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Working within SAP can vary from role to role, and company to company, but never as much as now.

In part 3 of our ‘Working from Home’ series, we take a moment to sit down with SAP Technical Consultant Nitin Bhatnagar, to get an insight into what it's like working for a Government Department during this time.

We ask him if the challenges he faces, new pressures he’s under and how he’s coping or if he’s struggling with the current situation.

Please could you provide a rough overview of the work you were doing before Covid-19 and how this changed as a result of the virus?

Before Covid-19 , Everyone was assigned to different Project teams, working on specific enhancements and upgrades across various SAP projects. However due to Covid-19 we had to restructure quickly to allow the department to make changes to the system mainly around payment processing.

What changes did you experience to your working environment?

The teams were quickly changed to large delivery focused teams to allow more people to work on payment processing. There were changes with provisions for work from home with staff being allowed to work from home on alternate weeks to help with social distancing measures.

What technical changes were made?

The main changes we made were to try and speed up processing. This was done by improvising the business process and shortening the length of claims thus enabling the System to decide outcomes faster.

Were any changes made to reporting lines?

Reporting lines remained mainly the same which helped to avoid too much confusion, the main changes were to the assignment of work rather than reporting.

What are the biggest challenges you are facing?

The load to the system and the speed of changes were the biggest issues as well as the added pressure of the heath crisis and trying to keep my family feeling safe and secure.

What new pressures were you under and how do you deal with this?

People manage work pressure differently based on their priorities. From my perspective , I am not pushing my body to limits and making sure that I am staying healthy and safe. From a work perspective I am taking each day as it comes as I feel it is important to have some flexibility in these times as the situation can change on a daily basis, so it is better to break things down to small tasks rather than focus on longer term goals.

What positives can you take out of this crisis?

The importance of family and friends, it has also given me the opportunity to re-connect with lots of family and friends which I have enjoyed. I am also thankful that I still have work, as I know a number of IT projects have been put on hold.

On a lighter note, what are you most looking forward to doing once lockdown ends?

I am looking forward to going to pub and having a few drinks with my friends.

We would love to know what you're most looking forward to once the lockdown ends. Feel free to leave a comment on our LinkedIn page.

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