When New Zealand’s COVID-19 lockdown ended and we began assessing the experience, we expected to find operational challenges to address. Instead, we found something surprising: several of our key performance metrics had improved during the lockdown period.
This wasn’t universally true — there were aspects of the transition to full remote work that created friction and temporary performance dips. But the overall picture was more positive than we’d anticipated.
What Improved
Agent productivity: Without the social dynamics and distractions of an open-plan office environment, many agents reported better focus. Average handle times decreased slightly, and first-call resolution rates held steady.
Absenteeism: Agents who would previously have called in sick with minor ailments — colds, mild flu — found it practical to work from home rather than take a sick day. Attendance improved.
Recruitment reach: Once we weren’t requiring people to commute to Auckland offices, our talent pool expanded significantly. We were able to recruit skilled agents in other regions who would previously have been impractical to hire.
Technology adoption: The urgency of remote work forced us and our agents to fully adopt cloud tools that had previously been used inconsistently. The forced adoption revealed capabilities we hadn’t been fully utilising.
What We’re Keeping
We’re maintaining our distributed workforce model post-lockdown. The performance data doesn’t support a forced return to office, and our agents have clearly indicated their preference for flexibility.
The physical Auckland office remains important for collaboration, training, and team events. But for day-to-day operations, the combination of cloud technology and distributed workforce has proven its value. We’re more resilient, more flexible, and in some respects more effective than we were before COVID-19 forced us to change.
