Lockdown Lessons: How Policybazaar Turned WFH Into Efficiency Enhancer

Tough times never last, but tough people do. A force majeure such as the Covid-19 pandemic is hard to anticipate and its after-effects cannot simply be wished away. But, what is within our powers is to change our attitude in dealing with the crisis. At Policybazaar, India’s largest insurance platform, instead of being cowed by Covid-19, we have used the crisis as an opportunity to bring about transformative changes across the organization that would help us remain strong and agile long after the current crisis has blown over.  

Policybazaar is home to more than 10,000 employees. The operations team at the contact centre is at the core of the business and employs a big chunk of the overall workforce. When the pandemic struck and the lockdown was announced, letting employees work from home was the only option. At any other time, even the thought of running a large, full-fledged contact centre with executives working from would have seemed a bit batty. 

And to get that done in about a week’s time? Sounds like hara-kiri, right? Not only did Policybazaar manage to do it, but the move has resulted in a remarkable improvement in efficiency and organizational performance.  

“The most important thing about work from home wasn’t calibration using technology, but it was how quickly we could coordinate, motivate, and bring in a certain discipline among our employees. For us, the initial focus remained to create a positive work environment for people who could support with the best of their efforts to ensure we stood stronger amidst the chaos and provide the best services to consumers. After some teething troubles in the beginning, things started to fall into place quite well,” Chetna Gogia, Head of Human Resources, Policybazaar.com said at a webinar organized recently by Creating Values Pvt Limited. 

“We started getting significantly more leads during the pandemic. It was important for us to keep our employees motivated and create a discipline to ensure that when employees operate from home, they receive the right support,” she added.

Data Security Is Paramount

For every organization, when it comes to working remotely, the security of data becomes a major concern. “We had given tablets and laptops to the employees. They could access the internet through any open-source which may not be secure. The risks associated with using open wifi networks are many. Company data may be intercepted by third-party networks, there’s the risk of malware attacks, password and username vulnerability, and snooping,” she said.

“Security concerns add a layer of complexity to the technological side of remote working and can have serious consequences. Particularly when employees are not aware of safe practices or switch to unauthorized tools to get work done. We have to give employees the tools they need to be productive while managing data confidentiality and access,” Gogia adds. In fact, the HR department organized a mandatory e-training program for employees on information security. 

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E-Training On Product Fundamentals And Effective Sales

Insurers came up with new products during Covid-19 and it was important for Policybazaar to make their agents understand them thoroughly through digital learning modules. “We created a lot of digital content and online training through hangouts. We created some short YouTube videos so that employees were updated about the latest product offerings to serve the customer better,” she added.

Transparent Lines of Communication

“We ensured that every employee had one-on-one calls with their managers and colleagues which helps build good interpersonal relationships. At this point of time, it was important for managers and team leaders to communicate personally with their colleagues at every level,” Gogia said.  

“We also have video conferencing for decision-making meetings, team talks, workshops, and training. Then, at the management level where decision making was critical, we created Whatsapp groups where we could take faster decisions compared to e-mails where,” she added.

[ Also read | How PBians Are Keeping Themselves Motivated During Work From Home]

Not many organizations can have a readymade, and previously-tested standard operating procedures to handle a crisis as unprecedented as Covid-19. In such a situation frequent and clear communication from the CEO and the leadership team becomes critical.

“This was necessary not just to update employees on matters related to the company and the sector at large, but also to foster the spirit that we were all in it together and emerge from the crisis stronger together. A crisis generates a great deal of anxiety among employees. The communication from the CEO has helped reassure employees on issues like job security. The unequivocal message from the very top that salaries or jobs won’t be impacted created a great deal of positivity,” Gogia said. 

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