Life has a way of challenging us, however, with each challenge, there is opportunity.

The current pandemic has encouraged many businesses to implement digital marketing strategies that are being used successfully to maintain relationships with external clients and encourage business continuity.

Some of these strategies have also proven to be effective with internal clients, as managers aim to keep their teams connected, productive and engaged.

We spoke with a few of our managers to get their input on how they are managing their teams, and some of the discoveries that they have made during the process.

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Human Resources

“Prior to COVID-19, the Yello Media Group had in existence a Flexible Work Arrangement Policy for the benefit of all company members whose roles permitted them to work from home as necessary.  Since the mandatory enforcement by Governments to work from home, the necessary infrastructure was immediately implemented to enable company members to work from home in the new dispensation. The Group has also rolled out several HR initiatives to keep our company members engaged. These initiatives include a COVID-management guide for managers, frequent team meetings, weekly spiritual devotions, motivational webinars on coping and leading through crisis times. The process has been working very well, and we will continue to lend all the necessary support to our Yello family.” – Cheryl Campbell HR Manager, Jamaica, Belize, Antigua and Turks and Caicos.

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Graphics Department

The sudden exit from our usual working environment threw my team a curveball, as we have never had the experience of working from home. Putting safety as the number one priority, we had no choice but to adapt to the way the tides had shifted. The human interaction we sometimes take for granted had disappeared overnight, and we needed to find creative ways to continue filling the gap.

We placed a stronger emphasis on cyber interaction on two fronts. Whenever there are serious matters, emails are used. However, for more relaxed conversations, WhatsApp messages, calls or memes are used to keep the atmosphere a little more “relaxed”. Scheduled and unscheduled meetings are also held via Teams, which allows for further collaboration on projects and updates on what is happening in our respective areas. We also use this platform to share ideas with each other on how to cope in light of these circumstances.” – Andre Dacres, Regional Graphics Arts Supervisor

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Sales

“The COVID-19 pandemic is the first of its kind. It has changed the normal way of life and the course of business worldwide. Fortunately, our Sales Teams are trained on how to be agile in dealing with and meeting the needs of our customers. This knowledge helped us to change gears quickly in responding to this crisis.

The extra layer that had to be added was coaching the team to conduct all customer meetings online. We had to ramp up training in areas of Social Selling and learning how to pique the customer’s interest in the first 10 seconds of a phone call. Additionally, we implemented extra measures to ensure that the team’s motivation and morale are stable, so that they can pass on the positive energy to their customers. COVID-19 also has it’s positives, and one of them is that my Sales Team has garnered new skills in engaging and serving our customers.”- Jessica Campbell, Senior General Manager, Sales Operations, Jamaica, Bahamas, Belize and Turks & Caicos

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Coresystems

“We have a virtual meeting each Monday and each morning, I send a WhatsApp ‘shout out’ to our group, encouraging and building energy.

Handling rebuttals is now the training ground. So, mock-ups and scenarios are now the order of the day. We practice daily to tune the craft. Being aware is key. Learning the various government initiatives is key. Practice is crucial as it allows the scripted to be natural, and we can guide the path as best as possible during this challenging period. For us, suggestions are welcomed and celebrated with an aim to create momentum. Then, we practice again.” – Newton Baker, Regional Manager, Coresystems

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IT and Innovation

Our IT team has always spanned multiple physical locations, so we were used to collaborating remotely for our day to day activities. The company had established a Work from Home policy years in advance that some team members made use of on a weekly basis. When the Government recommended work from home for the country the transition for our team was already seamless. Daily we communicate through to each other through MS Teams (chat, voice, video) and utilise our ServiceDesk to keep track of requests from our users. I have always said Work is a task not a location so lucky for us it has been business as usual.” – Caryl Reid, Head of IT and Innovation

At Yello, we are here for you!

We continue to share our stories to inform, educate, uplift and encourage.

If you, however, need more tangible help with your marketing strategies, or wish to take advantage of some of our special advertising bundles that were created especially for the current economic climate and with you in mind, our team of marketers and certified Google and Facebook experts are here to help!

Click here to contact us for support with a Complete-Done-4-U Digital Service.