Phase 1 had a significant impact, and FERVO was forced to introduce temporary redundancy for some of the workers in its companies. FSI, a company in the FERVO Group, have also had to make use of the CIGO (Ordinary Wages Guarantee Fund). However, the management are very conscious of the financial impact on families and have arranged to advance the payments due from INPS.
Rocco Ruggiero, CEO of FERVO, pointed out the following: "It was easy to reorganise the offices in our Group to comply with Government directives and the recommendations of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (National Health Institute). We took swift action to protect our workforce, with a combination of smart working, distancing our employees' workstations, and the use of the requisite PPE.
Our companies specialise in facility management or maintenance services for large buildings, including electrical and plumbing systems (FSI), creation and maintenance of green areas (VME), and cleaning services (RECLEAN) - including sanitation. PHASE 2 is making it much more difficult to organise those services that involve our workers in travelling, making it very hard to protect their health with regard to transport, food and accommodation. For this reason, we are currently limiting our operations to a maximum distance of 150 km."
FERVO wants to confront the recovery with positive action, and to regard the future as an opportunity. In contrast to the average SME, the Group has, therefore, decided to invest in its two main assets: human capital (with the Wages Guarantee Fund), and innovation. The CEO of FERVO also added: "We have just launched a research and development programme to introduce integrated hardware and software systems and improve the process of delivering the service we offer to client companies, and the technologies we use for our service."