15 Apr Fleet Response Employees Are Staying Connected During Covid-19
During these times of disruption, we continue to be 100% committed to helping companies with customized solutions to keep their fleet vehicles safe and programs running smoothly.
Fleet Response employees are working 100% remotely in order to help the effort in curbing the spread of COVID-19. Our top concern is ensuring the health and safety of our employees. Our IT team worked diligently to allow our staff of 193 employees to have fully remote capabilities in a matter of days.
Lisa Grose, Call Center Lead
Fleet Response employees were appreciative of this move and worked as a team to make the switch. “Our company has been wonderful in providing the IT support to help make working from home easier,” said Lisa Grose, Call Center Lead. “They offered office equipment to bring home, if needed. Our IT support staff has been working with us one on one to make sure that everything is running smoothly too.”
Blanca Mars, Call Center Lead
The Call Center, our front line, didn’t miss a beat during this move and continues to be there for our customers 24/7/365. Blanca Mars, Call Center Lead said, “I was very proud of all our Reps and how quickly they were able to get acclimated to working from home. They all work together by assisting each other. It is inspiring to see such teamwork in action. Our team continues to have fun, for example having a dress up day which gives us reason to get up and throw on some real clothes and makeup, providing that sense of normalcy.”
While our company already uses Microsoft Teams regularly, we accelerated the training and resources so everyone would be comfortable to interact and stay connected to coworkers while working from home. In addition to using Teams for meetings, departments also use Teams for daily and weekly check-ins. Furthermore, our corporate communications team developed an internal tool, The Fleet Response Communicator. It’s a shared intranet site with daily posts that encourages employees to post pictures of their workspaces, and pets just to name a few, while also providing weekly messages from our Executive Team members, encouraging quotes, and employee updates.
Moving to a remote work environment has had the surprising effect of bringing our employees closer together on a more personal level.
Julie Cravener, Call Center Manag
Managers are encouraged to have at minimum, weekly meetings with their departments to keep lines of communication open and ensure needs are met and confirm that we are meeting the needs of our customers. Julie Cravener, Call Center Manager said, “We just recently had our first virtual meeting and it went very well. One of the things that both myself and Irina (Baez) my Call Center Supervisor, praised our department for was how well they all transitioned into this work from home role. We thought it was going to be a lot harder on both of us but every single one of the reps made it very easy for us and they all really stepped up and came together as a team. We stay very connected in the Call Center, as the other departments do too, we have a lot of check ins and group Teams meetings to see one another and go over things just so we can stay connected. It makes a big difference having the ability to see one another other than just speaking daily.”
Jimmy Huffman, Regional Sales Manager
It’s not only our Call Center stepping up their communication, every department is working to increase their interaction within their team. Jimmy Huffman, Regional Sales Manager said, “Even though we are working remotely I feel more connected – as an example it has created more communication within our sales group at Fleet Response because we are using Microsoft Teams to have more than one meeting a week. In addition, we continue our employee of the month nominations/awards, it’s reassuring to know Fleet Response is still providing an environment that we’ve come to know and are comfortable with.”
Before COVID-19, we would feature monthly lunch and learns for employees to come together in an informal atmosphere to collaborate and learn. In our current state, Fleet Response hosts “virtual” lunch and learns on topics such as “Being Your Best Self in Times of Crisis”, “Minimizing Worry to Maximize Life”, Meditation, and even a live yoga class hosted by a virtual instructor. We are also engaging our employees with fun games such as remote workplace bingo, and a week full of trivia – with rewards for the winners.
We have embraced our new work-from-home spaces and found that we have been able to connect with all employees on a deeper level. Our leadership team is taking time daily to have video check-ins, making sure everyone has everything they need to not only do their job, but to support their families as well. Maybe it’s something about seeing your coworkers in their homes everyday drinking from their favorite mugs that links the work and personal life gap, but this has taught us that we lean on each other for more than just work.
Kelly Medcalf, Claims Representative
“Fleet Response has been great in getting me set up from day one and making sure all I need I have. They are even continuing company initiatives. I am a member of our Diversity and Inclusion Committee and was able to participate in a virtual meeting while working remotely. I am thankful to be part of a family that cares enough to make sure I’m good and assure me I am not alone, that we are all truly all in this together,” said Kelly Medcalf, Claims Representative.
This current time makes us look for opportunities to purposefully connect like never before. We’re called upon to be our best selves, with patience, understanding and compassion. We have seen the dedication from our employees to achieve helping each other while continuing to serve our clients. We have an opportunity to provide valuable business acumen and insights to help our clients during this difficult time, and we know that by working together we will get through this.