Don’t Waste The COVID-19 Crisis While You Work From Home (WFH)
“No good crisis should be wasted, including COVID-19. Even as the pandemic eventually decreases, double down on your “work at home” learnings and capabilities. What’s more, challenge yourself, your business partners and your staff to expand upon these capabilities. While this may have been an unwelcome education, it can prove to be a valuable one.” This is a quote from the recent Corporate Advisory Solutions 2020 M&A Market Report.
When I read this newsletter yesterday I had to first ask Michael Lamm if could quote his newsletter and then knew I had to put my take on these insights in a blog. As a consultant to the debt collection industry I was glad to hear someone suggest that the industry move instead of just sit and wait as this industry usually does, thanks CAS. The idea that we will go back to normal is absurd.
NOTE: I will quote many excerpts from that CAS Market Report and the link to the complete newsletter is at the bottom of this article.
“Companies that were able to pivot and quickly get up to speed on the “work at home” concept have won a key battle. They are growing and getting more client opportunities, which are leading to greater profitability” another quote from the CAS Market Report. The cost of brick and mortar has now been separated from the required costs to optional costs and this is making a large difference in companies profits. In addition the WFH platform has transformed the hiring process as staff no longer have to be within a 50 mile radius of the office.
Once companies move to a WFH platform the next step is to reduce the staffing costs by using nearshore or offshore labor and taking advantage of these labor rates which are 50-75% cheaper than US wages. Now the profits for the company have increased by 40% with changes in Labor rates and brick and mortar costs. This can lead to cheaper prices to the clients of the company and increased profits too.
“Additionally, it is forecasted that 75% of all organizations will soon possess a WFH strategy, while 30% of a company’s future outsourcing mix will be WFH.” another quote that speaks to the long term lifespan of WFH. As we get more comfortable with WFH and transition that to nearshore WFH the quality of the work will actually increase. “Additionally, companies are reporting that agent productivity and customer experience WFH results have been in line or better than brick-and-mortar results.” The ability for quality to increase will also increase workers ability to work more independently.
So the conclusion is you need to embrace the WFH platform, you must figure out how to manage that process with inclusion and motivational strategies. It is best that you also explore WFH staff that are not local, nearshore or offshore when hiring as the best employee may be in India for 1/4 the price of the person your replacing from the US.
All quotes are from this article https://corpadvisorysolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/CAS_Insights_Newsletter_Q2_20.pdf
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Phillip W. Duff
