One of the first few organisations in Pakistan that introduced the work from home model earlier this year, Jazz was able to face the multifaceted challenges posed by the coronavirus outbreak because of its in-depth analysis of the situation and swift action.

Transitioning into the remote work model was easy for most employees as the company had already introduced its 'Jazz Flex' program two years ago, where employees can work remotely one day a week.

With the right infrastructure and digital tools in place, the company has been able to ensure that operations continue seamlessly. Employees have access to unlimited data to use these tools, carry out virtual meetings, and use this opportunity to become more agile.

In conversation with Salman Ishtiaq, Head of Health, Safety & Environment & Security (HSSE) at Jazz, we found out how Jazz ensured that the transition to remote work was agile and efficient, with seamless productivity at all levels, which was essential for all business divisions to stay afloat during the pandemic.

Here's a detailed account of what Salman feels went right:

For the management at Jazz, there are three ways to counter a crisis situation; staying calm, focusing on swift decision making, and ensuring proactiveness.

Comparing his experience at Jazz to the many major Fortune 100 companies he has worked with, Salman Ishtiaq feels most top management teams stand crippled in the face of emergencies.

Considering the 9/11 as an example, Salman tells us, as the crisis took place, 40% businesses collapsed in the WTC because they didn't have plans for crisis handling or business continuity.

How can leaders lead their teams better?

For an organisation like Jazz, managing conflict and helping employees adapt to these challenging, unprecedented times is key to ensuring business continuity.

There are multiple ways, Salman Ishtiaq tells us, leaders can motivate their teams:

1. Analyse the situation, set directions and prioritise

2. Stay calm and get to know your environment

3. Make focused decisions and stay on top of things

4. Ensure all communication remains honest, regular and realistic

In a crisis situation, all employees seek direction, motivation and leadership. Thus, it is essential for the leaders to double up on their analytical and decision making capacity and capability.

Employees often panic. How should a leader pacify them?

Salman says, 'Panic is never good. And it does put leaders under pressure. But that's really where your leadership comes out. You need to control the panic, make sure people are calm and composed so they keep things in perspective.'

Leaders can truly lead if they are able to understand, explore and assess human emotion to help their teams.

How did Jazz ensure business continuity?

Salman tells us that the commercial and technology division at Jazz, and the quality of the company's service remains at the very top; this has also been testified by PTA, which goes to show that business continuity is naturally a part of the Jazz DNA.

The company's Covid-19 strategies skillfully handled the crisis in a way that is, as Salman Ishtiaq puts it, 'textbook/case study stuff'.

To set the right priorities in the right direction, the leadership level at Jazz took a proactive approach to handling the situation and ensured three things were prioritised without fail at all levels: decision making, proactiveness at the top, and communication.

For the company, the key to successful communication lies in refined and consistent messaging. Repeated, precise messages by Jazz ensured employees heard what was being said and took the right steps where needed.

Jazz was quick to ensure the continuity of services to over 62 million subscribers who rely on the company for their daily communication, entertainment, banking, and information needs. The company also aimed to cater to the shift in demands for various products and services due to Covid, by offering new services including apps such as Jazz Parho, which offers a wide variety of instructional content for students.

At Jazz there are a lot of people, and a lot of stories.

Everyone at the organisation, from the leadership levels to junior staff, stays on top of things, and this, in essence, is the company's secret tool towards crisis, panic and conflict management which helps it sustain its quality of service and business.

This content is produced in paid partnership with Jazz.