Kirk LaughlinDespite Chile being a country with a long seismic history, the 8.8 earthquake that devastated its southern region left many disconnected from the rest of the world. A lack of electricity and communication has been one of the primary concerns for business owners whose operations are fundamentally dependent on connectivity to the rest of the world.
The global services industry in Chile appears to be rebounding well from last week’s disruption, working simultaneously to reach out and service those in need and also strive to maintain business as usual.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this earthquake. In the wake of this emergency, Sitel’s first priority is the safety and well-being of our associates,” said Dave Garner, Chairman and CEO of Sitel. “The local Emergency Committee is working to contact every associate to determine their situation, get an idea of individual losses, and find out needs and ways we can be of assistance. “
Sitel has enacted a preparedness plan, built for these types of situations. Among other procedures, account teams activated to make contact with customers to minimize the impact on contact center activity.
Damage to infrastructure in Santiago, Chile’s capital, was not as widespread as other parts of the country. a There is water and electricity in most of the urban area and phone lines are working, although network connectivity is still down and authorities are not sure when they will be back up.
Business Continuity at Evaluserve
While there are regions within the country that have been completed devastated, some companies like Evalueserve have made advanced preparations for natural disaster such as this one.
“Evalueserve has a Global Business Continuity Management (BCM) team which manages and prepares all Evalueserve locations for such major disasters,” said Daniela Herrera, senior marketing and communications executive at Evalueserve. “As a sub part of BCM we prepare a Business Continuity plan for each location.”
The KPO player also has an inter-country backup mechanism to serve clients in case of a disaster in any country. They are also depend on other procedures to ensure employee safety in any disaster situation. A Risk Prevention Officer, for example, takes care of and reviews all procedures on a periodical basis.
In terms of infrastructure, there was some minor damages to the company’s office building in Curauma, located in the outskirts of Valparaiso, one of the cities hit by the earthquake . However, operations were running smoothly from the on Monday morning of this week.
Evalueserve has initiated several campaigns in order to help the most devastated areas in the south with blood, monetary and in-kind donations. Donations are routed through different organisations in Viña del Mar and sent to the victims, mainly in the southern region.
With over 800 dead, Chile faces a serious challenges in terms of rebuild its infrastructure. Evalueserve believes that its rapid response in switching and providing services from their India offices has also given their clients more trust and confidence in working with them.
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