What we have learnt during Covid-19

“Learning agility means to learn, de-learn, and relearn all the times” – Pearl Zhu

Agility enables us to adapt and succeed in any situation. The last few months have been a serious challenge, but guided by our values, we managed to learn some important lessons. Now, at Sollers, we feel stronger, smarter and more than ready to face new challenges.

Read this article to find out what we have learnt during COVID-19 and what we have done to keep our business moving.

Sense of stability

In recent months, job stability has been one of the most important company values. We are fortunate that the recent crisis has had a limited impact on the insurance and IT industries.

Our sense of security comes mainly from the fact that Sollers does not hire specialists exclusively for individual projects, making employment fully dependent on current market needs and conditions. Not only do our consultants improve the daily operations of our clients, but the Sollers internal R&D team also continuously develops solutions that influence the way we and the industry as a whole work in areas such as quality assurance, test automation and more.

Client focus

Establishing strong relationships with clients has always been crucial for us. We work hard to ensure that our cooperation is based on trust and mutual satisfaction. The last few months have shown that these efforts are paying off.

During the crisis, our relationships with clients remained strong despite the challenging circumstances. We believe this is partly due to being Agile and transparent, which helps us build long-term relationships.

Reliable partners

In times of crisis, all relationships are put to the test. Today, we can say that our relationships with our partners have also passed that test.

• Sollers Consulting began a successful partnership with Guidewire Software in 2011, which resulted in more than 60 projects delivered for insurance carriers around the world.
• This strategic partnership has facilitated growth for both companies and helped establish a close and friendly relationship.

Leading by example

In uncertain times, leading by example becomes even more important to maintain trust and effective cooperation across the company.

Regular company updates on current topics, delivered through newsletters or online conferences with dedicated Q&A sessions, proved to be a valuable and appreciated communication platform at Sollers. They helped make our international team even more united.

By involving Sollers employees and maintaining transparent leadership, we aim to lead by example and put our values, including teamwork and transparency, into practice.

Communication is the key

Communication is important in everyday life and even more so in times of crisis. During the last few months, staying in touch and taking care of one another became even more important.

• We kept each other up to date during remote First Thursdays, where we shared information about what was happening across the organisation and what we were currently working on.
• We drank a lot of coffee during remote coffee chats with our team members.
• Our internal Yammer platform was also full of posts and updates about how we were dealing with working from home and adapting to the new situation.

Constant development

At Sollers, we have a unique approach to the Promotion & Evaluation process for every employee. Twice a year, we evaluate every eligible employee, which results not only in promotion decisions but also in valuable performance-related feedback and possible development paths.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nothing changed in our approach to this process. The only difference was that many more promotion meetings took place remotely, which did not hamper the process itself.

At the time of writing, we were preparing for the autumn edition of the Promotion & Evaluation process. Apart from more remote work, not much had changed. We had the tools and means to continue in this way for the time being.

Self-development is a real value

It is always a good time to be an active learner, broaden your knowledge and gain new skills. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this became even more important. Although we could not meet and participate in training events together, we could still learn online, share experiences and benefit from the practical knowledge of others.

Since April, we have organised six internal online training sessions. Sollers employees have participated in more than 70 external online training sessions, and over 34 Sollers are currently learning new technologies required for various projects. Looking ahead, we are planning even more training-related activities.

For our company, development is a real value – even at home, we keep learning!