By Joel Sylvester, Chief Marketing Officer, Five Star Call Centers
One month ago, I never would have believed that a majority of Five Star Call Centers’ team would be working from home by today. Yet, in these unprecedented times, they are doing this and succeeding.
During this worldwide pandemic, the contact center community must pull together and support one another to keep our teams and businesses safe. It can’t be about us individually as businesses, but about us as an industry pulling together and supporting team members and businesses that are sorting their way in this new world we are living.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve spoken with several contact centers, sharing best practices for moving our teams to work-at-home and steering our contact centers towards success. I’d like to share these best practices with you and extend an offer to my fellow contact centers. If you need advice or insight for moving your contact center to work-at-home or troubleshooting issues once they are at home, we offer you our support at no charge. Software, hardware, training, human resources, we’ve been through this all and want to support you. Reach out to Joel.Sylvester@FiveStarCallCenters.com, and we’ll connect with a member of our team.
In the meantime, here are some best practices for your contact center moving to work-at-home.
Best Practices for Work-At-Home Contact Centers
Do What You Do Best
Using the same competitive, problem solving nature and trust in your team that made your company, and your teams great, is what is going to make your work-at-home process work. When developing your work-at-home plan, it’s easy to focus on the cons your employees will face, and their negative reactions to them. The truth is, you’d be surprised at just how willing to accommodate your team will be in these circumstances. They want your businesses to succeed in these times just as much as you do. They’ll be flexible and understand that everything may not be 100% perfect on day one. Don’t underestimate just how supportive your team will be and ask for their feedback regularly. They can help the entire team improve each and every day.
Technology is Not a Barrier
It may be time to think out of the box when it comes to technology and working at home. The exact set-up your team has in the office does not necessarily have to be duplicated at their home office. Think about ways to streamline set-ups and ask yourself, does every associate have to have the same set-up to complete their work? There is a good chance they don’t.
Help Your Team Design Their Workspace
When first talking about working from home it’s easy to get caught up in “How will our technology work in their home?” Perhaps the better first question is, “How will their home best fit for work?”
Work with each team member to help them determine a set-up in their homes that will function best. They should find a place in their homes that’s:
- A dedicated workspace. Help them determine what space at home is quiet and would work best as a dedicated work area.
- Ergonomic. And no, even if it seems comfortable, that’s not the couch. Since most of your team will need to be set-up with computers at home, make sure you discuss workspace set-ups that will give them the best ergonomic set-up at home. Several great resources discuss ergonomic design.
- Comfortable. No one knows how long the pandemic may lead to quarantines and social distancing, so your team should make sure their new workspaces are comfortable. Encourage them to incorporate personal style into their space. At Five Star, we encouraged our team to personalize their spaces at the office. They should do this at home too.
