Business Reinvented: digital transformation during Covid-19

In this uncertain, unprecedented and frightening time of the COVID-19 pandemic, strong planning, and swift, professional action in the transforming digital landscape is vital to ensure society and business function as efficiently, safely and normal as possible, says BCX CEO, Jonas Bogoshi.

 BCX implemented a solution for Allan Gray, the investment management firm, that ensured its contact call centre could operate remotely when the lockdown came into force in South Africa.

“The COVID-19 crisis has seen an acceleration in digital transformation in Africa that will become the new normal,” said Bogoshi. “We are changing the way we do business, live our lives and communicate. Workspaces are changing. We need to be agile and able to adapt quickly to ensure customer service is not compromised, whether that be in business or any other sectors.”

Allan Gray needed to be able to serve their clients in a ‘business-as-usual’ manner that was seamless, so they could maintain their extremely high standards of client service.

The call centre had to serve clients wanting information and assistance on their investments and share trading during the shutdown period, but there were integration issues with Allan Gray’s system with regards to remote working.

BCX’s Contact Centre on Demand (CCOD) was the perfect fit to provide voice channel interactions for agents working from home. The solution for the 100-seater centre encompassed both in- and outbound interactions, provided recording of interactions, including real-time and historical reporting capabilities. In addition, the requirements included some complex call flow development so that the experience, from a customer point of view, remained consistent, even though they were using an entirely different platform.

BCX, which has been listed by government as an essential service, received the go-ahead for implementation on Tuesday, 24 March and had the system fully operational to ensure Allan Gray could serve their clients with remote a fully operational, 100-seater call centre by Friday 27 March. South Africa went into lockdown at midnight on 26 March.

“At BCX we are steadfast to our mantra that our most important customer is yours,” said Bogoshi. “This applies to every single aspect of what we do and with the changes forced upon us by the COVID-19 crisis this has never been more apt. People are anxious and unsure about how it will affect every bit of their life, from business to running households, to staying informed about the pandemic and seeking assistance.”

BCX implemented its CCOD for the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) and the National Department of Health in setting up a contact centre to deal with the overwhelming number of enquiries. The public needed information and to check whether they were showing signs of having contracted the virus and could reach a nurse or doctor on demand.

The call centre, which had to be flexible so it could add agents as and if the virus spread, was set up in two days. BCX are also looking at digital tools to assist the customer with capacity management and automation including chat bots, digital agents, and collaboration tools.

“These are worrying times. We need to be quick, efficient and innovative to enable our society to deal with the crisis and to ready themselves for a future after it,” said Bogoshi. BCX has been named an essential service during the lockdown period.