As many of you know I am a very loyal Qantas frequent flyer. I normally spend many days flying around Australia, Asia-Pacific and the world speaking at conferences and working with leading companies to help leaders mobilise their people faster.
I had a very interesting thing happen last week. A Qantas flight that I was booked on to fly from Perth back to Sydney had been cancelled and they automatically put me on an earlier flight. Unfortunately, this wasn’t going to work for me as the conference I am speaking at would still be happening, so I needed to change the flight.
When I went onto the Qantas website, it would not allow me to change and instructed me to contact a call centre. Normally, as a Platinum frequent flyer I have priority access and the most time I have only spent around 20 minutes on hold (of course spending about $100k per year on flights helps!)
What has changed? I had to wait almost 4 hours on hold! Wow, what a painful experience. As I waited I received numerous calls from clients that I could not take in fear of being disconnected.
I know that the pandemic has been very difficult on airlines around the world, and I have now experienced first hand the impact. It got me thinking of creative solutions. With more and more people working remotely this creates an amazing opportunity for Qantas (and others) to go beyond the physical limitations of their call centre. Technology now allows staff to work from home and fulfil their job by working remotely and dialling into the software needed to assist customers. Phones can be routed to peoples remote locations and allow customers to get the assistance they need in a shorter time-frame. Also this allows us to find and secure staff in different locations increasing the size of the workforce to help focus on the customer need, ultimately leading to more retained customers and more profit!
Of course getting a hybrid or remote workforce to be effective takes more than a few redirected phone lines, but it shows what is possible. If you would like to gather some insights from the research of my next book and can’t wait for it, click here and we will find a time for me to share a few strategies with you that can assist you in making the successful transition to a hybrid workplace.
If you would like to see some amazing women (& men) speakers at the Future of Leadership and support Hands Across the Water, please click here to find out more and join us at one of the events across Australia occurring in May. I will be speaking in Adelaide and Perth so it will be great to see some of my clients and friends that I have missed during the lockdowns. Use the Promo code GETINEARLY to receive 10% off.
