Back to school during COVID-19: how to safeguard your business during the shift
Posted: August 19, 2020 - By Elizabeth VelezSchools are set to re-open across the country as employees are expected to return to work. Containing the spread of the virus will be increasingly more difficult. As children return to school, the number of COVID-19 cases are expected to rise, and there is still much we don’t know about how children contribute to the spread of the virus. Children with symptoms will need to quarantine, as well as children who have come into close contact with them. It is inevitable that parents will be tasked with the challenge of providing care for their children in quarantine.
Unpredictable quarantines will have an impact on businesses as their employees will be forced to stay home with their children missing several days, if not weeks of work. When businesses are forced to operate with limited staff due to disruptions caused by going back to school, Demandforce will be here to help with office efficiency tools.
Introduce technology solutions
The back to school disruption will lead to businesses scrambling to operate with reduced staff. While you might consider cross training employees to handle the extra workload, there are ways to streamline your business with technology. Introducing technology solutions can help increase office efficiency and customer satisfaction. Demandforce offers the following technology solutions that can help your businesses prepare for workflow disruptions.
- Automated appointment reminders
Instead of having front desk staff make the courtesy calls, offer your clients automated voice, text, or email confirmations. This should be the first tool implemented at your business. It’s simple, will free up staff from the tedium of daily calls, and allow your team to work on more pressing tasks. In the event of a disruption to your business, you can rest assured that clients won’t forget about their appointments.
- Two-way text
Further eliminate the need for your staff to manage the phone lines by offering two-way texting for clients. Clients can initiate conversations via text message and you’ll get notified right away. You can also respond using our suggested replies or custom responses. Demandforce customers also have the ability to send bulk text messages to as many or as few clients as you choose to communicate critical business updates.
- Demandforce Live
This desktop application will provide real-time notifications all in one place to help your office stay organized. The ability to manage appointment requests, confirmed appointments, and text messages through the app will reduce transaction time required to become aware of, and then complete these additional revenue-generating tasks. By having all of your client communications up front, you can respond quickly and efficiently to client needs.
Technology that will streamline your business is available to help you. To give your business an additional boost of preparedness, consider cross training your staff to take on some of the extra workload that may arise due to back to school disruptions. However, implementing technology is the most efficient way to manage your business amid the uncertainty of reopening schools.
