HR in War
"The underlying motivation came from understanding that this is a temporary situation.”
Profero is fully remote in normal times, but the company still needed to make changes as it entered wartime.
“When the war started, our main challenge was facilitating the safe return of employees who were traveling abroad and ensuring their well-being,” said Shira Sabo, Administration Manager at Profero. “The second challenge was adjusting to the new circumstances, despite being a fully remote company where everyone already worked from home regularly, we had to make quick adjustments in our working hours and distribute tasks based on each individual's situation.”
HR in War explores how companies in Israel are adapting in unusual times. CTech believes the world should know about the atrocities committed on 7/10 while also highlighting the continued resolve and resistance of the Israeli tech ecosystem.
“We have key members drafted, others found themselves alone at home with their kids and some employees dedicated their time doing important volunteer work. However, the underlying motivation came from our shared realization that the work we do at Profero as a company truly makes a difference and understanding that this is a temporary situation,” she added.
Company name: Profero
Your name and title: Shira Sabo, Administration Manager
Names of founders and upper management: Omri Segev Moyal, CEO & Co-Founder; Guy Barnhart-Magen, CTO & Co-Founder.
Field of activity: Cyber (Incident Response)
Number of employees: N/A
Office location: Remote
On a scale of 1-10, how much did the war disrupt operations at the company?
I would say around four. In the first week of the war after the horrible news started to unfold, morale was really low. We were all shocked, trying to comprehend what just happened while some of us got drafted for reserve on the first day and everything around us changed.
Recognizing that we were in a state of emergency, we had to map our mission swiftly.
First, we conducted an assessment of all employees about their mental and physical status. Secondly, we maintained constant communication with our clients, since Profero is operating in the defense cyber security sector, we had to monitor their status even more closely in order to respond promptly to any changes. The third aspect was making sure ongoing tasks are prioritized allowing us to maintain a structured approach amidst the challenging circumstances.
What consequences have you experienced from these disruptions?
Being a leading global cyber incident response startup, we witnessed a surge in our workload during this period. Our employees are fully dedicated and go above and beyond by giving their absolute best, maintaining high alert and ensuring unparalleled availability, responding to IR activities around the clock, providing our clients with exceptional support, and extending a helping hand to other companies facing emergency breaches and incident response events.
What are the two major challenges you are coping with these days?
When the war started, our main challenge was facilitating the safe return of employees who were traveling abroad and ensuring their well-being. The second challenge was adjusting to the new circumstances, despite being a fully remote company where everyone already worked from home regularly, we had to make quick adjustments in our working hours and distribute tasks based on each individual's situation. We have key members drafted, others found themselves alone at home with their kids and some employees dedicated their time doing important volunteer work. However, the underlying motivation came from our shared realization that the work we do at Profero as a company truly makes a difference and understanding that this is a temporary situation.
What support do you provide to employees?
We've been conducting personal calls and check-ins with each employee on a weekly basis in addition to our regular work-related calls, making sure we address any specific need that is brought up. We've also been sending goodie bags to the families of our team members in the reserves and gift cards to everyone to show our support and make sure they also taking care of themselves.
Our global team is an integral part of Profero. Especially at times like these, we are keeping a close personal relationship with everyone no matter where they’re located while sharing with them our insights, support, and information about the situation here in Israel. As the war continues, we are building a war-life balance, tailoring work needs to each person’s capacity and availability and as a remote company, we made sure our employees have the freedom to work from where they feel the safest.
Do you have employees with foreign citizenship who asked to work from another country? If so, has movement been requested/approved?
Profero operates remotely on a regular basis, allowing our employees the flexibility to work from wherever they feel most comfortable, both during wartime and on regular days.
How do you communicate the situation to customers? Do you see hostility or support?
We've been receiving calls and messages from clients and colleagues worldwide, expressing their concern for our team's safety and offering support and empathy. We consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to have such strong warm relations with our clients, colleagues, and partners - we truly value these connections. The most important thing for us was to communicate our gratitude and to reassure them that we're here, remaining vigilant on their behalf and reminding them that Profero’s commitment to their security mission remains steadfast, especially during times like these, ensuring that it continues to be our top priority.
Startups only: How do you communicate the situation to investors, and how are they reacting?
Profero is a bootstrap startup, meaning we don't have investors and the company is relying only on personal resources and revenue generated by our growing business.
