[March 24, 2020: Zurich, Switzerland] With one of the highest coronavirus infection rates in the world, Switzerland has, over the past few days, announced increasingly stringent measures to help curb the pandemic spread and to protect its citizens. While social distancing and workplace restrictions are severely impacting if and how businesses will run over the coming weeks, Smallpdf, a Zurich-based online PDF software company, is working—and hiring—faster than ever.
Smallpdf prides itself, not only on simplifying PDF problems, but on the agility of its people, who can work whenever, wherever, thanks to the company’s smart, lean infrastructure and round-the-clock support. ‘We have kept a close eye on government recommendations on coronavirus since they were issued. Fortunately, we have remained highly adaptable at Smallpdf, with our staff being equipped with hardware, virtual private networks (VPNs), cloud-based services and meeting applications, to work from home as needed,’ says Carlota Alcázar, People Manager at Smallpdf.
‘While we haven’t reduced working hours during this time, we offer full flexibility for all employees, with special consideration for those who are parents, with the option to reduce their working hours if needed,’ she says. ‘All our scheduled meetings continue to take place, even those with 30-plus attendees, using Google Hangouts and other cloud-based community applications.’
The Future of Recruitment—Today
Thanks to Smallpdf’s online tools that give everyone around the world easy access to PDF problem-solving wherever they are, the company has seen a steady uptick in subscribers since coronavirus began making headlines. ‘This makes it critical for us to not slow down our hiring process, but to recruit as effectively as we were before,’ says Alcázar. ‘Except under the exceptional circumstances posed by a pandemic like coronavirus, our hiring process has adapted to include additional online meetings with the candidate, instead of an on-site interview, where we can still readily gauge the applicant’s job aptitude, affinity for problem-solving, culture fit, and passion for getting things done.’
While onboarding still represents a challenge during a time of critical social distancing, Smallpdf is geared to welcoming newcomers 100% remotely. ‘Of course this isn’t ideal, but under exceptional circumstances, we must be prepared to do things differently if we want to be exceptional,’ Alcázar remarks, concluding, ‘Remote Smallpdf newcomers instantly feel at home with us, even from a distance, because we ensure they have the infrastructure and support they need—and a vibrant new family around the world ready to welcome them home.’
In a bid for solidarity with a global workforce faced with a sudden change to remote work, Smallpdf is offering a 75% discount on its monthly and annual Smallpdf Pro packages until Easter. Visit https://rb.gy/t2woic to access this exclusive offer.
About Smallpdf
Smallpdf is a product of Switzerland, the land of watches, banks, clean design, and high-quality craftsmanship. As per tradition, we craft our product to be reliable, secure, and simple to use. We may be a small team from a small country, but we have big ambitions. In 5 years alone, we have created a platform that has become one of the top 300 most-visited websites on the internet. We think that’s pretty awesome!
We found that existing PDF software is too heavy and awkward to use. Smallpdf solves this problem by removing unused features and focusing on the user experience. Our engineering team works tirelessly to keep our servers up and running for the 25+ million users we serve every month. We value people all over the world, which is why we translated Smallpdf into 24 different languages. The response has been overwhelming: We have had visitors from every single country in the world—even Antarctica!
