Guest Blog: Emphasising the Human Side of Remote Work

The following post is a guest contribution summary from Kimberley Drobny of Waterfield Technologies. You can read the full post on the Waterfield blog, and register for an upcoming webinar featuring Calabrio’s Dave Hoekstra on September 15th.

Let’s face it, the workplace will forever look different. Companies that would have never allowed employees to work from home – have now uncovered a well of productivity they didn’t know they had. This is the new frontier of the workplace and with it, new challenges. When all your employees go virtual overnight, how do you keep your finger on the pulse of productivity?

It can be difficult to know if and when your team is working. Are they personally doing okay? Are they adhering to the schedule, logging in on time or working overtime when it’s not necessary? Are customers inquiries being addressed satisfactorily across channels?

The reality of this new virtual workplace offers many benefits to both the business and employees. However, there are challenges that, if not addressed, can actually impact productivity, and ultimately, customer satisfaction. We have talked about the technology side of working from home – a million webinars on how to migrate to the cloud or how adding new technology can reduce the load of inbound customer interactions. To learn more about how you can finally see the full picture of your customer experience, read our complete guide to customer interaction analytics.

The overnight virtual workplace had CEO’s working at their kitchen tables, VP’s with kids busting into their offices in the middle of a video call – everyone was experiencing the work from home life all at once.

As we are settling into the new normal – contact centre managers are challenged with managing the balance of productivity, virtual fatigue and the ability to maintain a cohesive ‘team’ that can meet customer demands with quality service. This presents new hurdles on both the people and technology fronts and why Workforce Optimisation is more important now than ever. The human side of this virtual environment is more important than ever – staying connected, motivated, empowered and trusted are key to agent performance, overall job satisfaction and customer satisfaction. Let’s not forget, we are all in this together.

Join us on Tuesday, September 15th at 1 pm CT for a live discussion with April Bock and Calabrio’s Dave Hoekstra to hear how our clients are cultivating a flexible yet productive environment for their agents.