When lockdown began, many months ago, businesses scrambled to create and implement remote working solutions. Fortunately, one study found that 77% of surveyed workers handled the transition well, despite not having flexible work arrangements in place before the COVID-19 outbreak. As lockdown protocols continue to ease, return-to-the-workplace plans are now coming into effect. When implementing your plan, you must take into consideration your employee’s health and safety as well as what tools you need to successfully implement your return-to-the-office plan.
Should everyone return to the office?
Anxious about returning from working from home back to an office setting? You’re not alone. In March 2020, the Office for National Statistics reported that 50% of Britons described their anxiety as ‘high’. There were countless articles in the press about the worries many had about children returning to school, choosing between health and career and even going grocery shopping. Whereas the intensity of this sense of unease appears to be less in 2021, there is still a need to take the appropriate steps to ensure your employees remain healthy and safe.
As a business leader, you might want to take a look at what other companies have done. For example, companies such as Facebook and Twitter have moved half, if not all, of their workforce from the office to remote working. While the transition to work from home was certainly disruptive, 77% of respondents in a global study of 3,000 workers said they feel just as productive working from home as they did in an office setting. Allowing your employees to continue working from home, if they’re able to, can help keep your workforce healthy and safe in the long run. They’ll also thank you for it.
What about essential staff such as receptionists?
For businesses that were used to dealing with customers and clients daily, this is perhaps the most important question. As lockdown protocols continue to ease, consider this question: does the person answering the phone need to be in the office? With transmission risk still being at the forefront of everyone’s mind, you want to ensure that commuting and working in an office setting is essential. But hiring somebody part-time means increasing the chance of transmission and juggling schedules. And having a full-time receptionist can be tricky financially for some businesses. This is where a telephone answering service can help.
Using Verbatim is a no brainer
We’ll let you in on a secret: we’ve enabled our call handlers to work from home and it’s going to continue to stay that way for the foreseeable future. We’re taking our return-to-office strategy one day at a time, just like you might be. We’ve made adjustments to ensure that our staff remain connected to one another and to each of our clients. Our call handlers have been doing a fantastic job of continuing to provide quality service and going above and beyond for our clients.
Your employees and customers will thank you when you start using our telephone answering service. We take the strapline of our company seriously: Your Call – Our Passion. At Verbatim, our only worry is ensuring your phones get answered and are handled appropriately. We provide call answering, virtual receptionists, as well as a range of other services to a variety of clients. From legal firms, to garden supply stores, our talented team can handle any phone call. By letting us manage your calls, you’ll have more time to dedicate yourself to your work and supporting your employees.
Don’t waste another second. Get in touch with us and try us out for 30 days.
