April 11, 2020 | Source: www.hawaiibusiness.com

Virtual Interview on COVID-19: Charles Kaneshiro, President and COO, G70

How are you coping amid COVID-19 crisis?

G70 has transitioned to a work-from-home platform for 100% of our architectural, interior design, planning and engineering staff. All meetings have migrated to a teleconferencing format. Our physical office is closed except for deliveries. We have cancelled or postponed all travel.

Did your business continuity plan work or were there surprises?

Two years ago, G70 invested significant capital in our technology infrastructure to allow us to work anywhere in the world. Obviously, the investment is paying off and allowed us to transition to a work from home platform with minor issues.

Have you found silver linings in these difficult times?

The global response to COVID-19 has been fascinating in that as a planet we are uniting to flatten the curve. This effort crosses all ethnic, political, religious, language and geographic borders in a way that brings all of humanity together. This morning, I had a teleconference that connected London, Zurich, Amsterdam, Montreal, New York and Hawai‘i. Each person on this call was working from home, united in doing our part against this global threat. 

How are you maintaining your company culture?

Our culture is centered around our amazing staff and the ability to engage, collaborate and inspire one another.  Maintaining these interactions remains the single-biggest challenge of the crisis. To counter this, we have schedule online weekly team and staff meetings, bi-monthly management meetings, monthly partner meetings, all at the same time they were previously held in the office. Furthermore, we will be increasing our communication and outreach to each employee.

Do you have advice for other local companies?

Communication is vital, leadership on all levels is necessary, and prayer is essential.

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