May 21, 2020

Dear Sherus,

I trust you and your loved ones are safe and healthy in these tough times. The central government has extended the COVID-19 lockdown by two more weeks till May 31, 2020 to control the spread of the novel Coronavirus. Lockdown 4.0 comes with relaxations and more autonomy to states to ease restrictions. It also allows offices to run with minimum attendance though corporates have been advised to “work from home” to the extent possible.

We have been working with the group on the unlocking strategy for all BNP Paribas entities in India. The Sharekhan management has taken a clear stand that we will tread cautiously and not rush into the unlockdown. The agreed plan for Sharekhan provides for opening up the offices in a phased manner for the head office and the branch network.

In this communication I shall apprise you of the unlockdown strategy for the head office. We propose to reopen the Sharekhan head office in Mumbai in three phases, with each phase starting only when certain conditions are fulfilled.

The first phase will start only after the lockdown is ended by the central and Maharashtra state governments as well as the local municipal authorities; there are no more hot spots in Mumbai and the entire city is in green zone; the city limits are open without restrictions; public transport is open and running properly and safely; and private transport is also available.

Phase 1 itself will occur in two stages. In the first stage, we shall monitor the situation for about two weeks after the points mentioned above are satisfied before reopening the HO. The first batch of head office employees will be allowed to work from office (WFO) again only when the situation is assessed as stable. These are business critical employees who need to be working from office and will make significant positive impact on the effectiveness of their roles. Once these employees start working from office, the second stage will involve monitoring the situation for four to six weeks and increasing the number of WFO employees afterwards if everything is found to be working fine. At this time, we shall also start exploring the possibilities of rotating staff, changing infrastructure, employing staggered working hours etc to improve the situation, if needed.

Phase 2 of reopening the head office will be triggered by the relaxation of the social distancing norms. At this juncture, we shall recalculate the capacity of our premises and increase the number of employees who can WFO based on the new capacity and needs of the company.

Phase 3 of the unlockdown of the head office will take place only after all factors have stabilised and there are no new cases or social distancing norms, a vaccine or cure for COVID-19 has been found and all staff have access to vaccination/medical treatment for COVID-19. At this stage, a new way of working will be implemented in the company which will take into account an optimised split between the WFO and the WFH staff.

Thus, we are not looking at a quick return to WFO. We want to proceed cautiously and not allow employees to WFO if there is no immediate business need. The safety of our employees is our top priority. The organisation is functioning well with 95% of its staff working from home. It is quite impressive the way Sherus adjusted to WFH so quickly and well. It is their quick adaptability that gives me the confidence to believe that the return to WFO shall be equally smooth and successful.

In the meantime, stay emotionally positive and novel Cornoavirus negative.

Thank you.

Best regards,
Stefan Groening,
Director and COO