He told ET Panache, "I have a small one room flat that I had rented to be near office, so not much of space to choose from. I have cordoned off a corner as my workstation near the window so I still see the office from there. We never really had a dress code for office, t-shirts and shorts was pretty much the norm then and still is. We always believe people should be comfortable in their work environment and that we have hired them for their talent and not the looks, so dress code was never strict. That hasn’t changed that much."
Apps wise, Shirhatti believes he now has every possible video calling app on his phone and laptop from Google Meets, Zoom, Meetings, WebEx, BlueJeans and many more.
"I have now opened up every possible channel of communication to reach out to our clients, colleagues and partners. Challenges were many in the initial days. First was the unrest in the team and uncertainty of what was in store for them due to the impact of COVID. We organised a townhall and educated all employees on the health of the company and the progress we made till that time. Not only did we retain each member but also extended average 30 per cent increments across the board for all," he said.
If any hit was taken, it was on the founders. They supported the company through all ups and downs, all they can do is be firm in these tough times.
"Not only this, we have recruited over 30 members during this period. So, on-boarding new joinees was a bit of a challenge including arranging laptops, accesses, getting them abord was a bit of a challenge. Once e-commerce opened, it was easier to manage," he shared.
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Co-ordination with the teams had taken a bit of a hit which is not as fluent as in office for the company. "Further, being constantly on calls adds to the queue and tasks that would have taken a minute of chat at office takes a few hours now. But being always available to the team via calls, SMS, WhatsApp, Hangouts chat, etc helps better coordination. To keep pace with all the channels, I continue to keep all messages, emails and chats that need attention unread and ensure that I clear majority of the unread threads before end of day’s play," Shirhatti said.
Inter-personal relations get a bit strained in these times, feels Omkar Shirhatti. Inter-personal relations get a bit strained in these times. Coffee side chats and lunch sharing sessions used to be a great way to bond with the team for Shirhatti.
"Now I try to spend a few minutes catching up with the team members during our meetings and get everyone relaxed before we jump to business. I stay alone and hence truly must manage everything on my own. I could not go back home to family and now do not want to risk it," he said.
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Shirhatti starts his day by 9 am and takes care of breakfast and groceries for the day. He starts work by 10:30 am. "I schedule most of the daily internal calls around noon where I am not required to be on-screen presenting. That way I can manage lunch preparations parallelly. Majority of the client meetings are scheduled in the afternoon and evening. Late evenings are for household chores, prepping for dinner and a quick workout. Lastly, I spend the later nights till 1-1:30 am catching up on unread messages, minuting the calls or discussion of the day and setting the tasks for the next day," he said.
Shirhatti takes half an hour out each during lunch and evening chores to catch up on latest news or maybe a new episode on a video site. It helps him relax and takes his mind off work in between.
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"I keep half an hour reserved in the evenings for a quick workout. I had started my journey to get fitter in October last year. I lost over 20 kgs and have 20 more to go. I didn’t want to let all that effort be wasted. To maintain the momentum, I use apps and my personal trainer. I am even trying out Yoga to help relax," he shared.
Cooking is back on the table for Shirhatti. "I used to love cooking but never really had time for it. Now it is a necessity. The number of dishes I must have cooked in this period is higher than everything I cooked before. I have reached a pro level, since my rotis rotate automatically while rolling," he ended with a laugh.
Office Interiors To Change Post-Lockdown: Here's What The Future Will Look Like
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“For office culture to revive and survive, office spaces are looking at a pretty drastic alteration of layouts and design,” says Pankaj Poddar, the co-founder of Hipcouch, a Mumbai based Interior Design Company. He says the new normal will also see some reversal.
“We will see the reversing of very hot trends of open offices and shared desks.” While we wait for the official decrees, here’s what the rough framework is looking like so far according to Poddar.
“For office culture to revive and survive, office spaces are looking at a pretty drastic alteration of layouts and design,” says Pankaj Poddar, the co-founder of Hipcouch, a Mumbai based Interior Des..
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For now, private offices have been advised to open with only between 33-55% strength in most states in India. Besides what we hope will also mean a reduced commute to work thanks to less traffic, this also allows for social distancing at the office.
For now, private offices have been advised to open with only between 33-55% strength in most states in India. Besides what we hope will also mean a reduced commute to work thanks to less traffic, thi..
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Since offices will not be at maximum capacity, there is scope to ensure enough physical distance between two desks by simply skipping one in the middle. At the very least, or in addition, fitting a screen around each desk is also a good way to achieve this. Hot desking is now a no-go.
Since offices will not be at maximum capacity, there is scope to ensure enough physical distance between two desks by simply skipping one in the middle. At the very least, or in addition, fitting a s..
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The way 2020 is going, it’s hard to predict anything this year with any accuracy, so we have no idea what monsoon will bring, but opening as many windows as you possibly can will increase ventilation and we suspect that a lot of offices will consider the option. Too hot? Your office may need to get a humidifier system in place to create a tougher climate for viruses.
The way 2020 is going, it’s hard to predict anything this year with any accuracy, so we have no idea what monsoon will bring, but opening as many windows as you possibly can will increase ventilation..
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Meetings should be conducted in open spaces as far as possible instead of the traditional closed conference room setting. And maybe the joke about how “this meeting could have been an email” can stop being funny and actually be something to think about.
Meetings should be conducted in open spaces as far as possible instead of the traditional closed conference room setting. And maybe the joke about how “this meeting could have been an email” can stop..
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Equip the entrance/lobby, dining areas, bathrooms and other public spaces within the office with sanitiser dispensers, disposable gloves and a no-touch thermometer. Add a screen to protect the reception staff and insist on extra cleaning of all spaces, especially bathrooms.
Equip the entrance/lobby, dining areas, bathrooms and other public spaces within the office with sanitiser dispensers, disposable gloves and a no-touch thermometer. Add a screen to protect the recept..
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This one is a more elaborate solution than the others, but according to reports, offices in the UK are looking at replacing communal toilets with individual pods and introducing touchless doors, taps and soap dispensers.
This one is a more elaborate solution than the others, but according to reports, offices in the UK are looking at replacing communal toilets with individual pods and introducing touchless doors, taps..
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A strict limit on how many people can crowd into a lift at one time may save you some of that awkward elevator silence, but it also means a longer wait every time you want to move from one floor to another. A good time to reassess your relationship with the staircase (your step counter will be a thing of pride at the end of each day!)
A strict limit on how many people can crowd into a lift at one time may save you some of that awkward elevator silence, but it also means a longer wait every time you want to move from one floor to a..
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Yes, this may come to an end as well. Be prepared to carry your own water bottles, coffee mugs and cutlery to the office. A common pool of all these items is just a bad idea.
Yes, this may come to an end as well. Be prepared to carry your own water bottles, coffee mugs and cutlery to the office. A common pool of all these items is just a bad idea.
Whether this is good news to you or exactly the opposite, travelling for business will see a drastic drop, replaced instead by Zoom calls. Travelling anywhere is probably unwise for at least the next several months anyway, even as domestic flights are slowly opening up. Also, obviously don’t count on any outstation off-sites anytime soon.
Whether this is good news to you or exactly the opposite, travelling for business will see a drastic drop, replaced instead by Zoom calls. Travelling anywhere is probably unwise for at least the next..
