Chatbot and Donation

Tackling the present coronavirus situation is a challenge for all companies. They all seek answers to protect their employees and keep business flow. Eisberg Hungary, operating a 3,000-sqm salad factory in Gyál since 1992, just outside Budapest, has its own solutions.

Tackling the present coronavirus situation is a challenge for all companies. They all seek answers to protect their employees and keep business flow. Eisberg Hungary, operating a 3,000-sqm salad factory in Gyál since 1992, just outside Budapest, has its own solutions. Captain Sali reaches all employees at the plant, so there is constant contact between the company management and the manual workers in the plant. Launched over half a year ago, Captain Sali, the chatbot, is doing extremely well as Eisberg Hungary, employing many blue collar workers, struggles to notify colleagues with no e-mail address in case of an emergency, and this is where the routine crisis management approach works.

Face mask, hand sanitizer, quarantine, emergency and home office are just a few of the expressions we encounter in the media about the coronavirus. Instead of fear, Zoltán Gazsi, Managing Director of Eisberg Hungary Ltd., believes that it is now really important to keep calm and communicate with employees immediately, in the most reassuring way. The manufacturing company has put in place all measures to protect its employees, customers, consumers, partners and suppliers. Information is received daily on the guidance of official bodies, participate in the group's central crisis unit, and attend management meetings three times a week to discuss the current situation with other country directors. The company responds to the ever-changing situation with alternative solutions within a short period of time. “For example, the ‘Captain Sali’ chat bot, which has been operating for more than half a year, has been outstanding in communication, enabling them to inform their smart phone colleagues via Viber. Those who do not have a cellphone are appointed a ‘mentor’ with smartphone or are sent messages on the bulletin board or via e-mail or to ensure that all the information arrives on time,” he says.

Donation to baby care unit
When all the news is about a new type of coronavirus that is causing more and more illnesses, people and companies are ringing the alarm: ‘I need to help’. As a supporter of neonatal care, Eisberg is now thinking of pregnant women who may be infected with the coronavirus. The company wishes to make life easier not only for them and their babies but also for the nurses and doctors who care for them. "If we can help any part of the healthcare system during these difficult times, we have already done something for the virus affecting as few health workers as possible," according to Zoltán Gazsi.

Continuing with its earlier practice, Eisberg is helping people who are particularly vulnerable in society. Through the N.A.P. Foundation, the company is donating HUF 1.5 million to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Semmelweis University: to the workers, the babies and their families. “A mother who might be infected with a coronavirus needs the protective gear for breastfeeding or even embracing her baby. We decided to support doctors, nurses and, not least, mothers, within our possibilities,” he adds.
The Eisberg Hungary Managing Director believes that all such contributions bring things forward and helping others should be part of company social responsibility. According to Zoltán Gazsi, it is obvious, judging from foreign examples, that the healthcare system will be under enormous pressure and if those helping to the best of their ability will do their share, it would prevent the virus from spreading.
In Hungary, premature birth is a common phenomenon. Data by the country’s Central Statistical Office reveal that 9% of newborns are born prematurely. The neonatal intensive care unit at Semmelweis University has been supported by the N.A.P. Foundation for decades. They are procuring common pieces of equipment such as baby carrier wraps helping body-contact, which are less accessible in the state care system.

Upon hearing news about the donation, the head of the unit, neonatologist Csaba Nádor said that “Eisberg's offering would come handy even in peacetime, let alone at a time when it is unpredictable how many coronavirus patients will burden the healthcare system within a few weeks and how many pregnant mothers will have premature babies. The donation to the neonatal intensive care unit will be used to continue to provide family-friendly care.” He was of the view that the donation means that by using protective equipment, the unit will be able to provide with breast milk the child whose mother is infected with the coronavirus.
Since the infected cannot enter the premature ward, it is necessary to organize where the where the mother expresses her milk, what protective equipment is being given to her, how the milk is being delivered to the baby, and what kind of protective equipment the newborn will be provided with until it is absolutely certain that she is not infected. These require special disposable protective equipment.

"During this battle period, we will try to provide affordable family-friendly care, and that is what we will use the Eisberg offer for," Dr. Csaba Nádor said. According to current knowledge, there is no vertical transmission, meaning that the infection does not spread to the fetus and does not spread with breast milk.

The company also invited the hospital staff to a salad lunch at the time of the donation. The Eisberg packed salad is a very safe way to consume healthy, fresh vegetables as bag protects the carefully washed and dried salad mixes. A staff of 11 quality experts work daily to secure the freshness and other quality aspects of their products. The factory operates with modern machinery, for example, positive air pressure system with HEPA filters are installed in the high care zone – just like pharma firms.