(COVID-19) and Business Continuity Methodology

2020 was exceptional at all levels, as it carried many challenges which the Fund succeeded in overcoming with ease, as a result of its long term foresight vision and the availability of all the capabilities and a clear and systematic digital infrastructure which helped in overcoming the pandemic in smart ways and innovative solutions.

Business Continuity Methodology

Digital Structure & Proactive Decisions

Since the first day of announcing the possibility of a worldwide pandemic (Covid-19), and before the announcement of the discovery of the first case inside the country, the Fund has been ready to implement the business continuity methodology prepared in advance to encounter any emergency or crisis of any kind.

Immediately after the plan implementation, the Fund began to take many proactive decisions that relied on readiness and advanced technologies that were previously prepared, and to benefit from the digital transformation of services and electronic linkage with partners, which is positively reflected in providing services to customers from the first day of the pandemic. From one hand, working between providing the logistics of working remotely, and the needs of the Fund's cadres to facilitate the completion of their work; and taking the decisions related to the customers, partners and other activities of the Fund, on the other hand.

Elements of Business Continuity Methodology:

The Fund has adopted the best global practices in business continuity management during the (Covid-19) pandemic, according to a scientific methodology that has been adopted proactively. The methodology has included solutions and measures to address any potential crisis scenarios, especially since this methodology was developed according to a scientific method that covers all aspects, whether before, during or after any emergencies or crises.

The business continuity methodology aimed to identify, classify, understand and prioritize risks, develop plans that reduce these risks, respond to any emergency in an appropriate manner, and enable the Fund to respond quickly and effectively with any crisis that may occur, whether technical or human.

Furthermore, testing and training were carried out on all its items to ensure accuracy. Accordingly, after confirming the outbreak of the pandemic and working remotely decision was made, the work team, was only required to apply the previously established methodology, and activate it accurately and quickly.

As usual, the Fund has taken all the necessary measures to commensurate with the nature of the business, and the priority was to continue providing services with the same quality. The existence of strong infrastructure and the complete digital transformation that entered into force over the 3 years before the pandemic played the major role in having a smooth easy process.

Business Continuity Management Pilot Simulation

The Fund implemented a pilot simulation of Business Continuity Management (BCM), targeting training on how to act in times of crisis, and measuring the time needed by the Fund to restore its business, based on the Business Impact Analysis (BIA) process that determines the priority of restoring services according to their importance and impact.

The experiment also aimed to measure the extent of the Fund's ability to continue its business in emergencies and catastrophes, in addition to testing the speed of the Fund's team in dealing with the pandemic, and the adopted mechanisms in this regard, including the related messages sent to the employees or the media.

The Human Cadres

The human element represents the most important resource for the Fund. However, it was important to define the appropriate measures to maintain the basic skills and knowledge in case of any emergency. According to the business continuity methodology, the techniques for protecting and developing the skills of the employees consisted in training the team on multiple jobs and job rotation; providing specialists who can work temporarily; as well as skillful employees in one or more locations.

Moreover, the Fund has been keen to continue the training processes and support the team with qualification courses which focus on how to respond effectively to emergencies, and empower the team to manage crises upon their occurrence.

The Smart Office

As soon as the possibility of switching to remote work system was introduced, the Fund's specialized team, in the Information Technology Division, began implementing the contingency plan and business continuity related to equipping the necessary infrastructure. Hence, all the necessary equipment were provided to the team, such as laptops, as well as all the means and tools associated with the completion of their work according to each division. Moreover, the IT Division applied all the technologies that ensure the communication continuity between the team, such as reliable communication applications, data sharing techniques, while ensuring their protection and confidentiality, in addition to the techniques related to managing joint projects by using the appropriate methods and programs, and providing them to everyone. The entire Fund’s team has “Maktabi” System, which allows the completion of work in any place without the need to be in office. Moreover, the Division enabled the employees of the Business Contact Center to receive contacts and inquiries of entities via their personal phones during official working hours from anywhere, by smart linkage of the Fund's communications system to their mobile phones, via the call-forwarding feature.

Remote Work System Enforcement

Unlike many institutions, the experience of “working remotely” was not new to the Fund or a product of the pandemic (Covid-19), as the first phase was implemented before the end of 2018, and its implementation was completed empirically at the beginning of 2019. In general, the success of the remote work experience is due to the relentless efforts made by the Fund in its various sectors, officers and employees, during the past years, to keep pace with the digital transformation processes in providing government services, according to a comprehensive technical business program, all internally and externally, by using the latest technologies to provide customers services.

The Stages of Remote Work System enforcement

of the Fund employees - February 2020

of the work force in the Fund - March 2020

working remotely according to the government procedures - April 2020

Managing “The Pandemic Communication”

The Fund developed a comprehensive media response plan to deal with the pandemic, which included the necessary instructions and directions on how to deliver the required messages to the concerned parties internally and externally before, during and after the occurrence of the pandemic. Accordingly, and after working remotely enforcement, the Fund started activating the media response plan, by providing alternatives to direct contact, identifying the most important messages necessary for various categories of customers,

and encountering any rumors that may emanate during the pandemic outbreak about the Fund’s business continuity or the citizens' rights. On the internal level, the Fund was keen to keep the team fully aware and informed of all the regulations submitted by the government authorities and the emergency authorities properly; maintain the corporate compliance with the legal and regulatory regulations; understand the requirements of the concerned parties; protect and maintain the Fund’s reputation; and communicate with the employees through various virtual activities.

Working Remotely Indicators

The experience of working remotely in the Fund resulted in many positive gains and indicators, as the Fund succeeded in completing 100% of its transactions remotely, as approximately (1000) transactions were completed during the first two days of applying this system, which exceeded the number of transactions that were completed during the normal working days. The total number of the completed transactions during the remote work period reached 75.699 transactions.

Communication and Coordination between the Fund’s Team

The Fund was keen to provide different methods of communication between all its divisions. The most important of which is the use of one smart application for the team, through which the employee can obtain all the needed information, from the relevant division or sector (as needed), in addition to all other methods of communication which are usually used within each division, such as WhatsApp groups, internal electronic portals, and other common applications.

virtual meetings

automated operations

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remote transactions

Performance Follow up

The Fund did not stop monitoring the performance and measuring the productivity of its employees during the remote working period in order to ensure the continuity and quality of the business. Several committees were designated by the divisions’ heads to play the supervisory role, in order to ensure the full commitment to achieving tasks with the same quality and speed that were carried out in the normal working days. Accordingly, clear measurement mechanisms were defined, such as measuring the employees’ productivity and comparing it to their productivity at regular working hours; ensuring the quality and accuracy of the outputs; defining timeframes for providing services and accomplishing tasks and delivering projects.

The use of the Senyar program, which was launched by the Fund last year, has contributed to the success of the follow-up plans and performance measurement. The program aims at measuring the employee productivity and facilitating the follow-up of performance and achievement rates, especially in remote work periods, as well as enhancing the culture of organizing periodic meetings between the director and his employees, and helping to distribute and record the weekly tasks in the system. Accordingly, each task is linked to an operational indicator that the employee contributes to achieving. The Fund has continued monitoring the number of working hours, by following up on the adherence to record attendance and leave electronically on daily basis, by using the smart application on which all the employees are listed.