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98 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MAY 2021 quarterly financials, reinforces the company goals, and recognizes individuals who have ex- celled. We also have a Managers Group that meets bi-monthly to focus on KPIs. Apart from these formal meetings, there are frequent infor- mal meetings. Strong communication has been especially important during the pandemic. When any cri- sis appears, information is the most valuable as- set one can have. We have all been in situations where you are searching for answers and feed- back; when you don't get it, this leads to frus- tration and anger. Instead, continuous internal communication will help your workforce feel more secure, im- pact how they perceive the company, and im- prove the dialogue between departments and customers. You don't want customers getting the wrong feedback, or even worse, no feed- back at all because no one knows what they can or can't say to customers. At Elmatica, we have worked on our internal and external communication the past few years. Once shutdowns occurred in March 2020, we immediately formed a work group that met daily. is group initiated internal newsletters, regular updates on our website, and official let- ters to our customers and partners. In our offi- cial communications, we assured our custom- ers that operations would continue, and offered "tools" in the form of Q&As from the custom- er service and sales departments. We wanted to be sure we provided information during a time when unpredictability was the only thing that was predictable. But what about that daily chat around the coffee machine, the short message about one order, one issue with a stackup, a different ma- terial working perfectly, or the "not crucial for business but crucial for collegial relationships" update about the cat, dog, or family? e pan- demic was a brutal interruption in our lives that oen created isolation. How could we ensure that operations would run smoothly, and com- munication would continue if we weren't face to face? Our answer was to create virtual pop-up events, such as virtual lunchtime and drink hours. We planned weekly events, from wine tasting and games, to inspirational speech- es, virtual tours of historic sites, yoga, playing games like bingo and Kahoot!, face masks for moisturising those dry indoor faces, learning to bind your own fish bait, and even a sheep shearing course. Are You Ready for the Future? We would all love a crystal ball that could predict the future. We may not have that crys- tal ball, but if we learn how to analyse our digi- tal data, we can make some educated estimates. Our experience, backed with data, has helped us make a smart prediction of what is coming. Understanding the customers' demands and patterns has allowed us to better prepare for ca- pacity reservations and customer requirements. Developing a system tailored to our opera- tional needs, meeting compliance, and data analysis is key. A good traceability system and availability of historical data allow the engi- neers to carry out the failure analysis more effi- ciently and effectively. e challenges of this past year have taught us that to build the ability to expect the unexpect- ed, one needs a strong and committed team, routines on clear internal and external com- munication, and focus not only on operation- al management but also on relationship man- agement among partners, customers, and col- leagues. Happy employees bring the company forward, and we all need a clap on the shoulder these days, even if it's a virtual one. PCB007 References 1. Operations Management, Wikipedia. 2. Same. Raymond Goh is COO of Elmatica. To read past columns or contact The PCB Norsemen, click here.