How Our Bangladesh Team is Riding Out the COVID-19 Crisis — Teamwork Par Excellence

It’s the very working culture that has made us resilient to such situations

I asked myself how our team can maintain the same level of work despite the ongoing lock-down. Here is what I have found.

Padma Multi-purpose Bridge Construction site. The 27th span, out of a total 41, weighing 3,140 ton is being lifted to position on pillars 27 and 28. Photo was taken by Wasim Ather, Site Engineer, on 28th March 2020.

I head the $60m Bangladesh operation of an international consulting business. We have a team of more than 700 nationals and about 50 expatriates under this operation.

At the moment we are in the middle of preparing bids for three large or very large projects; two having submission deadlines in mid-April and one in early May.

We are also working long hours to facilitate the safety and security of all our team members, scattered at different project sites in the country. Besides, there are constant financial updates to reflect the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and planning to minimize them.

Our team members are all at their homes but the work is going on with minimal disruption. We are constantly in touch, mostly by phone and video chats over Teams or Zoom, and by emails. We are sharing cloud-based storage services. We are all in sync.

Meanwhile, construction activities at two large projects sites are going on in full swing, and at a slower pace at some other such sites, which our site teams must oversee. They are shouldering this crucial responsibility of keeping the works going, just like the health workers who are keeping the hospitals running all over the world. The members of these teams are the hardest affected as they are anxious and concerned about the well-being of the families they have left in the cities. Our team is keeping in touch with them with one-on-one phone calls and Zoom chats with individuals or groups. Some ex-pats need travel arrangements as they will be leaving for home. Their travel from the sites to Dhaka, accommodation, tickets all such logistics are arranged by the team members working from wherever they are.

In a Zoom meeting with a Bangabandhu (Karnaphuli) Tunnel construction management team at Patenga in Chittagong. Photo by Ashraful Islam, System Architect Specialist.

This much is for technology. But how about the willingness to work when nobody is watching us, nor is there any fixed working hours, let alone the convenience of all the office services such as a constant supply of steaming cups of tea or coffee. No one is asking whether the pizza should have beef pepperoni or jalapeno chicken for topping. No scope of sharing of jokes between the colleagues or any friendly banter.

But still, all the works are going on as if nothing has happened. How?

The thought has been going on for a while in my mind.

Over the last twenty years, I have had some familiarity with working from home, as I was traveling and working in different cities. So, I should not have any difficulty with such working practices when I am in a lock-down state. These days new communication technologies and good internet coverage have made it even easier.

But how about the rest of the team?

Tunnel Boring Machine Shield — construction activities are going on at Bangabandhu (Karnaphuli) Tunnel Project site. Photo taken by Sahiduj Saju, Document Controller.

Here is how. We have all along been fostering a culture of trust in the team. It has extended beyond the office premises and infiltrated quite easily into our personal domains. This is the predominant working culture of our team in Bangladesh. Without noticing, we all, including the new members, have quietly adapted ourselves to this culture. In the process, this has created a bond of trust within the team that keeps us together even when we are physically apart. We have that firm belief that anyone assigned with a task will be putting in their best effort to deliver it. No one has ever failed to do so. And it’s my firm belief that no one ever will.

The other crucial part of the culture is the sharing of workload. There is always some help available whenever someone is in need.

That’s why when we have recently shut down the office and enforced ‘work from home’, there was nothing really new in it. Everyone was already used to this way of delivering. Everyone already had a laptop with all the necessary software installed on it. No one needed any special arrangement or instruction to ensure the continuation of work. Everyone had internet installed on their mobile phones and at home.

Finally, everyone is in high spirits. How? Because we have weathered similar emergencies and crises in the past and managed to survive together as a team. This gives us the confidence that we will do the same this time again. This too shall pass. It’s only a matter of time.

This is Teamwork par excellence!

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