Mark Briggs, Director at Barrett Corp Harrington, tells us why while great customer service is vital, team communication is paramount.

At BCH, customer experience is at the centre of everything we do. We pride ourselves on the frequent feedback we receive regarding our quality of service, prompt responses and professional staff. 

We know that an RCA is a niche product for our Managing Agents, so we strive to keep the content presented on our flatrate reports to essential information, presented clearly and supported by comprehensive guidance notes – all of which has been achieved through consultation with major customers.

Though customer service and communication are paramount, communication with our staff is also critical. The significant growth BCH has experienced since its inception 13 years ago and its ability to provide national coverage is, in part, due to some of our appraisers being largely remote workers.

Remote Working: Business as Usual

Remote working has been embraced across the country with urgency over the last couple of weeks and we have seen plenty of tips and hacks to enable staff to remain productive and utilise their time working from home. 

Fortunately, our entire workforce was already mobilised to work from home so there has been no worrying about how to connect to servers remotely, how to get on to video calls or get the printer working. 

In a lot of ways, following government advice regarding work and travel hasn’t required too great an adjustment for many of our team. 

Our administration staff are now also able to work from home, so customer enquiries are being dealt with as promptly as usual and our appraisers have modified how appraisals are conducted, ensuring social distancing and essential travel only, so we are still issuing reports.

As our team are seasoned remote workers, here are some tips from them for a successful transition to working from home:

1. Be Active

Cooping yourself in a home office for 9 hours a day isn’t going to enable you to deliver work reflective of your capabilities. Where possible, break up the day with fresh air. Where not possible, we have seen a rise in online fitness classes and all know the benefit of wandering around the house whilst on a call.

2. Create Your Optimum Working Environment

Establish if you require entire silence or if having the radio on in the background is better for you.  

If you’re fortunate enough to have a home office, ensure you have everything you need at your desk to avoid unnecessary interruptions. 

If you’re working at a make shift desk or a dining table for example, decide how you will finish your day and store your office equipment in the evening; signalling closure and helping to differentiate between working day and home life.

3. Keep Distractions at Bay

As tempting as it may be to procrastinate, the oven probably doesn’t need cleaning right now and clearing out the fridge can wait until this evening. Removing distractions is essential for keeping focus.

4. Stick to a Routine

As you would in an office, its well worth listing out tasks in the morning that you need to complete that day. Some of our colleagues’ advocate setting alarms to ensure they take breaks away from screens and have a coffee in another room, with others working through; preferring to take an hour away from their desks for lunch.

5. Stay in Touch

Working from home is an adjustment and social interaction changes entirely. 

Chatting over desk partitions or over coffees are luxuries not appreciated till they’re gone. So, feel free to pick up the phone and check in with your colleagues.

We hope you find these tips useful during these challenging times and please know that you can contact BCH re your RCA needs or any other matters throughout.