With a global pandemic that remains a lingering concern, and more companies opting for the safety of work-at-home environments, no-nonsense communication has become an irreplaceable keystone of business operations. Without a solid strategy in place, companies new to the distributed workforce format can encounter many stumbling blocks that create confusion, hinder productivity and cost valuable resources.
Originally developed to be an on-campus emergency alerting system, Regroup Mass Notification has evolved into a fully realized business communication tool, used by industries such as healthcare, hospitality, large venues, banking, and even local government.
COO at Regroup
We sat down with Regroup’s COO, Chris Utah, to discuss how the workplace landscape has been affected by COVID-19, and how businesses that embrace the distributed workforce model can more effectively communicate with their teams. Here are some of his unique insights on the ‘new normal’.
You’re a believer in the distributed workforce model. What makes it work?
Happiness makes it work. Happy team members are definitely more productive. Distributed contributors enjoy the gift of time that not having to commute provides as well as more availability with family and friends. They are happier, as a result, and better able to balance work with life and the things they enjoy doing.
Obviously, a global pandemic has created multiple hurdles for small, medium and large businesses. Of Regroup’s long-term clients, what has been the biggest challenge with COVID-19?
For certain, accommodating and adapting to newly remote workforces. Many of our clients and their employees subscribed to a traditional mindset as it related to working from home. Remote work myths such as: If you aren’t in the office you will not be productive; if you have family at home it would be impossible to work; you can’t have a remote workforce and a good culture quickly fell flat in the face of necessity. Our customer success team has been able to help our clients solve these challenges from a position of authority since we’ve always been a distributed workforce.
Why can’t distributed teams just use something like instant messaging?
Chat is just the baseline but definitely not enough. We have used (and encouraged our clients to use) other forms of communication for years. When you work closely with teammates, you quickly adopt the ability to understand the import of their written communications. But, we’ve seen that it’s a faster, more personable path with the addition of video.
How do you see the mobile or nomadic workforce evolving?
The genie isn’t going back in the bottle. We’ve seen it unfold for years within our organization — with sales or support reps taking calls and closing business from mountain foothills in Cuzco, Peru or beach bungalows in southern Thailand because – they can. If the technology allows it, and the organization supports it, why wouldn’t you want it? I think we’ll see more widespread acceptance and instances where forward thinking countries such as Italy, Barbados and Chile continue to offer incentives to digital nomads.
Is working remotely a fluke, or do you think it’s the long run for business?
This is long run. Organizations – like the people who run them – will always act in accordance with their best interests. Why would a company that was allocating a significant portion of their budget to office space want to continue doing so if not necessary? We’ll be seeing more creative office space, co-work locations, more empty traditional office spaces and a suburban migration from HQs that want to be smart with money and bring the office to the workforce. From technology companies you’ll see a rise in innovation as spend is reallocated to product and development resources.
How does Regroup’s platform complement a distributed workforce?
It’s important to remember that not every employee is sitting at a desk for the entire workday. People in sales and client services can be dispersed at any given time. Keeping them in the loop, with a tool like Regroup Mass Notification, helps them in their work, but it also can help promote accountability. Plus, if there is a matter that is urgent, you have a system that can get the word out, no matter what other technologies you use with your team.
What makes you guys the experts?
Since 2006, Regroup has embraced the concept of a distributed workforce. It’s helped us to harness talents from outside of our geographical home, and that’s been a serious benefit to our clients. We understand the challenges because we’ve experienced them firsthand. Our own work environment has afforded us a unique perspective on the needs of our clients.
But, aren’t you guys all about ‘emergency’ alerts?
That’s definitely our birthplace. But, Regroup is used by all sorts of clients for other types of communications. Since the platform delivers to SMS, email, websites, mobile phones and landlines, organizations have a lot of choices for delivering non-critical messages to their teams. We see it used for following shipments, updates on operational hours, human resources notifications and a whole host of other types of communications. The fact that it’s so easy to use makes it heavily relied upon by most of our clients.
What makes Regroup so different from the others?
We take an empathetic approach in addressing the specific needs of each client. That means we learn about their industry, their pain points and the goals they have for their internal and external communications. Our core values are innovation and client satisfaction. Because of that, our team works pretty diligently to ensure no client need is left unanswered. Our approach has earned us quite a few industry awards, but we stay humble. We know that our success depends entirely on the satisfaction and success of our clients.
Explain your backbone. How does Regroup deliver on performance promises?
Communications tempered with accountability. We have a straight arrow of alignment through product, sales, and success/support teams as to what we can do and will deliver to our internal and external clients. We don’t deviate and we hold each other accountable.
Where do you see the work-from-home model heading in the coming years?
I definitely don’t see it going away – and, that’s a good thing. I think technology companies will continue to develop offerings to answer the needs of distributed workforces. From those efforts, we may see a number of new tools that are useful to employees or even in personal life uses. Remote work is pushing technology companies to provide more comprehensive solutions for these needs, but to also be more competitive in pricing and customer service. Overall, remote working has a great potential to drive employee happiness and improved technology.
What guidance would you give business leaders moving into the distributed workforce model?
Embrace it; learn from your peers; listen to your front line leaders and understand that the trust required for a successful model is always a two way street with your team. They need to be fully supported and empowered with clear expectations – especially in the initial phases of transition.
We publish a short and sweet guide for businesses, enterprises and other organizations that can help them evaluate the options and benefits of mass notifications. I encourage you to get it here: https://go.regroup.com/regroup-brochure
Related Categories