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Self-contained units are usually tied to real estate. However, when outsourcing company, Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS), was faced with laying-off employees to adhere to physical distancing protocol, they chose instead to use Self-Contained Units (SCU) to protect their most valuable resource- their team members.

At the onset of COVID-19, many companies in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry found it challenging to implement remote-working for employees who handled sensitive accounts. However, Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) quickly found a solution to create Self-Contained Units that would offer a physically safe space for workers to maintain their jobs, without compromising their health. 

“…We had to be compliant with health regulations and we had to be smart about it, so we came up with Self-Contained Units. Each Self-Contained Unit operates like a bubble and is color tagged so that it can be easily identified…when employees get into their SCU’s they have everything come to them so they don’t have to get up for the rest of day unless they want to go outside,” explained Anand Biradar, Vice President and Business Head, HGS Jamaica.

But how do these Self-Contained Units work?

Like most companies within the Global Services Sector, HGS conducted an analysis to determine which of their employees could immediately start working remotely. Once that was out the way, it was time for them to turn their attention to the best way they could transform their four office locations into safe spaces.

“We have four locations and each location can house between 300-1000 persons. With majority of them working from home we had more space, so we turned the four sites into about 13 or 14 Self- Contained Units with about 20 persons per unit, adequately spaced.

Birardar told Do Business Jamaica that food is delivered to employees, each unit has a restroom, and that all the entertainment needs for employees are met in each Self-Contained Unit.

He also added that if one person is tested positive for COVID-19, the unit is shut-down but the location can remain active with the other Self-Contained Units in operation. 

“Persons who are a part of the different Self-Contained Units do not come in contact with other persons, they don’t take the same transportation and if they have to use a common area like a corridor, that area is thoroughly sanitized”

Biradar attributes the organization’s success to the resilience of his team members and their willingness to adapt to changing circumstances.

 “…We are probably the only BPO [company] that did not lay off anyone during the pandemic… At the peak of COVID-19 in April, about 10,000 persons lost their jobs, or were laid off, but we have actually hired more persons,” Biradar said.

The Outsourcing executive added that he had 2600 persons on staff at the beginning of the pandemic, with approximately 300 persons that they had no immediate need for but kept, which was only possible through shared effort and sacrifice.

While more than 1000 employees are now working from home, Biradar continues to look to the efficiency of the Self-Contained Units to drive client satisfaction and add to the Outsourcing Industry’s success.