As we emerge, hopefully and with caution, from a historic global lockdown we at RelateCare are beginning to reflect upon the magnitude and scale of what happened, but also our reaction and response. What did we learn? What can we take forward?
This is not to say that we are in the clear, or that things can go back to normal. We must proceed with vigilance. Yet, there are signs of hope, and we must always be learning how we can do better.
At the beginning of March – just four months ago – we were faced with the challenge of shutting down both of our world-class contact centers within a matter of days in order to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This was our first priority. We acted fast and didn’t hesitate to do what is best for our employees and for the community at large.
But we were also driven by two other goals: to make sure that we continued to deliver the highest quality service to our clients, and that we did everything in our power to ensure the safety of our employees.
In order to do this, RelateCare transitioned over 300 of our employees to a Work-From-Home model within just a few days. RelateCare have always had a remote-worker function to allow a small percentage of our employees to work from home, so this enabled us avail of existing knowledge and expertise within the. However, never before did we do so on such a scale. The challenges in securing the right technology, offering the right support and training, were immense. But we rose to the challenge.
Overall, this transition to a Work From Home model has been extremely successful. We maintained the highest level of quality service to our client-partners, including some of the leading health systems in the world.
And we did so while keeping our employees safe, secure, and engaged in their work.
In order to get a true sense of this we recently carried out a survey of our Work-From-Home employees. Did they prefer it to working onsite? What were some of the major benefits and challenges? Did they feel supported?
As you can see from the attached infographic, 85% of employees would be interested in working from home on a more regular basis, perhaps combined with some time spent in the office.
It was interesting to note also that one of the major challenges remains the lack of interaction with colleagues. For those intending to continue the Work-From-Home model, this is something to keep in mind: using learning management systems, running quizzes and having regular check-in and huddles with supervisors and team members are some of the ways we have managed to keep employees engaged and connected while working from home.
Please check out the infographic to learn more. If you have any questions or queries about how to make sure your work-from-home model enables representatives to deliver service excellence, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
