A year and a half have passed since the pandemic began and here, at ICF, we are doing our best to adapt to the ever-changing circumstances brought about by this global phenomenon. While our teams have been eager to collaborate directly once again, it was important for us to implement a work method that could keep our staff safe while complying with the local laws. Here are some of the changes we’ve been going through recently.
The ICF organization has several offices located in different countries across 2 continents. This meant that, throughout the pandemic, we had to adapt to different restrictions and operate in a hybrid, on-site and home office mode.
In the beginning, it took only a few days for all our offices to organize their workforce and prepare almost all employees to work remotely. The quick decisions our management took, as well as the fact that a part of our team has already been experimenting with remote work prior to the pandemic facilitated the whole process. A practical matter we had to handle fast was making sure everyone received the necessary equipment, such as laptops, to be able to work from home. Secondly, we had to make changes to our work processes to quickly adapt to the new reality without impacting our business.
In recent months, since most restrictions have been lifted, many members of our international staff were able to return to the office. At the moment, our company uses slightly different approaches in different offices, depending on the specific business needs of each office, the local culture, and the legal environment.
In the US most of our staff works remotely, with a flexible schedule. One exception is our customer support department where the team needs to work closely and has, therefore, turned back to the office.
In Amsterdam, our team has recently reunited in the office after a long period and will meet up bi-weekly from here on.
In Hungary, our developers work in the office several days per week, depending on the needs of each project they're handling.
The Bucharest operations team members meet at our local office once or two times per week and work from home the rest of the time, which is possible given that this team mainly collaborates with external partners.
Overall, the changes that occurred during the past year and a half implied a certain learning curve and willingness to adapt. We’re proud that our teams have proven once again that they are flexible and always open to embrace change.
Their safety has been our number one priority ever since the pandemic started. Turning back to the office was a process we gradually implemented based on how each country lifted its restrictions and our teams’ eagerness to work together again.
If a hybrid way of work, a flexible approach, and an open mentality are some of the main attributes you're looking for in a job, we invite you to apply to one of our positions and join our international team.
