Dear Clients
In light of the increasing risk being presented due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, ExcluServ have taken the decision to massively reduce public exposure for all of our team. This is to ensure that we are in the strongest possible position to continue to provide all agreed services with you and our wider client base. As a result we have notified staff that wherever possible to work from home, and to not travel into our offices in either our Johannesburg or London. This was implemented from Friday 13th March 2020.
As an organisation ExcluServ are structured to enable our team to work wherever we have access to the internet. Our equipment is fully encrypted and all files are held securely online. While it is preferable in normal situations for staff to work next to each other, as that support is helpful, we have taken the view that business continuity at this point must take precedence, for the sake of our staff, clients and our financial security. We do not believe that this will impact materially on the service that we offer, although we may need to change the exact way of working in some areas. We will increase our use of remote access, Teams meetings and screen sharing to coach and support each other and our clients.
Where we would normally come on site to provide our service to you, we will now explore how that specific piece of work can be delivered without a site visit. We will only work face to face in person if absolutely essential and all other options have been explored. Please discuss any specific areas that you feel we need to consider with your client manager, so that we can find a way forward that delivers what is required, but also protects all concerned.
Our South African staff face an additional challenge of (mostly) scheduled power cuts (called load shedding in South Africa) due to a national shortage of power. We have sufficient back up options in our office in Johannesburg but staff do not have this at home and unfortunately the mobile Wi-Fi options are very limited in these times so dongles and hotspots via mobiles are not effective. Depending on the schedules and area staff live in, the times changes but typically power would be off for 2 hours during the day. We will try and communicate and work around this where we can, planning for work that can be done offline over that time, but if you don’t get hold of someone immediately that might be the answer. If something is urgent please call our Operations Manager in South Africa Devashnie Valiatham on (+27) 067 771 6386 or the UK Jacobie Serfontein on (+44) 020 7205 2329. They will be able to get hold of staff on their mobiles / cell phones where urgent.
Where you foresee financial difficulty for yourself due to the impact of the worldwide measures and economic downturn please have a discussion with us, so we can support you through this time by perhaps focussing more on short term cashflow than longer term planning etc. We are here to help you navigate through this.
Many thanks for your understanding of why we have taken these measures, and our intention to continue to support you in whatever way we can.
