Supporting employees across the world

The situation

Jorr’s family are based in Gambia, a mere 2,800 miles away! Jorr had been visiting family in March. She intended to fly back to Leeds towards the end of that month. However, the government announcement meant that, in essence, the country was at a standstill. All flights to and from Gambia were cancelled. 

Jorr notified our Senior Leadership Team straightaway. Over the course of the weekend, we needed to figure out a solution. There was no possibility we’d place a valued member of the team on furlough when we needed their expertise more than ever. We will always put our customers first. And our customers needed Jorr. Jorr has several longstanding relationships with her customers and it was imperative we didn’t interrupt this strong bond. 

So we came up with a plan. 

How we helped

Our IT department worked tirelessly to help set Jorr up on our remote working system. Jorr’s mother had a laptop and a screen, though was without WiFi. Jorr worked with a local team to install WiFi so she could effectively work from home. 

All of this happened in the space of three days. Jorr was at her new desk thousands of miles away from our HQ raring to go on Monday morning. 

Of course, there were a few minor disruptions. As many of the houses in Gambia rely on solar panels as a source of electricity, sometimes technology such as the soft phone on Jorr’s laptop could be tricky to use. However, instances of this were few and far between. Aside from adjusting her working hours to accommodate the Gambian time difference, Jorr was able to complete her work largely “as normal”. 

Our customers were incredibly grateful and understanding of the situation, too. Jorr’s role requires her to have a great relationship with her customers. So they appreciated being able to continue dealing with her directly – despite the new long distance relationship! 

The future’s looking bright

As so many of us found, working from home offered a unique opportunity to spend quality time with our loved ones. For Jorr, the opportunity to spend six months at home with the family she’d normally see just once or twice a year was particularly special. 

Whilst all of our team work hard whether they’re working from home or in the office, we were so proud of the team stepping up and doing their best whilst working remotely. Jorr’s clients continued to receive exceptional service despite obvious potential problems.

Of course, Jorr was looking forward to returning to the office and being reunited with her colleagues. Her team had been metaphorically by her side throughout lockdown – regular calls and catch-ups in and outside of work to let her know we were all missing her here in the UK! 

Jorr returned to a very warm welcome here in the office. She arrived home a few days earlier than we all expected and surprised the team by saying hello here at Romero House! The team were delighted to welcome Jorr back to the office, and we’ve been together working as a team ever since. 

Here at the Romero Group, we always put our customers first. That means looking after our people, too, so they’re engaged and motivated to do their best while at work. For more information about working with our award-winning team, please get in touch.