Are our contact centres prepared for a flu pPandemic?
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Posted Thu 7 May 2009 @ 3:52 p.m. by Megan Lacy
I am assuming that every contact centre management team in New Zealand has in the last few weeks sat down and ensured their own contingency plans are up to date and in place for a flu pandemic. Keeping in mind this type of plan is different to other disasters such as a fire, flood or power outage.
I know the hype has gone from the pandemic but it does make us stop and check our processes and plans for the future.
You only have to start thinking about it and it sends a shiver down your spine - contact centres are at risk, it happens every year with normal flu but with the heighten awareness we should step back and make sure there is something in place for a pandemic. The disruption to a contact centre and its ability to meet the needs of the customers is huge and not to mention the risk for the rest of the business that at times rely on the contact centres to generate leads, sales and ensure a high level of service to customers is maintained.
'How will it disrupt operations in the contact centre'? and then 'How will the contact centre minimise the risk' are the first two questions that should be asked. Then communicating the impacts to the rest of the business is a good start so there are no surprises.
I don’t have any magical answers so I went looking for articles around plans for contact centres and I found a white paper published in the UK about being preparing for flu pandemic. I have added it to our Resource Library for members under Management Reporting. Click here
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