TD Bank faced a daunting task when COVID-19 struck back in March. The bank needed to move thousands of employees from its 12+ contact centres across Canada to work from home – and do it quickly.
That meant providing each employee who would typically work in a contact centre environment with the necessary tools and technology to do the job at home.
The bank completed the migration in an unprecedented four weeks, shifting upwards of 85 per cent of this group’s employees to work from their own homes. Across all of North America, that totalled more than 9,000 people who provide support to meet the needs of its customers.
Greg Smith, senior vice president of shared services and leader of TD’s North American contact centres, says setting up a brand-new working environment for so many people was hugely challenging. All the components of the move – the technology and logistics, ensuring employee safety, customer service and privacy, and deployment – had to come together rapidly. It required a massive effort from a team devoted to the task.
How did the bank pull it off when so many organizations were scrambling for resources?
“As an enterprise we prioritized our frontline customer-facing colleagues first, so the contact centre had priority,” Smith explains. “Then we worked with our current inventory and strategic vendors to provide colleagues with the equipment needed, based on the impact to our customers and safety of our people.”
Several months later in the pandemic, the change to home has been received very well. Smith reports receiving record high annual employee engagement scores from contact centre employees in its annual feedback survey, where people specifically mentioned working from home, new scheduling flexibility and the support received from their managers as all contributing to their overall engagement.
“Our colleagues are enjoying the flexibility of working from home while remaining productive, protecting customer privacy and finding new ways to connect as teams,” says Smith. “Now that the technology is in place and people are getting used to working differently, we’re focused on employee wellness.”
Besides providing all the necessary technology and office equipment, TD also introduced a wide variety of new scheduling options such as splitting shifts, condensing the work week, voluntary time off and increased flexibility to trade shifts with other colleagues facilitated through a mobile app or online.
Additionally, the bank is using technology to encourage teamwork and collaboration. All of the daily and weekly team meetings are conducted via video and Smith says colleagues tell him they feel even more connected to their teams now than they did in the office.
That’s something Rebecca Shao, a credit-card customer service officer, confirms. After taking maternity leave, Shao resumed work with TD in January and has been working from home since March.
“Even before the pandemic, we began having a virtual huddle with our team every day, so we’re really comfortable with connecting virtually from home,” says Shao. “To be honest, I actually feel like I’m communicating more with my managers and colleagues. I also have oneon-one personal coaching sessions regarding my interests and what opportunities I might move onto next in my career.”
With a 22-month-old daughter, Shao appreciates the flexibility working from home gives her. She shares childcare duties with her husband, who also works from home.
“As a parent, I’m saving time and money since I don’t have to commute or put my daughter in daycare,” says Shao. “I’d much rather have my daughter at home during this time of COVID-19 so I don’t have to worry about her. My personal life is so much better now. I have more of a balance and get to spend more time with my family.”
