Rising to the COVID-19 Challenge as One with Uncompromised Professionalism

To stop the coronavirus (COVID-19) on its tracks as it broke out in Wuhan in late 2019 and quickly spread across China, the Chinese government decided to impose local and nationwide quarantines, supported by the dispatchment of 42,322 medical staff to Hubei province since Chinese New Year’s Eve to help combat the epidemic. Emerging victorious in the two-month long battle, Wuhan recorded zero new cases on 18 March and travel bans in Hubei had gradually been lifted from late March. With the outbreak coming under control and normalcy returning to businesses across mainland China, Hong Kong waged war on the coronavirus epidemic, winning international recognition for its successful response to the health challenge.

During this testing time, our major operations in Wuhan, Shenzhen and Hong Kong have remained uninterrupted, thanks to flexible work arrangements customized to different local conditions.

After human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus was officially confirmed before Chinese New Year, our management team quickly put in place work-from-home arrangements for staff in Wuhan to ensure continuity of customer services. Thanks to our IT staff’s technical support, our colleagues can continue to use translation software at home while meeting the same level of data security and confidentiality requirements always demanded of them. The work-from-home arrangements were later extended to our teams in Shenzhen and Hong Kong around CNY in light of the ongoing crisis.

In Shenzhen, our team has stayed productive by couriering laptops to colleagues already returning to their hometowns and maintaining close communication and coordination via online meetings through instant messaging and other tools. We ensure the safety of each and every colleague by working with community workers and property managers to implement rigorous yet caring anti-epidemic measures, such as providing free masks and other protective supplies to our colleagues in need.

For our Hong Kong team, we organised group purchase of masks way ahead and allowed staff to work alternately from home after the CNY holiday. Sterilization efforts have been stepped up in the office to ensure the health of our colleagues and prevent community transmission of the virus. As the situation in Hong Kong stabilised, we adjusted our staffing arrangements to ensure sufficient capacity to meet peak production requirements in March.

Thanks to the concerted efforts of government departments, the community at large and our colleagues, we have weathered the most challenging time of the epidemic in mainland China, recording zero infection among our colleagues and their families in Wuhan, Shenzhen and Hong Kong. With the safety of staff as our priority, we have maintained an uninterrupted delivery of quality service. Through sheer dedication, our teams will continue to meet the needs of our clients in a timely manner.