Life as a Human Resources professional has never been so interesting and challenging. The last 21 months have tested us, introducing complexities that we could not foresee. In March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit us, we closed our offices without any understanding about when we could reopen. We had to establish business continuity in a remote mode overnight. And while we managed to ensure all client KPIs and SLAs are met, the social distancing inevitably impacted physical and mental health of all employees. Now, we are redesigning our operations and facilities in the US, Costa Rica, Bulgaria and India to cope with the new realities.
Remote working
Companies of all shapes and sizes are dealing with the work-from-home (WFH) phenomenon. A recent Gartner poll showed that 48% of employees will likely work remotely at least part of the time after COVID-19, versus 30% before the pandemic. How to manage an employee’s desire for flexibility, along with the partial return to on-site working, has caused employers to rethink their policies. OnProcess had already introduced WFH opportunities before 2020. Our ability to offer a hybrid working model with partially working from home (India, Bulgaria), or fully (in US, Costa Rica) has proven a great strategy to attract and retain talent.
Employee engagement
One success factor in employee satisfaction is providing the best online collaboration solutions. We continue to embrace new ways of connecting because some of our employees may never meet each other in person. We are expanding our use of solutions beyond business communication platforms. We launched a new interactive internal portal with employee recognition features; we deployed an enterprise social network; we introduced a global wellness program for all employees that offers a global fitness app, and employee assistance program. We started having regular company-wide virtual events that help employees around the globe feel like one team. We launched numerous programs for keeping remote employees engaged like global fitness challenges, charity programs, photo contests, and others. One principle that guided us successfully through the pandemic is that an engaged and great culture in the workforce leads to better service for our clients. Experience will continue to tell us how to keep remote staff engaged and motivated.
Becoming an employer of choice
Having over 1,200 employees on three continents had helped us build a culture of inclusiveness way before the pandemic. We’ve recently refreshed our company values and this was a team effort of our entire company. We used brainstorms, focus groups and surveys across all locations to make sure that everyone’s voice is heard and our new values truly represent who we are now as a company and who we aspire to be.
Like other global organizations, at OnProcess we use a survey that is designed to help us measure employee satisfaction, loyalty, and our overall Employer Net Promoter Score (eNPS – a way of measuring how likely our employees are to recommend our organisation as a good place to work). We are at a period of tremendous transformation and our internal survey shows that all our employees appreciate the positive changes in the last one year and it keeps them motivated. Even though our scores are rising, we will continue to find more ways to provide ongoing support to promote the financial, physical and mental well-being of our people.
“On day one when I met my future colleagues, they welcomed me warmly. My very first impression was that this is a great place to work. I joined OnProcess last year and what I love most about it is that every day I engage with people who are truly passionate about their work. I feel their energy and support being part of one big team.”
Denitsa Kotseva, Logistics Service Representative in Sofia, Bulgaria
Our action plan
As we expand internationally, HR management and talent acquisition and retention will become more complex, creating new challenges. Focusing on people and their needs will continue to pay dividends. Our action plan includes introducing a succession planning process, launching a global leadership framework, new corporate social responsibility tools and new recognition programs.
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