Extraordinary Endeavors in Turbulent Times: Asian Innovation, Inclusion, and Impact during COVID-19

ASIA BUSINESS COUNCIL HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 4 3 Fubon Group (Taiwan) Extraordinary Endeavors in Turbulent Times Crisis Management and Digitalization While the IEFS was an external project that helped prevent virus outbreaks in the community, Taiwan Mobile itself demonstrated agility and foresight in its response to the crisis. The management team began discussions on how it could best respond to the pandemic in late January, before Chinese New Year, and this allowed them to get a head-start on stockpiling masks and planning response measures before employees went home for the holidays. After the holidays, Taiwan Mobile became one of the first companies in Taiwan to ask employees who had visited popular tourist locations to stay home for 14 days. At the same time, the company quickly implemented measures to protect its customers by providing hand sanitizers in offline stores. One strategic initiative was the segregation of company employees into an A team and a B team. The same function was split across two teams so that, if a member of one team became infected with the virus, the other could act as a back-up. This arrangement lasted for six months. In addition, the company swiftly implemented remote working and meeting initiatives. Although this way of working was initially unfamiliar to the employees, they were able to adjust to the new norm within a month, learning how to conduct efficient meetings online. With many meetings remaining online, Lin thinks Taiwan Mobile’s DNA has changed for good as it has accelerated the company’s digitalization. Taiwan Mobile applied IEFS technology to locate and send SMS to users who have been to hot spots