How did the war affect the company's work?
The company withstood this difficult time for the whole country and resumed
the workflow as quickly as possible. After all, CodeLions was preparing
for various scenarios and reactions to them long before russia's full-scale
invasion of sovereign Ukraine. We took all possible measures to ensure
the safety of the entire team, which was located in different parts of
Ukraine. So most of the employees continued to provide service from safe
places the next day. Of course, there were some surprises. Several projects
were on the verge of termination, one had to be suspended, and several
new ones were stopped and canceled in the last step before starting work
on them.
There have been no drastic changes in the organization of the work process.
Thanks to the past Covid period, we quickly moved into full online coordination
of the whole team. Daily, weekly and monthly meetings have only improved
engagement and communication efficiency. Now the office is open, so everyone
can attend it whenever they are willing to.
Of course, there are some adjustments - we often postpone calls in case
of air alarms or other dangers to our colleagues. Some had Internet outages,
so we temporarily had to use other channels to resolve the issue.
Can the company provide stable work as before the war?
Yes. Thanks to the cohesion, inclusion, flexibility of the team, and daily
communication, we were able to reformat, involve people and expand existing
collaborations. The incredible efforts of the management team helped stabilize
the situation and not only restore all projects but also add 2 new ones
within a month. The company has strengthened, exceeded all projected figures,
and continues to grow.
How did the company limit itself from Russian resources? Did this have any consequences?
CodeLions is a completely Ukrainian company without any Russian project
behind it.
The company diversified its projects between European and American markets
a long time ago. Also, we hire only Ukrainian specialists to support and
develop the Ukrainian economy. The strong position of the company and its
team saved us from shocks during the crisis of 2020-2022.
How does the company help?
In addition to providing our services to customers, the CodeLions team
has participated in many initiatives both from the company and on its own.
In particular, we are helping refugees and our defenders, sharing information
about events in Ukraine to English-speaking audiences, fighting fakes,
participating in the IT army, and involving all our clients and acquaintances
from other countries to help Ukraine fight for the free future.
Since the beginning of hostilities, employees together with the company
have donated 400,000 UAH to charity and military aid. This amount continues
to grow every day. Our employees were involved in raising funds for various
essentials for our defenders, including thermal imagers, walkie-talkies,
body armor, cars, and airplanes.
The company also paid all possible taxes to state accounts in advance,
which amounted to at least 70,000 UAH last month. We will continue this
trend so that funds come to government accounts faster. Our team has also
discovered military IGLBs. We have already invested some money in this
financial assistance mechanism, and encourage others to do the same.
In addition, the company launched an initiative to support the local business
of our colleagues. More than 100 thousand UAH were allocated only last
month. We have already noticed positive effects, and we will continue to
support our defenders as well as the state's economy as much as we can.
What is the position of the company?
We have chosen a fairly clear position in the current situation - To continue
to do what we are professionals in - information services to be able to
help our team, our defenders, and our country, both materially and humanitarian.
Does the company run an information campaign?
Of course. Every day we tell the world the truth about the situation in
Ukraine and the crimes of russian troops in our country, fight disinformation,
and fakes on social networks.
What difficulties arose with the beginning of the war?
I think that the first difficulty since the beginning of the war is the
inability to predict the course of events. That is why my team and I are
developing a plan for different scenarios and keeping an ear to the ground.
For now, I can assure you that difficulties happen all the time and external
instability only exacerbates and highlights the already known problems
in the company. Our task is to detect, prevent, and minimize them. This
is the daily work of any manager, and therefore it requires perseverance
and patience. I wish everyone to overcome life and professional difficulties
successfully. Let’s develop Ukraine together.
Did the company face financial difficulties?
Fortunately, our pessimistic predictions did not come true, and the company
did not have significant financial difficulties. Thanks to the involvement
of the whole team, it was possible to increase the number of projects and
expand existing ones.
Thanks to the experience of previous years, we have managed to prepare
for most scenarios, and now we continue to plan the life of the company
for several months ahead.
Despite the external circumstances, the company was able to exceed expectations
and end the quarter with a significant surplus in profits, which was distributed
to help the army and our team.
How does the company support its employees? What happened to salary payments? Did you have to fire someone?
Our team has always been our priority, which is why firing was out of
the question, especially in times of trouble. We try to support everyone,
take care of people's emotional and psychological health, and try to be
as helpful as possible to each other.
We have added 1-2-1 calls and daily online meetings with all team members,
which all who need it can join. We also hired a psychologist for additional
advice on methods and approaches to overcoming stress and maintaining a
state of recovery. In addition, English classes were resumed, I think it
also helps distract and reboot. We periodically collect feedback and new
ideas from the team.
Wage payments were not delayed in any way. No wage delays, as well as
firing due to the military situation, are expected.
Were all employees able to continue their work? Are they safe now?
90% of employees were able to resume their work on Monday, February 28.
By the end of March, we were able to resume cooperation with all colleagues.
The situation with our team members from Kyiv was especially difficult,
but we are happy that we managed to solve everything and ensure their safety.
Today, the whole team is safe. We constantly communicate with colleagues
who may be at risk and try to help them move if they wish.
Two of the employees are now defending Motherland, and we are proud of
that.
Are you looking for new employees now?
CodeLions is constantly on the lookout for new talent. We always stand
for growing and developing! Especially during the war, we want to attract
colleagues from the IT industry from other regions, who, unfortunately,
were forced to leave their homes.
Some companies suffer from the shutdown of many projects, so we are also
developing subcontracting, involving their people in our projects, and
minimizing the number of laid-off professionals, thus increasing taxes
paid to the state.
I am confident that our economy will be able to stabilize and develop
further with this approach.
Has it become more difficult to find candidates?
At the moment, we do not see great difficulties in finding new talents.
We continue to consider and recruit new specialists to our company and
look forward to recommendations. By the way, we have a bonus for recommendations,
so we will be happy for new offers at [email protected]
How did customers react to the situation in Ukraine?
All clients, without exception, expressed their support in our struggle
for freedom and democratic values. We sent them information on how to help
Ukraine. Many of them joined in fundraising for humanitarian and defense
purposes. Someone has even called on their products to help Ukraine or
offered us a relocation to their countries. Absolutely everyone is delighted
with the resilience of our people and our team. But for us, of course,
the biggest support is that they stayed with us.
Are new projects appearing, and do customers trust you?
We continue to attract new projects and have had some success in this
- plus two clients last month. Now the main challenge for us, as well as
for other entirely Ukrainian businesses is the conviction of a client in
our stability against the background of the dynamic situation in our country.
Frankly, this is a difficult task.
We do not have problems with the trust of existing customers, but new
ones are not in a hurry with solutions. Despite this, we do not give up
and continue to encourage customers to help our country, both direct and
indirect - through cooperation with Ukrainian businesses such as ours.
Is the work productive now? Are there any problems with concentration?
We noticed an increase in productivity and speed of doing tasks in the
team. Of course, some of our colleagues, as well as me, have problems with
concentration from time to time, especially after some terrible news, that
is normal. We are all human beings, and we are going through these difficult
times in our way. Our approach to this is communication in common meetings
and support of each other. By the way, Pomodoro practice works well for
me. Some on the team tried it too.
What helps maintain your emotional state?
My team and faith in the victory of Ukraine and its beautiful future.
I am confident that these trials will only make us stronger and give us
an even greater understanding of the importance of our values, our freedom,
and our future.
People are our most valuable capital and strength. Ukrainians are very
resourceful, intelligent, and strong-minded people. I am inspired by the
strength and indomitable spirit of our people. It gives me the inspiration
to move forward and develop our country together.
What are the company's plans for the future?
The company has very ambitious plans for the current and next year, as
well as the next 5-10 years. Despite the war in our country, we continue
to carry out our planning thanks to our team and customers. The company
will definitely develop and expand its team of specialists shortly. We
also plan to enter new markets and areas of digital product development.
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