We’re 100% operational, just moved to home office

Over the last few days, all global companies have rolled out mandatory work-from-home policies amid the spread of COVID-19. We at Bitpanda followed these guidelines to ensure the well-being of our team members which is our top priority. In this post, we would like to give you a short update on how we’re dealing with the situation on a daily basis.

Our products remain unaffected. That means that both Bitpanda and Bitpanda Pro are available 24/7, while we continue to offer the same high-quality service and support that we always do.

Following the advice and measures by the Austrian government, we implemented a mandatory work-from-home policy for all of our 180 team members. The most important thing right now is to keep our team and society as a whole safe and also support all the necessary steps to slow the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

A company like Bitpanda is among the lucky few that can operate fully remotely and is only slightly affected by the current situation. We have to be aware of the fact that there are a lot of companies and organisations that don’t have this privilege.

Bearing all this in mind and not wanting to only talk about ourselves, here are some (hopefully) insightful tips:

1. Stick together — digitally

Daily standup video calls should be part of your everyday routine to not lose the human touch people are used to from working in an office. Try to encourage video meetings to stay connected with each other on a deeper level. Don’t just discuss work-related topics but also reflect on how you’re personally dealing with the current situation of prolonged isolation.

2. Come up with fun group activities

On day two, we shared pictures of our home office setup with everyone else at the company. On day three, we hosted a company lunch where everyone can freely tune in and out via video chat. The same goes for Friday evening, where whoever wants to can join, chat with others and stay connected on a casual, non-work related basis.

3. Staying productive

While this is a really unique situation, that is challenging on many levels for the whole team, we have managed to stay just as productive as before. This means that we stick to regular meetings via video calls and hit our deadlines. There are no delays and the roadmap stays the same. Not only product-wise but also in regards to hiring as we plan to nearly double our staff by the end of the year.

While this is a really stressful time, it’s important to keep our spirits up as we’re all in this together.

Stay safe and healthy!

Eric Demuth