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TOGETHER WE CAN BEAT COVID

We are driven by the belief that COVID can be beaten and we are determined to do our part. The enormity of the suffering is heartbreaking. We do not have a choice, but to act.

Big problems need all of us to step up. In a crisis like this, Government & Employees need corporate citizens to step up and do their part.

We are stronger together. We need to do everything we can to support every VM associate and his/her family. We need to look beyond ourselves. Our support cannot stop with our associates, but must extend to the communities they live in.

 

OUR SUPPORT EFFORTS ARE AT MULTIPLE LEVELS 

We are grateful to our customers for their continued support. The trust they place in us is allowing us to do our part and we thank them for the same.

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Delivering Value & Driving the Momentum of COVID Care Efforts in India

Supporting our Associates and their families


  • At-home Care: Daily monitoring, triaging, mild case support through tele doctor, at-home testing, O2 support (GHMC, Bangalore, Chennai), transportation to Isolation/hospital facility/post-hospitalization recovery care (Telangana, soon in Andhra); Support by WhiteCoats, Anvayaa and other hospital partners
  • Isolation Care: Isolation facility for Associates & their families with care provided by Pranaam Hospital (Telangana; soon in other cities with other hospital partners)
  • Hospital Care: Provided by Pranaam Hospital (Telangana; soon in Andhra with other hospital partners)
  • Helpline: To facilitate attendant services, nurse care services, grocery & medicine delivery, sanitization & fumigation services (GHMC, Bangalore, Chennai)
  • Vaccination: Facilitating vaccination for Associates & their families either at VM offices in India or through partners, when commercially available

Supporting the Communities we Operate In


  • 200 Bed Isolation Center for the Needy: Funded Seva Bharathi for two months, extendable to 4 months and 400 beds. Staffed with doctors & nurses & equipped with food, medicine, equipment, and ambulances
  • Oxygen Concentrators for the Law Enforcement Department: Funding an isolation facility dedicated to law enforcement officers doubling up as front-line care providers
  • Support for 170 Bed Hospital: Early funding to “Nirmaan” for their effort in setting up the hospital
  • Adoption of 1 of 19 mini-hospitals: Working with “Nirmaan” for funding a rural hospital they are setting up with 15 ICU beds
  • 180 Oxygen Concentrators: Procured for distribution in Hyderabad to NGOs and to at-home/isolation service providers

Supporting India


  • 250 Oxygen concentrators across India till date: Funded OxygenForIndia.Org
  • Support for 3 New Oxygen Plants: Pledged 10% of the needed funds (in cash and in-kind) to a Bangalore-based non-profit
  • Spurred Other Corporates into Action: Presented “doing well by doing good” philosophy to a network of corporate leaders

 

Our Partners in the Fight Against COVID

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COVID-19 ANNOUNCEMENTS

Check COVID-19 Announcements (US & India) posts on Teams at least once a day to know the latest on what is happening at the Company, our offices and at our Client locations and what is expected of you. Click below icons to go to the respective channels on Teams. 

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At ValueMomentum, we are committed to providing the highest level of service to our customers while ensuring the safety and well-being of our employees, partners, vendors, and all associated personnel working at various ValueMomentum facilities. Find out more about how to stay safe and stay focused during the COVID-19 crisis below:

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

For Associates in the US, if you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms:

  • Please be sure to check the CDC guidelines
  • Reach out to your primary care physician for medical advice.
  • If you are enrolled in ValueMomentum’s health plan through Cigna, it is important to note: Cigna provides access to two Medical Virtual Care services as part of your medical plan – Amwell and MDLIVE. Virtual Care allows you to get the care you need – including most prescriptions – for a wide range of minor conditions. You can connect with a board-certified doctor via video chat or phone, without leaving your home. You can access this service 24/7/365 with appointments usually in less than an hour
    • AmWellforCigna.com: 855-667-9722 and
    • MDLIVEforCigna.com: 888-726-3171

The above Virtual Care services can be used not just for COVID-19 related symptoms but also for other minor ailments that you may experience. This is a valuable resource for all of us as we practice social distancing and work from home – to protect ourselves and our communities. Please see attached flyer for detail.

  • If your symptoms are severe, you can consider using an Urgent Care facility or going to the ER. You can find your local Urgent Care facility at www.cigna.com or calling the member service located at the back of your Member ID card.
  • It recommended to call before you visit your physician or urgent care facility to help them protect themselves and other patients.

For Associates in India, please be sure to review Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) advisory and guidelines related to COVID-19. You should also review the document "When to get tested for COVID-19" in the COVID19 India Announcements Team Channel. If you experience symptoms, this document has valuable 24x7 helpline information where you can get qualified to get tested. 

It recommended to call before you visit your physician or urgent care facility to help them protect themselves and other patients.

For our India Associates, ValueMomentum has purchased online health & wellness services from CureFit. CureFit, through their CULT program, provides fitness and meditation sessions. Once this is operational, the FUNTASTIC team will conduct various fitness & health challenges. 

For our US Associates, ValueMomentum has announced the Employee Assistance Program. This is an additional benefit that is provided by Cigna and as part of the program, all employees and dependents will get access to licensed clinicians to help with emotional, behavioral, and other issues they may be experiencing. The programs help optimize physical, emotional, and social health in order to be focused, positive and able to perform at your full potential. Employees do not need to be enrolled in the Company Cigna plan to participate. The program also includes online wellness seminars to help you stay mentally, emotionally, and physically healthy.

Update: CureFit’s CULT program saw low utilization and has since been withdrawn.  

We are reviewing the business situation regularly. A few Clients have deferred new projects that were slated to start in May and June. We think we will have a clearer picture of how the year will unfold only after the next two to three months. It is likely that we will see more project deferments and fewer new client wins. We may even see some budget reductions. Therefore, we have to prepare for a weaker economy for the rest of the year and adjust our investments accordingly.

While the economic indicators are signaling weakness, and many IT services providers are already providing guidance of weaker results for the year, we should all bear in mind a few key points that distinguish us from the rest of the IT services providers: (a) the resilience of our target verticals, (b) stability of our key Clients, (c) strength of our long-standing Client relationships, and lastly (d) our “brand of trust”, which you built over all these years and demonstrated again by rising to the occasion and delivering without any productivity loss in the first few weeks of work from home.

Resilience of target verticals: We have seen our focus industries, especially the property & casualty industry – our largest vertical – not being as impacted as the rest of the economy, during the previous crises (2001, 2005, 2009). We are closely monitoring results of the industries we serve and regulatory actions to assess if past resilience prevails during this crisis too.

Stability of our key Clients: Our key Clients are leaders in their respective markets, either on account of product strength, geographic strength, distribution channel strength or the strength of customer and agent relationships. Some of them, even if the overall market shrinks, may weather the storm better than others.

Strength of our long-standing Client relationships: Most of our Clients have been our customers for several years. We have been able to strengthen these relationships and gain their trust because of your commitment over the years.

Our brand of trust: Abrupt changes, like the change from ‘work from office’ to ‘work from home’ we saw recently, can lead to broken relationships as Clients will now have to deal with an engagement style they are not used to. Fortunately for us, this will likely not be the case. We are happy to report that, at least as of now, we are hearing positive feedback from our Clients on the speed with which we mobilized work from home operations, while continuing to provide uninterrupted services. Our Clients know that we put them first. Through our commitment to deliverables all these years, we have built a brand of trust with them. They know that we will make an honest effort to deliver value to them, whether we are working from home or from office. They know that we will collaborate well with them and amongst ourselves, transparently and openly. Even when we are not sitting in their offices, they know they can trust us as they have seen how much we value integrity. Kudos to you, we have not let them down even during these turbulent times! We are confident that you will continue to rise to the occasion and provide exceptional service with high productivity. Please remember, more than anything else, this brand of trust is what will motivate our Clients to prioritize us over many others and continue doing business with us even during difficult economic conditions.

Update: Despite the stress caused by the pandemic, our Clients remain resilient and are focused on improving operational efficiencies and embarking on/accelerating their digital transformation journeys. They have continued to put their vote of confidence in us by renewing contracts and awarding new projects. Thanks to our employees’ efforts in cultivating a strong brand of trust, we have been fortunate to retain our existing customers and win new clients. 

 

On March 30, the Company’s Board formed a Financial Task Force to assess the situation and make adjustments to our strategy. The Board laid out three key priorities that the Financial Task Force has to bear in mind:

  • Jobs continuity
  • Financial stability and bolstering of cash reserves
  • Relief to employees in need and contributions to the communities we live in

On the recommendations of the Financial Task Force, the Board has taken a few decisions to achieve these key priorities.

We are setting aside funds for jobs continuity. These funds will come from this year’s profits and compensation that is being foregone by executives of the Board (including bonuses and a 40% reduction in their current salaries). Additionally, to conserve jobs, we have decided to slow down new recruitment and delay longer-term investments.

Being committed to jobs continuity is not sufficient if we are not equally committed to our financial stability. As many Associates are aware, ValueMomentum has been profitable since inception and has built reserves for tough times and for working capital. Many Associates are also aware that we are conservative in our approach to business management and have never taken on debt. However, just so that we are ready for the unknown, we are further bolstering our cash reserves, by working with our banking partners. The Financial Task Force is also working with operating teams to identify non-personnel related expenses that can be reduced. Additionally, as a precautionary measure for conserving capital, pay revisions for all Associates will be deferred until further notice.

The above steps are necessary for a conservative and prudent approach to preparing for a possible depressed economy. Additionally, as strongly desired by many of our Associates and to fulfill our duty to society, at times like these we need to help those in need. The Company’s Board, therefore, has decided to set aside funds for employee relief and funds for pandemic relief to communities in India and US.

It goes without saying that continuing to delight our Clients with outstanding service is more important than any of the above measures. Please play your part in this for our collective good. Understand that any individual’s unwarranted non-performance will impact all of us, and therefore will be unacceptable.

Update: Based on the consolidated quarterly results and a stable business outlook for the remainder of FY 20-21, in Oct 2020, we have resumed salary revisions, promotions and new recruitment. 

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board identified Jobs Continuity and Financial Stability as our key priorities. Accordingly, the management decided to freeze recruitment, hold off salary revisions, and promotions to preserve capital as a preparation for a looming economic crisis. The Board also wanted to make provisions for supporting employees in distress.

Our target industries and clients continued to show resilience and their focus on improving operational efficiencies and embarking on/accelerating their digital transformation journeys. In addition, our employees put a tremendous effort in nurturing our brand of trust. As a result, our clients renewed contracts and awarded us new projects, and we also won new clients. 

Based on the consolidation of our half-yearly results and the forward-looking discussions that we had with several of our clients, give us better visibility for the next few quarters. Given our stable business outlook, the Board revisited the above decisions and decided to roll out salary increases effective October 1st, 2020. However, please remember that we are not out of the woods yet and significant uncertainties still remain due to the pandemic. We will continue to keep a close watch and keep you informed from time to time.

 

 

The Company is taking necessary steps for a conservative and prudent approach to preparing for a possible depressed economy. Additionally, we take our responsibility to the society seriously. As strongly desired by many of our Associates and to fulfill our duty to society, we want to step up and help those in need.

To this effect, our Board has decided for ValueMomentum to play its part by setting aside an employee relief fund. While guidelines for drawing from this fund will be finalized by our HR, the goal is to take care of health-related costs not covered by insurers, for those who contract COVID-19 and for relief to families of those of our Associates who are fatally infected.

The Board has also decided to contribute funds for communities in India and for communities in the US towards pandemic relief.

On Mar 30, recognizing that the Coronavirus outbreak is not just a health event but also a devastating economic event, ValueMomentum’s Board formed a Financial Task Force co-chaired by two members of our Board, one with responsibility for all financial matters and the other, our CEO. The Financial Task Force will assess the situation and recommend adjustments to be made to our strategy. The Board laid out three key priorities that the Financial Task Force has to bear in mind:

  • Jobs continuity
  • Financial stability and bolstering of cash reserves
  • Relief to employees in need and contributions to the communities we live in

The Financial Task Force, as a first step, performed a financial stress test and provided the results to the Board. The Financial Task Force has started to continuously monitor our operating expenses, client engagements and business outlook including outlook for the business of each of our clients. They will work closely with our banking partners. They will try and achieve cost efficiencies in our non-personnel operating expenses. If they see any changes to the underlying assumptions of our Strategic Planning Model (SPM), they will immediately work with the rest of the Board in either addressing or preparing for the same.

On the guidance of our COVID19 Task Force Coordinators, we are informing our Associates that they will continue working remotely at least until September 30, 2021. Further, non-essential Associates have not been permitted to work at ValueMomentum Towers in Hyderabad, and this will continue until further notice.
 
Update:   
Current status for Return-To-Office plans are as follows:
  • All our offices in Hyderabad will be open from October 18th for fully vaccinated Associates who prefer to work from office. Being fully vaccinated means having taken both doses of COVID-19 vaccine at least 15 days prior. Associates will also be required to wear a mask at all times while on the office premises.
  • For Associates working out of our Client offices, specific dates will vary from Client to Client. You will be informed of these dates and guidelines by your Managers or by HR. These may depend on prevailing guidelines in force at respective clients as determined by our client organizations.
  • Associates working out of New Jersey Headquarters and Erie Development Center will have a delay with Return-To-Office, since both the offices are being refurbished at the present time. We will keep you posted on the Return-To-Office plans for these two centres.

9.    Why are some Associates working from home, while I am not?

Some Clients have already begun exercising work from home options. For those clients who have not yet embraced work from home, we have made appeals. The Task Force is fully committed to making work from home happen successfully for all of our Associates at the earliest possible. We will continue to work with Clients to ensure them of our work from home capabilities and encourage them to exercise this option, as recommended by local and national authorities, for the safety and health of everyone in the community.

Update: All US Associates were asked to stop going to workplaces from Mar 13 onwards. 100% of our US Associates have been working from home since Mar 16. All India Associates, barring a skeletal essential facilities & support staff, were asked to stop going to workplaces from Mar 20 onwards. 100% of our India Associates have been working from home since Mar 24.

10.    When will I need to prepare to work from home?

The Task Force has committed to the Company’s Board and to our Clients that all our US Associates will have the ability to work from home by March 16th and all India Associates by Mar 20th. Location Task Force Leaders have been empowered to mobilize operations to work from home, and several leaders, working in conjunction with Clients, have mobilized work from home operations. The Task Force is on track to achieve the Mar 16th timeline for all of our USA Associates and March 20th timeline for most of our India Associates. For the rest of the Associates in India, excepting those working in “white rooms”, the Task Force is on track to mobilize work from home operations by March 25th.

Update: All US Associates were asked to stop going to workplaces from Mar 13 onwards. 100% of our US Associates have been working from home since Mar 16. All India Associates, barring a skeletal essential facilities & support staff, were asked to stop going to workplaces from Mar 20 onwards. 100% of our India Associates have been working from home since Mar 24.

11.    Can an Associate work from home to minimize the possibility of being infected?

The Task Force is monitoring updates and guidelines from CDC. The Task Force is also making necessary arrangements to enable Associates to work from home, if such a need arises or to comply with local government guidelines. Currently, each Task Force Leader is coordinating with Associates under their purview and with Client Task Force counterparts, to determine where Associates should work from. If your Task Force Leader informs you that you should be prepared to work from home or if a decision has been made for you to work from home, Associates are required to comply with such guidelines. In the interim, if you have a unique concern, please contact your Task Force Leader to determine the appropriate course of action.

Update: All US Associates were asked to stop going to workplaces from Mar 13 onwards. 100% of our US Associates have been working from home since Mar 16. All India Associates, barring a skeletal essential facilities & support staff, were asked to stop going to workplaces from Mar 20 onwards. 100% of our India Associates have been working from home since Mar 24.

12.    What should I do if someone in my community or in my family has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or is undergoing tests because they suspect that they may have contracted COVID-19?

If an Associate’s family member or someone they are in close proximity to, is sick or shows symptoms of fever, acute respiratory illness or any other related symptoms, the Associate should work from home and/or care for their family member. Please immediately inform your Task Force Leader of such a situation. ValueMomentum will not consider this time as leave and the sick days will not get deducted from your paid time off.

13.    If I have to take time off because I or a family member has contracted the virus, or I have to self-quarantine, will this time be considered as sick leave?

On Mar 4, The Company’s Board took the decision to allow Associates who are sick or in self-quarantine to take time off without reducing their sick leaves. It was further decided to allow Associates to self-quarantine without a doctor’s note and without leave and pay deductions. Also, a decision was made to allow Associates to take time off, without loss of pay or leave, to care for a sick family member.

14.    Am I the only one receiving phishing scam emails and text messages?

Sadly, there are people who are taking advantage of emergencies such as this one and trying to scam people using phishing emails and text messages. They are masquerading as credit card companies and other brands. There have been several reports from our Associates who have received phishing scam emails and text messages from either our HR or IT support or our CEO or our other leaders. Please be very vigilant and do NOT click on any link or respond or take any actions without verifying the authenticity diligently.

15.    Are Associates permitted to travel for business or for personal reasons?

All business travel, domestic and international is currently prohibited. In this context, business travel entails traveling outside what may be reasonably considered as your “home base”. For example, an Associate working in our NJ office will have undertaken domestic business travel if they visit a Client in New York, NY.

International personal travel is strongly discouraged and if an emergency necessitates, Associates are required to obtain email approval from their Task Force Leader before going on their trip and self-quarantine themselves upon their return.

With COVID-19 spreading rapidly, it is not safe to travel, either domestic or international. Every one of us is already aware that travel by air is significantly risky. Unfortunately, we may think shorter distance travel by bus or train is safer. However, the risks are equally high as you can see with authorities advising against using mass transit such as metro, train or bus. Traveling a short distance by personal vehicle may also sound safe, but if you are visiting a crowded place such as a place of worship or a playground, you are still at risk of exposure. There may be some emergency that requires you to go out. If you do, please take all the necessary precautions. Stay clear of cities and locations that are experiencing community spread. Note that there are many local restrictions on local travel, as well as lockdowns and stay-at-home orders issued by local authorities and governments.

16.    How is ValueMomentum monitoring COVID-19?

On Feb 17, recognizing that the Coronavirus outbreak is an event to track and monitor, ValueMomentum’s Board requested the executive leadership to cancel the Company’s annual meeting scheduled for Apr 2020. On Feb 26, COVID-19 was recognized as a possible pandemic event and a communication was sent out by our HR prohibiting international travel and providing guidance on not returning to work and self-quarantining if any Associate experiences symptoms. On Mar 4, the Company Board met for an emergency meeting and appointed two Board members (who are also CXOs) as Task Force Coordinators – one for USA and one for India. The Company Board approved broad authority to the Task Force Coordinators to take any action they deem necessary to meet their mandate.

On Mar 5, The Task Force Coordinators appointed Task Force Leaders from various operational units to coordinate ValueMomentum’s response to this incident. The Task Force assumed a mandate to minimize the spread of COVID-19 within our community and minimize its spreading in our communities and our clients’ (“Safety”), rapid respond to incidents and rapidly communicate (“Communication”), and minimize disruption of our service to our Clients and our work (“Operational Continuity”).

The Task Force has been meeting daily to discuss ValueMomentum’s approach to the outbreak and to lead communications and coordination of all matters with our Associates, Clients, Partners and Vendors. The Task Force has been monitoring any incident involving our Associates and communicating with all stakeholders on the same and on the actions taken. Further, the Task Force has been coordinating with other teams and leaders towards the goals of wellbeing of all Associates and operational continuity. The Task Force is also regularly updating the Company’s Board.

COMMUNICATION ARCHIVE 

Below is the archive of all communications shared with Clients, Associates and Partners:

RESOURCES FOR ASSOCIATES

Various US and International Authorities are continually monitoring the dynamic situation involving the COVID-19 outbreak. Please be sure to check for updates as they become available:

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KEY CONTACTS

ValueMomentum's Board has appointed our COVID-19 Task Force that will meet regularly to coordinate our approach to the outbreak and to lead communications and coordination of all matters with our Associates, Clients and Suppliers.

Please contact your local Task Force Leader if you would like to inquire about any general concerns, updates from your local community or client, or for any other questions you may have.

You may also contact: CTF@valuemomentum.com