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Case study

A major US e-commerce firm

Realizing high customer satisfaction, unchanged from the previous year, even while building a structure for work from home and meeting peak period demand

This case study describes how customer satisfaction was achieved that was unchanged from the previous year while building a structure for work from home and meeting peak period demand under extensive COVID-19 lockdowns in the Philippines.
  • *Altius Link was formed through the merger of Relia, Inc. and KDDI Evolva.
  • *This case study describes the activities of Relia Communications and a major US e-commerce firm before the merger.

▷ Shifting to work from home just two weeks after lockdowns began
▷ Achieving first place among all vendors in peak-period responses
▷ Earning KPI scores similar to those in the previous year, despite COVID

Contract details

Details of operations: Outbound English sales and customer support
Locations: Philippines
Operators: Approx. 150 (more than 1000 at peak)
Channels: Telephone, email, chat

Background

  • Chat Large-scale COVID lockdowns in the Philippines

During the global COVID-19 pandemic, strict lockdowns, including stay-at-home orders and suspension of public transportation, were enacted beginning in mid-March, centered on the Philippines capital of Manila. While at first they had been planned to end in mid-April, they were extended to mid-May. In March, the outsourcing (BPO) industry and business essential to everyday living in the Philippines were permitted to operate at minimum work levels as long as they took appropriate social distancing measures and provided employees with accommodations or means of transport. Altius Inspiro, Inc.(Inspiro *1) is an Altius Link overseas Group company that operates in the outsourcing (BPO) industry. Although it was permitted to continue operations, the Philippines government required: work from home in principle. But as its clients faced the peak Mother's Day period, it needed to enhance hiring activities to increase numbers of operators while maintaining working conditions that met government requirements. Meeting both of these requirements was a difficult challenge.


  • *1) About Altius Inspiro, Inc.

Altius Inspiro, Inc. and Altius Infocom, Inc. provide offshore services for the North American market and CRM services for Southeast Asia, centered on the Philippines.

・Locations: Philippines, USA, Nicaragua
・Languages: English, Tagalog, Spanish (and other Southeast Asian languages)
・Main services:
(1) English CRM operations for North America
(2) Multilingual CRM center for APAC

Website:https://inspiro.com/

Topics

■ Meeting business continuity requirements

・It is essential to secure accommodations and means of transport near the office.
・When shifting to work from home, it is vital to arrange computers and network environments and implement security measures.

■Hiring activities for peak times

Even during lockdowns, it was essential to hire more than 1000 operators swiftly to overcome peak periods.

Measures

Inspiro proposed measures to address the above issues from the perspectives of business continuity for client firms and employee safety.

  • Chat Securing accommodations, means of transport, and environments for working from home, to meet business continuity requirements

Best efforts were made to ensure employee safety while public transport was out of service, by securing accommodations near the center and setting up shuttle buses between accommodations and homes and the office. After mid-May when lockdowns ended, accommodations for mobilized employees were discontinued and only shuttles between home and the office were offered. The Company also lent computers and mobile Wi-Fi services to employees who desired to work from home. Maintenance of networking environments for work from home was an important issue. In light of the limited time for preparation before the approaching peak period, agreement was reached with the client firm on requiring only Internet connections, without using a VPN *2.

*2 Virtual private network; a dedicated network with a virtual leased line on the Internet that can be used only by specific people

  • Chat Hiring activities for peak times

Inquiries from the United States (English) made up the majority of customer inquiries. There are several peak periods each year when Americans traditionally send gifts to loved ones, such as St. Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and Christmas. At peak times it is necessary to operate 24 hours/day with a staff of 1500, or 10 times the normal number of 150. But due to COVID-19 it was very difficult to hire this year, since many prospective employees wanted to avoid in-person interviews and training. In response, all interviews and training shifted from in person to online.

Results

Environmental improvements for work from home that began immediately after the start of lockdowns made it possible to migrate about 75% of operators to working from home in just two weeks. While there had been concerns about operations, Inspiro was able to secure the highest response rate among three vendors in the peak period of April and handled about half of all calls. It ranked at the top in comparison of KPI scores (customer satisfaction and sales) as well and was regarded highly by the client for overcoming peak periods without a decline in its scores even during COVID. Favorable comments were received from many operators too because it was able to provide employees with peace of mind at the same time.

Today, it provides clients with services through work performed both in the center and from home. Its ability to achieve high KPI scores while securing stable employment for employees even under challenging conditions can be considered quite an achievement.

Future

It is essential to continue business operations while maintaining quality even in an emergency like COVID-19. Inspiro offers Inspiro@Home to provide sustainable customer experiences. The client requested operation with a staff of more than 3000 in the peak Christmas season this year, and plans call for 90% of these to work from home. We will respond to dramatic variation between peaks and valleys while continuing to keep employees safe through work both in the center and from home. Inspiro aims for working from home on a permanent basis instead of just as an emergency measure. Plans call for about 50% of work to be performed from home. This flexible and diverse work style will realize higher productivity and employee satisfaction.

In addition to Inspiro in the Philippines, we have numerous other overseas facilities, so that we can develop a wide range of services for clients and ensure high quality. Feel free to contact us if you are interested in using overseas contact centers.

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