In an era of hybrid, flexible, and remote working situations, ensuring that communication technology is improving the customer experience without eating into the wellbeing of staff can feel like a balancing act. As customers increasingly expect 24/7 support, out of hours servicing (such as early morning, after hours, on weekends or bank holidays) and access to an informed point of contact, businesses have had to find ways to meet these demands.
The rise of improvements in communications technology, accelerated by demand generated from the pandemic, has meant there are plenty of options available for businesses and customers to ensure they get the right contact solution at the right time. Enreach, as a leading provider of business communication solutions, has embraced these developments along with a forward-thinking approach to working patterns for staff, while considering how best to meet customer support needs.
Enreach takes an ‘anywhere, anytime’ approach to working and customer service. Enreach is fully hybrid, offering staff the opportunity to work in the office, from home, in the field or in any remote location as needed. Staff can work in a way that best suits them, allowing them to be flexible around client appointments, personal and family commitments, travel and more.
With a dedicated team assigned to each account, Enreach builds a firm relationship with customers, gaining insight into specific needs and offering support at a time and level that suits them best. Embracing the flexible working approach, Enreach’s account management teams fit around customer preferences and hours to deliver support and advice exactly when it’s needed.
Staff are fully equipped with all the technology they need to make this approach possible and effective. Enreach Contact, Enreach Mobile, and cloud telephony packages help make this ‘anywhere, anytime’ approach a reality. By encouraging staff to be autonomous and providing them with the tools to make this happen, staff can create a work-life balance approach that best suits them, without any compromise in customer service. The approach has allowed staff to be more sensitive to customer preferences when it comes to concerns such as COVID-19, easily shifting in-person visits to video calls with no compromise in service.
Supporting improved work-life balance for staff is the implementation of AI powered chatbots on the Enreach website and customer portals. Available 24/7, these chatbots are designed to help answer FAQs and point customers towards the most appropriate resource. The chatbots help reduce ‘busy work’ for staff, freeing up time to spend on customer queries that need a dedicated account manager’s expertise. Staff can utilise their working hours effectively, reducing the need for overtime thanks to streamlined methods like the AI chatbots.
Internally, Enreach has a strong culture of wellbeing and a focus on mental health for staff. Initiatives such as Brew Mondays allow staff the chance to catch up in a friendly, no pressure environment and address any stresses they might be facing to get the right level of support. Enreach are also partnered with Mind, the leading mental health charity, with fundraising events due to take place throughout the year to provide valuable support.
Director of People and Culture, Steve Webb, spoke about the importance of maintaining staff wellbeing without any compromise for customers: “At Enreach we work in partnership with our customers; we’re always looking for ways to work more effectively and in a way that suits their processes. Ensuring we’re delivering on customer needs while also supporting our staff in maintaining a healthy work-life balance is crucial to the way we operate. Our value of being open means we operate with honesty and transparency. We ask customers how we can help, and we ask the same of our staff. When our staff are well looked after, our customers are too.”
Hybrid working and effective communications technology have proven highly successful for Enreach. The recent launch of Enreach Mobile reaffirmed this, and with more new technology due later in 2022, it signals the next step for business cloud and telephony solutions.
Find out more about Enreach here: https://enreach.co.uk/.
