Background
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Helpmates was among many employers that faced a significant challenge when the California Governor issued a statewide ‘stay-at-home’ order.” This meant that unless employees worked for what were deemed “essential businesses”, Californians would now be required to work from home if applicable.
Problem
Issued at the beginning of the work week, the governor’s stay-at-home order affected two of Helpmates’ large call center clients at which more than 60 of our contract specialists were working onsite. Because they used computers to perform their duties, the clients had to figure out how to transition every employee to a remote work setup by the following Monday with as little disruption to customer service continuity as possible.
The clients called Helpmates on Thursday evening asking for help ensuring that our specialists were prepared to start taking customer calls from their homes using client-provided equipment by the following Monday.
Solution
Already specializing in the rapid deployment of skilled workers, Helpmates’ quickly assigned four internal team members to coordinate the work-from-home plan. These team members:
- Immediately contacted every affected employee to ensure they could logistically work from home
- Worked through the weekend to provide what specialists needed to successfully and safely work remotely (e.g. client-provided equipment, wi-fi access, proper workstations free from tripping hazards from extra cables)
- Reviewed liability documents with our clients, ensuring that they understood the responsibility of having remote workers
- Constantly communicated with specialists to ease their minds, encouraged them to embrace their new temporary work setup, and educated them on appropriate use of their company equipment
Results
Amidst an unprecedented global pandemic and subsequent executive stay-at-home order, Helpmates’ successfully addressed the clients’ needs within three days.
- All 60 of Helpmates’ specialists began working remotely with very few glitches
- Clients reported that customers did not notice a downturn in the quality of the call center services
- Helpmates became well-versed in work-from-home responsibility and liability issues as it pertained to staffing agencies and their clients, preparing us for future remote transitions
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