Advans’ response to Covid-19 #strongertogether

In the current uncertain global context, as a responsible financial services provider Advans is taking a proactive approach to dealing with the Covid-19 crisis and ensuring the well-being of its staff and clients.

What is Coronavirus/Covid-19?

Coronavirus or Covid-19 is a worldwide health pandemic which is now present in over 160 countries. Although the virus and local measures taken in each of our nine countries of operation are at different stages of development, we are ensuring that each of our subsidiaries is prepared for the potential impact of the Covid-19 crisis, and evolving our approach on a daily basis to ensure that we can react quickly to an ever-changing situation.

Our management team, at Group level and in each country are focused and mobilized to protect our staff and clients to get through this crisis.

What is Advans doing to protect staff?

Advans is encouraging basic hygiene measures and raising awareness on the importance of following them, such as washing hands frequently, maintaining social distancing, practicing respiratory hygiene and ensuring staff seek medical care and refrain from coming to work if they or a member of their family have any symptoms. On a local level, subsidiaries are taking measures according to the local context and resources which can include limiting travel, asking staff to work from home or rotate days in branch, limiting group trainings or meetings and promoting the use of telephone or online solutions to limit contact, such as asking field staff to call their clients via phone rather than going on a field visit. We are fostering dialogue more than ever and making sure that managers and human resources are fully informed and available to answer any questions or concerns staff may have.

What is Advans doing to protect clients?

Advans is also raising awareness on basic hygiene for clients: Covid-19 awareness posters and flyers are to be distributed across branches, sent via SMS and on social media channels. We are adapting branch services if necessary and according to the individual context of our countries of operation, sometimes with reduced opening hours. We are also taking extra measures to ensure that our clients remain safe in branch, which might include: limiting the number of people in the branch, asking clients to clean hands before entering, cleaning work spaces between client visits. Furthermore clients are asked to contact staff by phone and use alternative channels to make payments or deposits when possible. We are making sure we take a personalised approach to each client’s situation in order to guarantee we are accompanying clients who experience any difficulties due to the crisis in the best possible way.

This is an unprecedented situation, but Advans aims to ensure that we are following the WHO recommendations of being safe, smart and kind together, building on the strength of the Advans community and our relationship with our clients.