Published on 1 March 2020 - Regularly updated

Since its inception in 1984, ICC Group has been constantly trying to re-invent itself while adapting to the ever changing business environment and economical landscape. Moving forward to the year 2020, several political and health related events have disrupted businesses locally and across the world!

Today, we are faced by an invisible enemy, that is threatening humankind across planet earth. COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. It has spread rapidly across the globe causing all countries to lock their land, air and sea boarders. Businesses were forced to shut down and citizens to remain at home. Lebanon and the GCC were no exception.

Given the fact that ICC Group has entities in Lebanon and across the GCC, immediate action plan were put in place to protect the interests of our employees, business partners, business core and the community.

Smart Innovations
New Clients
Trainees
New Employees
Webex Meetings
Webex Participants
Webex Minutes
Our superheroes
Our business partners
Our business core
Our Community

Commuting to work guidelines:

  • We recommended our employees to avoid commuting in public transport for their safety
  • The frequent usage of hand sanitizer after contacting public surfaces has been a constant reminder by our HR department for all employees
  • All our group members are encouraged to wear face masks while entering and leaving offices
  • We have placed reminder signs in all our offices on the importance of avoiding touching eyes, noses or face without washing/sanitizing hands

Visitors management guidelines:

  • All ICC Group members are to reduce physical meetings with visitors and are encouraged to conduct e-conference calls
  • All visitors to any of ICC Group entities' offices are required to wear face mask at all times
  • One dedicate person at each of ICC Group entities offices was appointed to handle the courier process. The dedicated person is tasked to sterilize all items before using, archiving or delivering to the concerned person

Office-related measures and guidelines:

  • We have equipped all our offices with hand sanitizers
  • Our offices cleaners are regularly sanitizing desks, tools, common areas, and door knobs
  • RFID cards for attendance has been activated as a replacement to fingerprint attendance
  • We reorganized seating within our offices making sure there is 3 meters distance between employees
  • We have temporary closed our pantries
  • All ICC Group members were advised to use their own assets and avoid using any other ICC Group member assets
  • We have published safety guidelines on our internal employees’ portal
  • We have implemented shift allocation between employees to improve social distancing and reduce the number of employees being present concurrently in our offices
  • As a group we have provided all our members with the right tools to work from home such as laptops, online conferencing tools, IPTelephony and secured VPN connection
  • ICC Group is fully complying with government imposed rules and regulations
  • Our HR department is available around the clock to support employees to perform their best amid the pandemic

3 smart innovations:

  1. Employees at ISS (Software Hive) worked on a “Facial Recognition Door System” that unlocks the door for known employees and recognizes new employees using only a single image. The door will be opened using their image, so no need for employees to use their fingers to punch on the punching machine, and the attendance records will be saved too!
  2. ISS (Software Hive) built their first robot superhero; The “Hygiene & Disinfection Robot” to keep Coronavirus away! The smart robot cleans hallways stops when someone approaches him from the opposite direction. Regular sanitization is off the shoulder!
  3. Finally, the team developed a “Smart Sanitizer” that sanitize your hands with touch-free operation!

What to do in case you came in contact with a COVID-19+ patient:

  • ICC Group advised all their members to directly inform their line manager in case they happen to be in contact with a COVID-19+ patient
  • ICC Group advised all their members to directly inform their line manager in case any of their family members have contracted the COVID-19

What to do in case you contracted COVID-19:

  • All members who show symptoms related to COVID-19 to remain at home for 15 days
  • ICC Group advised all their members to take the COVID-19 test if their symptoms exacerbate
  • For the health and safety of all their members, the contracted member will need to comply with all government and hospital imposed confinement and guidelines until full recovery
  • For the health and safety of all their members, the contracted member will require to take up the COVID-19 test twice with both results being negative in order to be able to report back to office
  • All required medical documentations are to be submitted to HR department

How we are handling the relationship with our business partners:

  • ICC Group entities have reassured all their business partners of our commitment to push for business expansion especially that the Middle East is the fastest spot recovering from the pandemic
  • ICC Group entities have been in contact with each others and their partners to plan and prepare for the expected surge in demand for robust IT infrastructure, cloud computing, network security and automation in the Middle East region, highlighting those solutions as a way to downplay future crisis similar to COVID-19
  • We have shifted all partners training to online webinars

How did we support our large client base:

  • We have shifted technical support team to a remote-based one and set up a connected home-based virtual call center to support our clients
  • A dedicated hotline for emergency support was communicated to all our customers
  • We have allocate resources on rotation-basis to support critical infrastructures and meet SLA agreements

CNS logoTo help lessen concerns and protect organizations dealing with the new challenges resulted from COVID19, CNS an ICC Group subsidiary has facilitated a Secure Work from Home solution that was available for use immediately and FREE OF CHARGE. The solution included:

  1. Cisco Webex for team collaboration and video meetings
  2. Cisco Umbrella for both Cloud Web and DSN security
  3. Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for remote VPN users
  4. Cisco Duo for multi-factor authentication and posture validation

How did we contribute to our community amid COVID-19:

  • On-boarding of 20 new members to our family in Lebanon and the GCC
  • The group enrolled 15 interns across its different entities
  • ICC Group has permanently closed one of its entities offices in Sin El Fil and shifted it to Jnah as an initiative to fully optimize the empty offices we already have in Jnah and reduce expenditure on space.
  • All its members job functions were re-evaluated and aligned with the long terms sustainability of the business with some roles being redesigned to adapt with our new reality