More than any other crisis in living memory, the COVID-19 pandemic has hobbled governments, enterprises, and citizens equally. While many of us retreat from the world we knew, others brave the front lines. And businesses look to their balance sheets, strategizing on how to survive the current crisis and prosper in its aftermath.

In early March, just as the realities of COVID-19 were starting to sink in, Gulf Talent surveyed 1,600 GCC companies and found that one third would soon have remote-working systems in place. That third included those that had mechanisms in place prior to the outbreak and those that responded to the emerging crisis.

However, more than half had no work-from-home plans, and one in nine considered it unlikely that their organisations would ever be open to the idea.

Yet governments and medical experts continue to urge the practice. Across the GCC, organisations are making good on their plans, with public-sector agencies leading the way. But while some see remote working merely as a means to protect employees, one company is encouraging adopters through their webinar to think of the technology as a brand-building opportunity.

CUSTOMER-CENTRIC CLOUD EXPERIENCE

Genesys has noted the acceleration in cloud investment since the pandemic provoked a response from businesses. It cites a 2019 report from industry-research company IDC that predicted 70% of CIOs will have delivered cloud-based solutions to their organisations by 2021.

But IDC recently discovered that the already-robust spends in public and private cloud, and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), have taken a significant upswing during the crisis. The agility, flexibility and speed of implementation of cloud computing seem tailormade for the crisis.

“There is no better time for our industry to help customers accelerate their journeys to the cloud,” said Mohamed Afifi, managing director, Genesys, who believes the “empathetic moment” is the key to building brand loyalty.

An Accenture survey found that despite a rampant trend toward digitisation of the customer-contact function, 57% of people still prefer voice interaction. In times of crisis, this preference comes to the fore, as citizens seek answers to pressing questions, and comfort from experts.

“Providing compassionate customer service has the potential to generate enhancement to brand perception and lead to customer loyalty, post crisis,” Afifi said. “Conversely, inaccessible, ineffective or uncaring responses are likely to drive an equally pronounced negative reaction.”

This trend can be starkly seen across the Gulf region, in the many surges in contact-centre activity since the pandemic began. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health saw its call volume spike to almost 250,000 per day, overwhelming agents and leaving many citizens’ questions unanswered.

“Cloud computing was made for this moment,” said Afifi, pointing out that the ministry was able to move to a cloud-based, remote-working model in three days, with help from a Genesys project team.  

"In around 72 hours, [the Saudi Ministry of Health] had a working system in place; this is how quickly you can turn things around in a crisis,” he added. “Human ingenuity is a powerful force."

Around 4000 agents now run on the MoH system, including first-line response and appointment booking, and medical, pharmacist and insurance consultation services. And Saudi’s health authority is just one of several GCC government agencies that have moved to work-from-home systems.

UAE's Dubai Health Authority who also recently won one of best CC in Dubai accordingly to Dubai Executive council has managed a huge spike of interactions and managed this thanks to Genesys Platform with helping many people through the pandemic. And Saudi's Nahdi Pharmacy ramped up its capacity from 30 agents to 250 within 24 hours.

“Right now, we are facing something bigger than ourselves,” said Afifi, “but when it passes – and it will pass – those that connect with their customers on a human level will be remembered for it.”

For more information on how your organisation can build your brand through remote working, watch Genesys’ webinar, here.

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