Keep calm and code: how to run a tech company with coronavirus around the corner?

In the wake of COVID-19, companies are encouraged to let their employees work from home. BinarApps has followed the recommendations of the Chief Sanitary Inspector and from 11th March, our employees have been advised to work remotely as a precaution to minimize the risk of spreading the coronavirus. Does it change the way BinarApps functions?

We’re no strangers to working from home; at BinarApps, there’s essentially no limit to how many hours any team member can spend at their own home office. Thanks to this, compliance with the health professionals guidelines hasn’t been much of a challenge. 

On Wednesday morning, our office looked like this:

Does it change the way we work? Short answer: not at all! Read more for a longer answer.

Working with Clients in the remote mode

From day one, we have been focused on working with clients from all around the world. For the past 6 years, we have been working with Clients offshore and nearshore on a daily basis. This has helped us in creating a workflow environment where communication is the top priority, even when there are miles and time zones between us and the Client’s team. That knowledge comes in handy in times like these!

We’re sure our Clients won’t notice any significant difference in the delivery of our services. Our goal isn’t changed: we’re here to give you the best quality. 

Are you confused about what to expect from a remote IT team? Check out our guide on how to work with remote teams: https://binarapps.com/international-cooperation-with-remote-tech-team/

Working when the team goes remote

Since we are digital natives, the idea of remote work isn’t new to us. In fact, there’s a guideline on working from home available at our Confluence that has been created at the start of our company and has been updated when the team grew to the impressive number it is today. Every new member is obliged to get to know the rules. Although to be fair, most of us have experience in freelance and remote work already. 

Every team member of BA has been provided with the necessary tools and guidelines to perform their work from home. We use a variety of technologies to keep the team up to date on the latest developments in their projects. Slack, Jira, Hangouts and Google Office Kit are the main channels of communication. Zeplin and GitLab are also the main online tools. Project Managers are accustomed to this style of work and have no problems with conducting the work process. 

BA has participated in a lot of workshops based on the agile methodology. Thanks to this we’re prepared to notice any kind of obstacles right away. The remote nature of our work doesn’t affect daily sprints and sprint reviews. Our scrum masters are always ready to share tips on how to improve the work of the project’s team even more. As a company, we’re focused on keeping up the level of efficiency and quality we are expected to deliver, just how we were when we first started.  

What to do minimize the risk 

It is understandable that the outbreak causes a lot of anxiety. We advise everyone to follow the instructions of the World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public