dB Audio puts staff first during lockdown

In Windhoek, Namibia, technical production and rental company dB Audio’s first concern was to ensure that its staff would be safe and well during the lockdown period when it started on 27 March. The company is normally involved in a wide range of live events, but all events stopped on 16 March when public gatherings were banned. Now, together with others, dB Audio Namibia’s management is talking to officials and bureaucrats and fighting to get the industry recognised as a “most affected” sector and be eligible for financial assistance from the government.

“Communication has been key in getting ourselves organised for lockdown,” explained dB Audio Namibia’s Ernst Steynberg. Although temporarily ceasing operations, dB Audio Namibia has managed to keep nearly all staff in place. Those who can work from home are doing so – at negotiated reduced wages and hours – but at least enough to survive. First priorities were to secure some financial stability for the team of almost 40 who cover all the technical production disciplines, and importantly to ensure that everyone had somewhere safe to stay, access to water and the ability to sanitise.

Those living in townships and settlements with shared toilet and shower facilities were particularly concerned, so the whole team pooled minds, resources and energy into creating a raft of temporary solutions, one of which was to build chemical toilets for those who didn’t have access to their own.

Technical staff with more time than usual on their hands can access the company’s production laptops via a loan system so they can join some of the online learning facilities and product information seminars set up by various manufacturers and brands. Similarly, the client service, design and production staff have taken on mock projects to improve their overall efficiency and creativity when it comes to quoting, designing and planning. “We encourage everyone to learn, develop and grow as much as possible during this ‘down’ time,” explained Steynberg.

Further enabling this process, the company’s mobile Wi-Fi routers are also being rotated between staff who don’t have their own internet access at home and assisting others with data to do the same. “We are all thinking positively and also learning from this whole experience as to how we can better ourselves and the communication support we offer in the future,” added Steynberg. “I believe when things start to open up again and we can begin to rebuild, we should expect a very different industry – as vibrant and exciting as before, but with very different needs and expectations.”