Martin Anderson, managing director of Lemon Business Solutions, has advised businesses to think outside the box to address problems arising from remote working during the third national lockdown.
Martin said; “For some people, working from home is the gift that keeps on giving: access to creature comforts; when getting dressed means putting on a tie and pyjama bottoms, and access to all of the snacks your fridge can hold. For others, it’s more of a chore; squatting in a makeshift office; surrounded by attention-seeking kids and putting on weight. And it’s the same for businesses. Some organisations have thrived sending their colleagues to work remotely while for others, it’s been nothing but a headache.”
Martin particularly highlighted issues arising in contact centres, where the experience from previous lockdowns was of reduced productivity due to homeworking and staff absence alongside increased demand for customer support.
He continued: “Many companies have struggled to meet the growing demand for contact services, due in part to limited time to plan how to manage a dispersed workforce, inadequate remote access, increased staff absence through sickness and technology challenges.
“Now, on lockdown three the trend of increased calls to contact centres during periods requiring that all non-essential staff work from home, is here to stay. Rather than struggle on with dispersed customer service teams, the ability to outsource this particular challenge allows businesses to focus on other difficulties that they face during lockdowns.
“If businesses have learned anything from the past year, it should be that the customer service “work-from-home headache” doesn’t require painkillers, it needs a trustworthy and reliable outsourced support services.”
