Business is still reeling from the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. While hope is growing for a strong recovery with the implementation of vaccine therapies, victory still lives very much in the future. The third wave is largely behind us, and although experts are cautioning about the dangers of re-opening too soon and triggering an even more lethal fourth wave, most organizations – in most sectors – are testing the waters and reviewing their business models in preparation for the “next normal”: contactless consumerism.
Speaking of sectors, let’s take a brief look at the banking industry, which has faced some particular challenges all its own. Admittedly, the COVID-19 crisis could never be considered a true banking crisis – it is, and has been, a crisis of the real economy. Nevertheless, in the midst of a global recovery, the banking industry, although resilient overall, continues to struggle to re-capture its well capitalized pre-COVID state. Let’s face it – the shutdown of economies (in many cases twice over the past 14 months) has thrown millions of people out of work and closed the doors on just as many businesses. When considering that these individuals and organizations are customers of the banking industry, it stands to follow that personal and corporate defaults are on the rise – and when that happens, economic chaos can follow.
The saving grace of this scenario, however, is that the banking sector was healthy enough at the onset of the pandemic to withstand the shock that is surely coming. It’s equally important to note that banks were incredibly nimble in responding to pandemic concerns and restrictions. They increasingly shifted to a digital banking model, easing the pressure on brick and mortar branches and lessening the reliance on cash. In fact, in most US markets, 20 to 40% of consumers reported using less cash to support their consumer needs – a trend that is likely to continue. Additionally, the banking industry educated its consumers about added value propositions in an effort to raise awareness of the ease associated with their digital processes. The lessened dependence on the neighbourhood branch, as a result, provided the industry with a chance to redesign its overall footprint, explore retraining of its staff to accommodate expansion of remote work, and redeploy its workforce.
The rest of the business world can most definitely take a page out of the banking industry’s response to the pandemic, and the resulting practice of adopting new ideas to position it for the long term. In other words, how to maneuver in a “contactless economy”. That term alone lends itself quite organically to the BPO (business process outsourcing) model – which by definition implies a dedicated and remote (contactless) workforce. This is where well-established companies like Anexa will excel at becoming part of the solution in a post-pandemic economy. With skilled specialists in customer interactions and retention, we help you answer the question “Am I future ready?” The Anexa workforce is trained to assume operations seamlessly and remotely in your customer-centric departments. Our Help Desk, Tech, Customer Service, Social Media Relations, Telemarketing and Data Entry support teams can free up your focus so that you can do what you do best: lead your business, secure in the knowledge that your valuable customers are in good hands.
It’s also important to mention that Anexa fills an important role in providing BPO services in Texas, and other US states that enjoy proximity to our Head Office in Mexico City. Because we occupy a similar time zone and have the luxury of drawing on an equally skilled Spanish speaking workforce, we are able to provide bilingual BPO (outsourcing) services in real time, ensuring that our commitment to an excellent customer experience is consistently met. Don’t hesitate to contact us at Anexa if you’re interested in becoming a post-pandemic business frontrunner.