The days are getting shorter, the Christmas decorations are shining in all their glory, and you can grab a delightful freshly baked doughnut on every street corner. How was 2020 for us? A quick review.

A cold season, yet simultaneously the warmest time of the year, is already in full swing. We're, of course, talking about December. Sint Nicholas has left the country, and Christmas is approaching. Unfortunately, due to the virus, we're celebrating a slightly less glorious Christmas this year than in previous years. Nevertheless, we want to use this moment to reflect on the past year. What stood out to us in 2020? How did we operate and what have we learned for 2021? We're eager to share our experiences, challenges, and best moments of 2020 and also hope to inspire you towards innovation, growth, and personal development!

Working from Home

An incredible change last year was that many companies have started working entirely or largely from home. At ContactCare, we also took this step. It required a major change in our daily way of working. Firstly, everything related to technology had to be spot-on. For our marketing department, that was no problem at all. For our agents, it was a completely different order. How do you ensure a true migration in weeks that would normally take you six months? Luckily, we have fantastic IT partners and a healthy dose of flexibility to quickly move forward. Every employee received a fully installed laptop at home, including a headset and other necessary equipment. It took some doing and led to various technical challenges, but now all systems are set up so that working from home is going very well. We can safely say that although it was a necessity, the work-from-home experiment was a success. We can hardly imagine working 100% at the office anymore. That promises something for the future!

Staying in Touch While Working from Home

At ContactCare, we value culture and companionship greatly. You can hear a smile, as our colleague Chris from our Academy would say. It's very important to stay in touch even from a distance and go to work with a good feeling. To stay close to the teams, ContactCare uses a clear meeting rhythm. Throughout the month, you have regular contact moments at fixed times. These include the Monthlies, the Weeklies, and the daily Dailies. During the Daily, you discuss with your manager your KPIs and try to figure out if you can help someone or need help yourself.

During the Weekly, each department discusses the week's objectives and how to achieve them. In the Monthly, we discuss the interim results of our quarterly objectives and where we stand. This way, the entire company is informed of progress and knows exactly what everyone is busy with. As the cherry on top, ContactCare has organized a daily closure for our staff team. During this company-wide concluding meeting, we share where challenges lie and how the day has gone. There's even an occasional virtual happy hour.

By working with meeting rhythms, you're 100% sure you don't miss anything from your colleagues, there's enough contact during home working, and meetings are more efficient. Note that daily discussions are also short, focusing purely on highlights. Need help from a colleague? Plan your moment together after this meeting. Fifteen minutes a day is enough. All in all, this creates more calm in the organization, and everyone gets the attention they deserve. In short: Stay in Contact and Care! Would you like to know more about efficient meetings? Check out the management book ‘And Now Back to Work’ written by Jasper, our founder.

Loneliness High

It was noticeable that loneliness among the elderly increased even more. It is well known that many elderly people feel lonely. The Corona crisis only worsened it, not only among the elderly! Our customer experts also noticed this. Many people were looking for a conversation partner as a vent in addition to their help request during their call. Unfortunately, it seems Corona will not leave our country so easily. What do we do? Our customer experts take the time for these lonely people whenever possible and try to end every call with a smile. But not only that, ContactCare became a partner of the DigiHelpLine last year. With this, we are contributing to digital inclusivity. This way, digitally less-savvy Dutch people still have the opportunity to participate in digital communication. This makes life a bit more bearable, makes communicating with others easier, and together we reduce loneliness.

Flexibility

Working from home, changing your daily routine, and creating a nice workspace from your living room, bedroom, or home office requires flexibility from your employees. No longer being in physical contact with colleagues daily makes working very different. The entire ContactCare team has been particularly flexible in this. Arbo-proof workspaces have been realized in living rooms with the help of a compensation. Business calls are in full swing to keep the operation running, and although the coffee machine is no longer there to lean on, there is still some room for chitchatting. After all, let's not forget that colleagues are also there to share fun stories. For this reason, we regularly have an online drink, like our recent online Sinterklaas celebration. Have you read our Sinterklaas blog yet? Check it here.

Continue Innovating in 2021

Our goals for 2021 are, of course, about being there for each other, just like in 2020. We don't know what 2021 will bring us or if all planned company parties will go ahead, but standing ready for you is certain. Another certainty; keeping working from home is here to stay, maybe not completely, but certainly partially. ContactCare finds that working from home works very well. For this reason, we will continue the trend in 2021 and the following years. Additionally, our good resolution is to become an even greener organization, standing firmly for the well-being of people, animals, and the environment. Without revealing too much, 2021 will be a sensational year. Do you want to be kept informed of all developments in 2021?

We at ContactCare wish everyone happy holidays and a prosperous new year!

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Tips & Tricks for Customer Contact During the Holidays

Tips for the holiday season. With these, you'll ensure you're well-prepared. Know what's coming your way and ensure a good mix of channels where you can provide your information. With these tips, you're ready both before, during, and after the holidays. Good luck!