With the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic we, like many businesses, quickly mobilized to establish a remote workforce. Doing so not only allowed us to ensure the health and safety of our staff but it also meant we could prevent the potential for consumers to experience service interruptions. This was no simple task, but with some creative applications of our existing technologies (and a good technology partner) we have established a system for managing our remote workforce that we are proud of. In this post, we are going to share some of our strategies.
Data Security
The security of our clients’ and consumers’ data is paramount. As such securing our Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections was a top priority. With the assistance of our technology partners, we established strict security protocols including multifactor authentication for improved password security and encryption methods that disguise sensitive data during transmission. Additionally, the VPN infrastructure is monitored and routinely tested for weaknesses. Penetration testing mimics techniques employed by attackers to ensure no cybersecurity stone is left unturned.
Renewed Policies
Considering that transitioning to a work at home environment can be challenging for some, we took care to revisit and revise work policies for all employees. Establishing clear guidelines for remote workers helps to identify best practices while clearly outlining expectations. This gave us an opportunity to redesign and revisit existing policies and re-educate staff on how to prevent risky behavior, such as recognizing a phishing scam, appropriate use for personal devices, and the dangers of using public wifi. Additionally, we could outline expectations for personal work environments in an effort to ensure the same degree of professionalism would be carried out at home as in the office.
Monitoring Agents
In the interest of having the same supervisory standards for agents at home that we would on location, we have bolstered our use of speech analytics. Our VoizTrail platform analyzes 100% of consumer interactions which allows us to continuously monitor agent activity and deliver real-time notifications to supervisors in the that instance assistance or intervention is necessary. The system also produces performance scorecards so we can not only monitor the quality of agents’ performance but also compare scores from the remote environment to those tallied in the office. This helps to see if employees’ engagement levels have changed and new coaching is required. Furthermore, we have adapted our library to listen for interruptions in the work environment such as dogs or other background noises that breach our remote working policies for professionalism.
Quality Assurance
The Coronavirus outbreak has undoubtedly touched the lives of many of the consumers we serve. In order to provide the best service, we must be certain our agents express compassion and understanding for those financially impacted. In acknowledgment, we have redesigned some of our internal processes to reflect the needs of the time. New policies have been rolled out in cooperation with the state-specific regulations and the wishes of individual clients for consumer contact and account management. To ensure the proper protocol is adhered to in these instances we have enhanced our speech analytics library to identify callers under distress from the epidemic, furloughed workers, and first responders. Trend data supplied by identifying these callers help us to create a better consumer experience in light of these new common circumstances and evolve our agent coaching sessions alongside ongoing developments during the outbreak.
If you would like to learn more about how Professional Credit has mobilized a remote workforce to maintain quality service for communities impacted by the Coronavirus, contact our client success department at custsvc@professionalcredit.com.