Responding to the COVID challenge

The pandemic has taken a significant toll on the Travel and Hospitality industries, and over the past many months Sabre has been working closely with our customers to get their businesses back on its feet, and gain passenger/guest confidence. But just when it looked like everything was gradually returning to normal, the second wave of COVID-19 in India, took all of us by surprise. The effects were far more widespread this time, and a lot of our team members and their loved ones tested positive for COVID. Sabre is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our team members, whose health takes precedence over everything else. Our internal teams sprang into action, armed with the learnings from last year. We rolled out several programs in quick time, to help our team members during these challenging times. We had support pouring in from all quarters, including our global and local leadership, partners, vendors, and internal volunteers. In addition to the regular programs and benefits available to team members like the group insurance policy and the mental wellness sessions (organized by our insurance provider), Sabre rolled out a whole host of initiatives to support our team members during this difficult time:

• Temporary Loan Policy: We have introduced a temporary Loan Policy to provide financial assistance to team members and their family members, for medical emergencies arising due to COVID-19 related illnesses.
• Vaccination Drive: We are in advanced level talks with a few national hospital chains to organize vaccination drives (across Indian cities) for our team members and their loved ones, based in India. Sabre will bear the cost of the team member’s vaccination. Sabre has previously partnered with ITPB to organize a vaccination drive for Bengaluru-based team members who are 45+, and we are partnering with them again to organize a drive for the 18+ category in June.
• Teleconsultation: Our team members can leverage this facility to consult a doctor online, without stepping outside their homes and risking their health. We have tied-up with ‘Connect N Heal’ (CNH) as a partner to facilitate this.
• Extended Group Medical Insurance Cover: Sabre has extended the insurance coverage for cases where a team member has been home quarantined, after testing positive for COVID-19.
• ‘Get Well’ Health Kit: Sabre is delivering a ‘Get Well’ kit to the doorsteps of all team members who have tested positive for COVID-19. This kit includes a hand sanitizer, masks, gloves, disinfectant spray, thermometer, flowers, and a ‘get well soon’ card.
• Corona Kavach: Team members also have the option to purchase a medical insurance policy which will cover hospitalization due to COVID-related illnesses, through our insurance partner. This policy can be purchased for team members and their family members (under the age of 65).
• COVID Care Center: Our office space provider (ITPB) has set-up a COVID Care center inside the tech park, where our office is situated in Bengaluru. This service will be available for organizations and their employees located inside ITPB. The facility has 28 beds (for isolation) with oxygen support currently and will look to expand soon.
• Additional Holidays: In a bid to help team members take a break from work, and spend more time with their families, Sabre India has declared the last Friday of every month a holiday, starting from May (will be revisited post August 2021).
• Corona Care Week: In order to help team members understand all the COVID-related benefits available to them, the People (HR) team organized daily sessions for an entire week, where team members could come and ask their questions. Sabre also brought in representatives from partner organizations to explain the various employee benefits.
• Virtual Therapy: We have launched 1:1 counseling sessions, via Optum – our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider, for team members who have been impacted by COVID-19 and require support to take care of their mental wellness.
• COVID-19 Sabre India Discussions Forum: We have set-up a dedicated MS Teams channel internally, to crowdsource information on COVID-19 resources, and offer support wherever possible. This channel is managed by an internal committee that has representation from all functions and is manned by a team of volunteers round the clock, to respond to requests and verify leads.
• Headspace: All Sabre team members have free access to the award-winning Headspace app, which will allow them to relax and de-stress. The app provides guidance on better sleep and meditation.
• ‘Be Mindful’ Week: Globally, Sabre organized a ‘Be Mindful’ week where each office location had a series of initiatives including webinars and fun activities, to help team members be more mindful of their mental wellness.

In these unprecedented times, we believe that measures like these will allow us to be there for our team members in their time of need. We also encourage our team members to pay it forward, when they can, using internal platforms such as ‘Give Together’. This initiative is focused at lending a helping hand to various organizations that are supporting the relief efforts on the ground, to help India combat the threat of COVID-19.