How Join.To.IT supports team and country during wartime

On February 24, a full-scale war broke into our lives. Is it possible to be ready for this? No, it is impossible neither for a person nor for a business. Millions of Ukrainians and expats moved to safer regions or abroad, lost their jobs, were forced to retrain, learn a new language and build a life "from scratch".

During the first months of the war, IT companies managed teams in a new reality: they evacuated employees, opened offices in new countries, and restructured their recruiting plans. How Join.To.IT adapted to the new reality, as well as how it supports employees and the country now, in this article.

About the company

Join.To.IT is a progressive outsourcing web and mobile software development company which a leading position in UpWork. Join.To.IT specializes in developing custom software and other IT solutions for business. Now our main area of activity is ERP system for construction, healthcare, contractors industry and CRM systems for real estate, marketing and startups. We cooperate with many clients and partners based in EU countries, as well as in the USA, Canada and Australia.

Join.To.IT united about a hundred IT specialists with common inceptions and values. The success in growing our business would not be possible without these people. That is why we invest everything we can in our employees so that they are satisfied with projects and work in the company.

How we met the war

We hoped until the last moment that there would be no full-scale war. Like for every company, the most important thing for the HR team and the heads of Join.To.IT was not to lose touch with the team and to keep it in the future. Therefore, on February 24, we arranged an online meeting to synchronize the plan and agree on priority actions. We have also created a virtual map with the locations of our employees so that we know who is in the "hot" spots and always be in touch with them. The entire Join.To.IT team is now in safe locations.

Anxiety and decreased motivation arise against the background of obscurity, so we continue to actively inform employees about plans, work focus, company and customer updates. To do this, we hold the General Monthly Meeting every month.

No one thought that they would find war in the 21st century. Therefore, a low level of productivity is normal. Those who couldn't work didn't feel safe, or were dealing with relocation issues took a break in the first weeks of the war. We also provided informational assistance to those who needed it: they were looking for transport, housing, and necessary things.

How we support employees and Ukraine

At Join.To.IT, working conditions have not changed: employees receive a salary, can take paid holidays and sick leave. There were no job firing, layoffs, or delays in compensation payments during the war.

In addition, we:

• Conducted a volunteer mission to restore the damaged house in the village Blystavitsa of Buchansk district. The house burned down from shells. The kitchen also burned down, and the garage where the car was located exploded. Gostomel airport is located next to the house. In 5 hours, the Join.To.IT team did a huge amount of work to restore the house.
  
  
• Participated in fundraising — for the 26th Rifle Battalion of the 112th Territorial Defense Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; Voluntary formation 4 of Sumy city territorial community "Sud"; separate special intelligence unit "Baghira"; the Kyiv 206th battalion of the TD of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which is currently on the front line; "Alfa" special unit of Security Service of Ukraine (SSU).
• Recorded the National Anthem of Ukraine in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
• A shelter was set up so that you could work productively in the office during an air raid. Work in the office at Join.To.IT is possible, but the safety of our employees is important to us.
• We gathered online in an informal atmosphere to chat with colleagues and recharge ourselves with positive emotions - we played "Mafia", conducted the quiz "What? Where? When?" with questions about Ukraine. The everyday routine helps to stabilize the teams psychological condition. You can recharge online, play board games or set up an online quest - something you did before the war and can get back into your work routine now, even if you don't meet in the office.
  
  We try to periodically carry out initiatives that return employees to more or less familiar conditions, help to catch some flashbacks from the past and charge each other with positivity. We also regularly conduct surveys to know the status and needs of each IT specialist on the team.
  
  
• Shared the advice of psychologists, arranged an online lecture on psychological endurance - Maria Abramchuk, a professional psychologist with 17 years of experience, certified ICF coach talked about how to maintain emotional balance during the war, what to do with a survivor's guilt, and also how to deal with anxiety, apathy, despair and anger.

We at Join.To.IT realized that companies with a "human face" will always win the competition for talents. In particular, this is testified by the studies of the American consulting organization McKinsey & Company Back to human': why HR leaders want to focus on people again and "Great attrition" or "Great attraction". The choice is yours.

We plan to continue working in Ukraine, support Ukrainians, expand the team, grow and develop the country's economy. And although the team is scattered around the country, we continue achieving common goals, and we added another one - helping the army to free the country from the aggressor and return our country to a peaceful life.

The team remains focused and motivated, using its technical capabilities to accelerate the victory. Join.To.IT believes in united and sovereign Ukraine! Together we will cope with all challenges. Glory to Ukraine!