicant appointments, customer appointments or appointments with partners.

What we don’t cancel per se (and rather decide case-wise)

• Appointments with customers
• Appointments with talents
• Appointments with partners
• Trips to customers or partners in smaller settings that do not go into risk areas.

We insist on a tightened hygiene policy.

• Hand washing & disinfection is still extremely important
• No more handshakes, no more hugs.
• Keep distance as far as possible > 1 m if possible
• Strict office ban for all types of colds, even mild symptoms.

We recommend:

• To keep up “social distancing” in the next two decisive weeks, also privately.
• Self (and with that we don’t mean buying hamsters) to stock up with a few supplies in such a reasonable way, that in case of emergency you can even stay in your own 4 walls for 2 weeks.

Please contact us if you fall in then catergory of “suspected Corona case” (here follow our internal contact information).

We in the management team think that these measures help minimize the risks for us and the people around us. We do not want to spread panic, and are very well positioned in terms of technology and economics.

• Our conditions are excellent: no one is technically and methodically better equipped for remote work than we are. Who, if not us, can work so comprehensively from home without major losses in productivity?
• On a personal level, “social distancing” will reduce our personal risk of infection, even if it is still very low on an individual level. And probably even more important: we also reduce the risk for our relatives, our parents and grandparents. We reduce the risk for those people in our environment who may have previous illnesses or who are not in perfect health.
• At MaibornWolff, we use “social distancing” to reduce the risk of quarantine ordered by the authorities: if the first cases appear in our ranks one day, the risk of a team quarantine is significantly lower if not all colleagues have been sitting at the same workbench with the person concerned for the last few days.
• On a social level, we are all reducing the risk of “Italian conditions” and now have a real chance of preventing a complete lockdown. This would limit us much more than the “social distancing” that these measures are intended to achieve.

If you have any questions, please join the Friday round (the team-organized All-Hands-Meeting at MaibornWolff). Stay relaxed, stay cheerful, stay healthy!

Many fond regards,

Holger, for the managing board

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If you would like to learn more on our maesures and the reasons behind, please contact Petra Meyer (external communications) via E-Mail or by phone at +49 151 544 22 137.

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