Arquiled Group increases productivity and keeps remote work

Despite Portugal’s progressive easing of the confinement measures imposed as a response to the COVID-19 disease outbreak, GRUPO ARQUILED (formed by ARQUILED and BRIGHT SCIENCE companies) decided to keep in force its Contingency Plan created for the State of Emergency, recently lifted.

Working remotely continues to be privileged to reduce the risk of infection, namely related to the use of public transportation. The access to the facilities is made by appointment only and is not recommended for all workers part of risk groups.

At the factory, where face-to-face work cannot be avoided, all conditions of social distance and necessary health care continue to be ensured, in line with the recommendations of health authorities.

These preventive measures are justified by the Group’s CEO, Miguel Allen Lima, with the need to “safeguard the health and safety of all workers” during the current Calamity State. “Our employees are the most important”, he says, adding that “this is a joint effort by the company and each of the employees and with the contribution of everyone we will be able to overcome this situation much stronger and united”.

And the reality is that the measures adopted, and their compliance, allowed the company not only to avoid resorting to the lay-off, while keeping all workers, but also to increase productivity after the implementation of remote working. On the other hand, it was possible to keep all production in an enhanced safety environment, and the effort of factory workers during the state of emergency period was compensated with an extraordinary wage bonus.

Arquiled Group is even hiring – Bright Science, the engineering and development company, currently has seven open positions.

A smooth digital transition to a new paradigm

With the state of emergency enacted in march, families were forced to remain at home and many companies were forced to close temporarily. In this extreme challenging context, Arquiled’s digital culture facilitated a smooth transition to an alternative remote work model, now used in all functions possible.

Due to having offices in different countries, a factory in Mora (South of Portugal) and a commercial team spread across the country, many of the digital tools that support remote work were already used frequently in the company, so it was enough to generalize them and increase the frequency of use.

The only novelty was the spontaneous adoption of an internal social network (Yammer) by the workers, which has served perfectly as a digital version of the lounge and as a replacement for the important socialization periods of the mid-morning coffee break and lunch. But also, for other dynamics of social interaction such as sharing recipes, celebrating birthdays and promoting hobbies among employees.