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During these unprecedented times, businesses and consumers are having to adapt to new ways of working and this is already having a significant impact on Delivery companies. Many industries, such as grocers and travel companies, are seeing unmanageable spikes in call volumes. Others are seeing volumes drop off, for example, in the motor insurance industry as fewer people are driving. On top of this, more and more businesses are either choosing to or are being mandated to move their entire workforce to work from home.

As this ‘new normal’ establishes itself, the way we deliver customer service will need to quickly move to a new operating model. However, as we come out of the crisis and the restrictions on our everyday life begin to ease, how well set up will you be to deal with the medium term impacts of pent up demand and how enduring will the changes you’ve made be in the long term?

Managing the ‘new normal’

As people’s everyday lives are impacted by the restrictive measures being put in place it has led to increasing call surges to contact centres, as individuals seek information. 

Managing customer expectations: Early indications are that, at least amongst a proportion of customers, there is a level of acceptance that things aren’t as they normally are. Many people’s attitude is that, we’re ‘in this together’, with the expectation that getting through to someone may be more difficult than usual. However the organisations that manage this crisis by supporting their customers who are in need will be the ones that come out of it with an enhanced, or at least protected reputation with their customers.

Managing demand: Unpredictable spikes in demand, combined with increased staff absence through sickness make it difficult to meet inbound demand, and customers are already experiencing long wait times.

Managing the Delivery of food services: Whilst most organisations have a business continuity plan in place, not all of them planned for the total closure of their facilities and the imperative for their people to work from home. This is both a technology and an operational challenge for many due to inadequate remote access and limited planning in place to manage the dispersed workforce.

So, how best to manage this ‘new normal’? We’re seeing organisations take a prioritised approach to the challenge, based around getting the ‘basics’ in place first and then making more strategic, longer term choices.