A brief message from our CEO

While President Cyril Ramaphosa last night announced a 21-day countrywide lockdown in an effort to slow the spread of the Coronavirus, DUO has proactively played its part in ‘flattening the curve’ locally having closed our physical offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town from Friday the 13th of March, and enabling our employees to work from home.

As a lean, agile, owner-managed agency, we are in a position to take action quickly to protect our people and to ensure we are maintaining quality of service to our clients.

DUO switched to the cloud in 2014, meaning that we have the right tools to continue being productive, with all of our employees being familiarised with the different applications we use as part of their induction upon joining the company.

It also means that there is no requirement for the setting up or configuring of IT infrastructure, with all that is needed to keep working being a device – desktop, laptop or even smartphone – and internet connectivity.

One team

We have long seen ourselves as a single team, despite the physical distances of our offices, with technology being used to bring us closer. DUO sees the shift to remote working as a further extension to this approach. In addition to the right tools, we have instated regular video conferencing team calls in order to ensure that workflow is not disrupted, and that we can continue to provide clients with a high level of service and meet our deliverables.

But, these calls go beyond just tackling workplace responsibilities. Rather than simply jumping straight to the order of business, we take time to check in with each other, to discuss our business continuity plan, expand on our concerns around the Coronavirus and how it affects each of us mentally, and to support fellow teammates whenever possible to ensure our emotional wellbeing.

Authentic, credible voice

Fortunately, as a specialist B2B technology agency, many of our clients are involved in the very elements that are needed to make remote working a possibility – IT infrastructure and services, cloud-based platforms and tools, and multiple connectivity options, including for voice and data. The content we are currently producing is business solutions based and we hope that in some small way, helps you navigate through this pandemic.

Global efforts to slow the spread of the disease through shutdowns/ lock downs, limits on gatherings, and a severe reduction in domestic and international travel will take its toll on our already limping economy. However, for some businesses, technology provides a saving grace so that work can continue functioning while observing all these restrictions, as well as the recommendations for social distancing.

In an age where fake news seems to permeate, we look forward to working even closer with our clients in order to tell authentic, credible, solutions-driven stories about how organisations in South Africa can mitigate Coronavirus risk while enabling their employees to fulfil their responsibilities regardless of where they are based.

It’s going to be a while before we see each other again but please know that we are a call, email or WhatsApp message away, ready to create content that provides value to those facing unfamiliar challenges.

Be safe and stay home,

Regards

Judith & The DUO team