Most will agree 2020 was an interesting year both personally and professionally. The COVID-19 pandemic changed how we live and work in ways many could never have never imagined. Meeting with clients and friends stopped, company holiday parties and birthday parties were halted, and traveling to see clients and loved ones came to a stand-still. The way we live and work has changed for the foreseeable future.
While this was a significant challenge for all of us as individuals, companies were pressed to an even greater degree and put their business continuity plans to the ultimate test. Business continuity plans have certainly been tested in the past but in those events, they were mostly limited to a specific geography and the endgame was in sight. COVID-19 was unprecedented and required a different approach.
From Ola Solutions vantage point we saw the challenge center on FINRA licensure and ensuring candidates were continuously funneled through the process. We learned that many companies paused their licensure programs all together until they felt they had a better sense of what the future held. While we certainly understand the rationale, simply pausing their programs for certain roles proved to be quite detrimental. Contact centers are a great example. Call volumes spiked with concerned clients needing to make adjustments, team members sidelined due to contracting the virus or to care for family members who had fallen ill, others unable to work from home due to technology constraints and the list goes on.
As a result, Ola recommends clients to develop a FINRA licensure contingency plan to be incorporated into their business continuity roadmap, now. As a global community we don’t know what’s around the corner as it relates to COVID and the vaccine’s effectiveness on the new strains popping up around the world. As much as we all want to make the pandemic a distant memory, we just aren’t there yet. The good news is companies should be able to do this with the right planning and tools. Strategies will vary depending on the organization and role being licensed but the key is consistent engagement and accountability. Included below are some key areas of attention we encourage companies to focus on.
Plan
In order for an effective program to go virtual, there needs to be an understanding of who is going to play what role and who the primary contact is for candidates. Because the program will no longer be confined to a campus location with managerial oversight, candidates will need to know who the primary point of contact will be for platform related issues, SME support and general questions. Many companies will already have this in place but make sure to review the process as point of contacts may need to be changed in a virtual environment. Ola recommends this not be the same person as it can get very overwhelming for 1 or 2 team members to manage virtually. It will also delay response times to students which will translate to students not being ready for their test date. If working with a skeleton team, create a general inbox to track, categorize and, triage requests.
Understand
Prior to Covid-19, work-life-balance was a focus of many organizations, since the pandemic shifting mindsets to understanding work-life-integration is becoming increasingly important. It is critical to understand your candidates from a human perspective. Understanding or at least being aware of the variables that impact your candidate personally may help you better engage them professionally. Now let us be clear, this is not about understanding all the finer details of an individual’s life but rather what may be getting in their way as it relates to the task at hand. We all juggle a lot when our work environment is disrupted or changed on us with short notice. Providing coaching via frequent and consistent check-ins help candidates identify challenges that may prevent them from performing to their true potential as well as create actionable steps to help them progress forward. We recognize it is a very fine line and would be happy to talk you through some ways to uncover potential issues.
Adjust
As with everything nothing will be perfect on the first go-around. That is ok. What is not ok is not pivoting when you don’t get the desired results. Make sure your team is fully evaluating results on a weekly basis and asking candidates how the experience is going. You’ll want to understand if they feel engaged and fully supported. If not, look to understand where improvements can be made and adjust where possible. A great approach is performing a confidential survey and letting candidates know you all feedback is welcome and to not stifle negative feedback. If you don’t have a firm understanding of what is not working you will get lackluster results requiring your program to cost more than it should.