Amid the rapid shift to remote working, call center pioneer SYKES Philippines has set the bar high with OneHOME, a one-stop shop online portal where employees can learn how to easily transition to the work-from-home arrangement. SYKES Global developed OneHOME in response to the social distancing restrictions and to guide employees during transition period. The training platform was then deployed across regions affected by the health crisis, including all its sites in Manila and Cebu.
SYKES Global has long recognized the potential of remote working as the business model of the future and thus made the work-at-home setup a global practice even before the pandemic. The OneHOME portal leverages the insights and experience of established SYKES work-at-home organizations in its North America and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) markets. Accessible and free to use for all SYKESers, OneHOME offers master classes on how to effectively teach, work, and learn at home, how to manage a work-at-home team, documents on systems and platforms for telecommuting, documents needed when transitioning to the new work environment, and more. In addition to the technical, OneHOME also provides insights on other work aspects skills such as managing client expectations, helping family members adapt to the setup, and gaining operational insights, among others.
Due to quarantine restrictions that are still currently in place, over 10,000 SYKESers from Manila and Cebu offices were mobilized to adopt the work-from-home arrangement. OneHOME continuously helps them grasp the fundamentals of the remote work setup, teaching them what to expect, how to prepare for the issues that may arise, and how to be able to successfully overcome them. The courses encompass a wide spectrum covering technology, security, and management in a work-at-home setting.
At present, SYKES Philippines’ work-from-home setup is still maintained for employees that don’t require being physically present in the office. Meanwhile, for the rest of the organization who were not adaptable to the remote work arrangement, SYKES provides necessary support including temporary accommodation, food provisions, free shuttle service or transport allowance, and other additional incentives.
SYKES is the first multinational call center to operate in the country and the first one to venture out of Manila to Cebu in 2003. It is an organization that is grounded on providing exceptional support for clients and employees, one caring interaction at a time. At present, it has employed around 17,000 SYKESers and is continuously growing in the Philippines. More information can be found at its website <https://www.sykes.com/philippines/> and official Facebook page <https://www.facebook.com/SYKESPHofficial>.
