With the government eases lockdown restrictions, many individual MFDs have reopened their offices albeit with precautions.
We spoke to a few individual MFDs across the country to understand how they have reopened their offices and measures that they have put in place to ensure safety of their staff.
Varanasi MFD Ajeett Tripathi of Wealth Valley said that he has reopened his office with a limited staff. “We have sanitized our entire office before reopening it on June 1. We have also conducted a two-hour training program for our employees on covid-19 safety and precautions. In this session, a team of doctors have guided us on maintaining hygiene, using of Arogya Setu app, sanitizing cloth and so on. In addition, we have been using thermal scanners to check the body temperature before letting our employees and visitors inside the office.”
Similarly, Bharat Bagla of Bees Network, Kolkata has opened his office with a list of protocols for his 15-member team. He has been encouraging his employees to use personal vehicle and avoid public transport to travel. In fact, he has lent money to a few employees so that they can buy a car or a bike to travel to office.
He said, “We have also given an option to our employees to stay near office. We have rented an apartment next to our office with all amenities. In addition, we have been following a practice of changing clothes after coming to office from outside. Among other safety measures are checking body temperature, cooking snacks and making tea/coffee at office pantry and using separate utensils and coffee mugs. Also, we have set an hourly alarm that reminds us to wash and sanitize hands.”
Meanwhile, Jaipur MFD Rajesh Sodhani of Sodhani Investments says that he has been sanitizing his office twice a week. Currently, he has 28 employees who come to office on rotation. Also, he has divided office hours in two 4-hour shifts to ensure social distancing norms within office. In addition, employees have to change mask once they enter office premises and regularly sanitize their hands.
Chandigarh MFD Shobhit Gupta of Moneygain Consultants says that his office has started operations with limited staff. “We are currently working with just 4 employees as against the employee strength of 10 to ensure social distancing norms. Moreover, we sanitise every touch point like door handles, washroom taps and others thrice a day to maintain hygiene,” he said.
Kutch MFD Hitesh Gadhvi believes that MFDs should resume their offices only after putting in place safety precautions. “Though I have a small set up with only two employees, I have put in place all precautionary measures like maintaining social distancing, washing hands regularly for 20 seconds and wearing mask all the time to ensure safety of my staff.”
With the Maharashtra government allowing private office to become operation at 10% staff strength or 10 employees whichever is higher, Mumbai MFD Paresh Shah has reopened his office from June 8 with minimal staff asking only those who stay near office to join.
Another Mumbai MFD Vinod Jain of Jain Investments believes that it is not wise to resume office in Mumbai considering the rising cases of coronavirus. “We would continue to work from home until situation normalizes in Mumbai.”
Similarly, Gwalior MFD Brajesh Singh of RPL Financial Services has decided to continue with work from home. He said, “Considering the coronavirus pandemic, it is better to stay home and stay safe. Also, with technology, there is no reason for me to open office during these challenging times.”
