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Joe Herron
July 27, 2020
Am I working at home or at the office today? Does it matter?
Many of you may be asking those questions now. In fact, Equinox is currently pondering them as well. Historically, we have primarily been a work-in-the-office company. But, with the onset of COVID, we quickly had to pivot to a remote working environment. Thankfully, we were technologically prepared and adapted well to a forced work from home (#WFH) scenario right off the bat. As the pandemic progressed, we experienced a short spurt of working from home on certain days while being in the office on other days. Lately, we have reverted to working almost exclusively from home.
No doubt, you’ve read many articles regarding the impact this changing environment has on our lives both personally and professionally. Telecommuting has worked for many companies and industries for YEARS. So why do some folks find it so strange? I personally have been around for a while (both on this earth and at Equinox) and enjoy the office environment—I’m not sure whether that has more to do with it being in my comfort zone or the control aspect. So, it’s safe to say, that I find the current working environment weird.
While working from home is NOT a vacation, it definitely has positive aspects. The commute is 30 seconds versus 1 to 1½ hours each way. Wow, what a MAJOR impact! Not much needs to be said about that point. The ability to isolate and work uninterruptedly for critical work is so much easier at home. Since my wife and daughter are also working from home, we spend more time as a family that we otherwise used to spend commuting. Our conversations during dinner are not rushed and preparing dinner together has been a bonus. I’m sure there are many, many more positives for working at home, including more casual wardrobe to the convenience of stopping for lunch in the kitchen. Many of these factors also include a financial savings, which has been an unexpected delight.
Those positive aspects are great! And I am extremely appreciative and blessed to have the technological capability and job function that allows me to continue working during these turbulent times. However, the reality is we lose some other benefits by not being in proximity to our co-workers in the office. It’s true that with effort, the team can maintain a semblance of normalcy. However, the social benefit definitely takes a hit when we all work remotely. And that’s not the only area that is affected by the changing work environment.
It is important that you understand that all my years of support experience is based on serving customers, rather than simply answer the phone in a call center environment. We do not have a telephony system; all calls are answered by a human. There is no timer on the calls; instead, each interaction focuses on the best solution for that customer’s individual issue or question. I cannot count the number of occurrences I have personally experienced or witnessed where a support representative is able to identify and expediate a solution for his/her current customer simply by hearing another support representative’s conversation or reading an email chain that came from another customer. Furthermore, it’s impossible to quantify the support co-workers give each other when one of the team experiences tough personal or profession issues. Also, the ability to focus on the task at hand is often easier when working in the office. I find it difficult to concentrate when a child (insert other distractions as necessary - spouse, pet, domestic chores, etc.) diverts your attention while you’re working from home. Finally, from a management perspective, my ability to monitor activity—so that I can lend a hand if one of the team is struggling—is definitely more hands on and includes personal observation when we work in the office. It’s clear there are positive and negative aspects to both approaches. The issue of whether these factors result in loss of productivity depends entirely on your company’s culture.
So, how does the current WFH situation impact Equinox’s capacity and responsiveness to each other and our customers? Just as always, our goal is to have a great place to work. At the moment, that means making sure everyone has the tools and resources needed to support working from home AND being in the office. As you may know, we have an extremely tenured staff. We have established relationships and enjoy the benefits of a tremendous working environment. While we are not physically together, we are in constant contact. The special relationship we have with our customers is simply an extension of the relationships among co-workers. Sure, things are a little different for everyone right now, but the Equinox team remains in full force at full capacity. Pick-up the phone or send us an email. We are here for you, no matter how weird the times get!
In his role as Vice President of Support for Equinox, Joe Herron oversees all of customer support, including quality assurance, product documentation, installation, upgrades, and the customer support help desk. His team’s primary task is working with customers on the day-to-day issues, for example scheduling product updates, turning up a new switch, fine-tuning a configuration setting, or helping troubleshoot a technical issue. When he’s not putting the processes and standards in place that ensure Equinox customers uniformly rave about the service they receive, he enjoys reading and spending time behind the wheel of his convertible.
To learn more about Equinox, its products, and staff, visit www.equinoxis.com or call (615) 612-1200.
