Madrid, 24th January 2023 – The hybrid work model is here to stay. In those positions where it can be implemented, most people combine teleworking with being in the office. It is not something new, since many people were already working remotely before the COVID-19 pandemic, but they were few and had little visibility because it was not a structured, institutionalized work model accepted by the majority. Depending on the type of company, the culture of “warming the chair” prevailed and employees who teleworked did so “in the shadows”.
It is a shame it took a pandemic to change mindsets. We now know that hybrid work is the future because it is good for employers and employees.
On the one hand, HR managers can improve the employee value proposition and business leaders can increase staff productivity and reduce real estate and personnel costs.
On the other hand, employees enjoy unprecedented flexibility, can better meet their family needs, improve their work-life balance, and feel in control of when and where they work.
But hybrid work also influences how we work and communicate both within teams and with customers. Customer communications have become virtual and digital. We now have more meetings and work sessions via video calls.
Phone calls leave us wanting more.Zoom and Teams are now part of our lives and are integrating new features that enhance interaction with other participants: we can “clap” or “high-five” to show our happiness, set attractive and customizable backgrounds, and even enable automatic transcription if we want to make sure we understand customers who speak another language.
The virtualization of customer communications also broadens the range of opportunities for interaction, since we can contact customers at any time and from any place. Communications can be immediate and ubiquitous. It is no longer necessary to be seated at the office desk to attend a video call. It is possible to take advantage of free slots during trips and while commuting.
And now that everyone has a smartphone, we can contact customers through various channels: Slack, WhatsApp, email, video call, online portals…. The important thing is to know which channel each customer prefers and when we should use each one depending on the time of the day and customer availability.
The digitalization of customer communications has also made it easier to access and secure documents. In the past, we used to send customers documents attached to an email, but they could not always open them correctly or receive the most up-to-date version. In other words, there was a greater risk of problems or errors.This is where Customer Communications Management platforms significantly easethese processes.
Customers can now be sent a simple link to a cloud platform (such as Egnyte or SharePoint) where we can guarantee that the document is accessible from anywhere and the path is secure, as an email attachment is easier to hack. What is more, these cloud platforms allow several people to work on the same document simultaneously and customers always have access to the most up-to-date version.
This new era of hybrid work requires rethinking customer communications and striking the right balance between virtual and face-to-face communications. Perhaps it makes more sense to talk in person about sensitive and critical issues, and leave video calls for more operational and day-to-day topics.
This new technological era also requires customizing communications and making it more direct, relevant, faster, and more convenient for customers. However, the automation and immediacy of communications must not be to the detriment of the quality or relevance of messages.
The challenge is to maintain strong links with customers remotely and create inclusive virtual work environments where all stakeholders are involved. Sales and conversion rates can drop due to lack of customer contact.
It is a matter of maintaining and improving customer acquisition and retention. Customers want remote and secure interactions, and for that we must develop new sales force capabilities and create new profiles and functions such as Customer Success Manager, unknown until recently, but very necessary to achieve excellence in customer experience.
There is no going back. Some changes caused or boosted by the pandemic will probably stay with us forever, but there is still a long way to go. No one has lived through this, there is no precedent in history, and no one has the perfect solution. However, we must learn to take the good things about hybrid work and close any gaps in customer communications. Nothing replaces personal communication, so we must continue to organize face-to-face events and affiliation and loyalty initiatives.
Efforts must be made to ensure that time spent with customers in person adds value and makes a difference; to achieve what cannot be achieved remotely: reinforce trust and a sense of belonging and team spirit. Customers do not like to be served only by AI chatbots and machines with artificial voices on the phone. The digital age offers them a huge range of purchasing options and companies find it difficult to make themselves heard in the midst of so much “virtual noise”.
That is why it is necessary to design an excellent customer experience that takes advantage of digital tools, like the ones mentioned above and integrate then into the company’s Customer Communications Management ecosystem, without forgetting personal and close relationships. These essential things cannot be lost in the name of digitalization. Technology must reinforce and facilitate customer relationships, not replace them.
We can’t stop the wind with our hands. Digitalization will only spread. Companies that know how to capitalize on hybrid work and digital presence without losing sight of in-person interaction and physical presence will emerge stronger after years of maximum uncertainty like the ones we are experiencing and will prove to their customers that they are worthy of their trust.
About DocPath
DocPath is a leading enterprise document software company that offers its international customers the technology that allows them to complement their ERP and implement advanced Document Output Management, Customer Communications Management and document software pooling processes.
Founded in 1993, DocPath is based in Europe, USA and Latin America and is present with its Solutions in companies around the world. Among its customers there are prestigious banks and top-tier corporations, facilitating the difficult and complex task of designing, generating and distributing their business-critical documents. DocPath keeps a strong commitment to R+D+i, an area to which it allocates a large part of its revenues, and in which lies one of the keys to its success.
For more information, visit: www.docpath.com.
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