Unburdening our customers with accurate and swift corona-related communication and information
No company was fully prepared for the lockdown. In the midst of that sudden new reality, we immediately sharpened our focus, safeguarding the continuity of payroll for our customers and informing, advising and supporting them quickly and clearly in the field of payroll and HR. As a result, no valuable time was lost in sorting out the new corona-related regulations and altered payroll administration, enabling customers to focus on their core businesses.
Discover how customer Emmaüs experienced our actions
SD Worx takes care of healthcare
Emmaüs provides health and welfare services. General hospitals, youth and elderly care, family support, mental healthcare, support for people disabilities … these services are all elements of what this care network offers. While many sectors were forced to slow down their activities due to COVID, the care sector had to shift up several gears.
Emmaüs took a quantum leap in some areas. The support of trusted HR partner SD Worx proved essential for a smooth and stable landing, as Ilse Janssens and Sien Janssens explain. Although their surnames suggest otherwise, they do not share any family ties. They are, however, colleagues at Emmaüs: Ilse as corporate HR coordinator, while Sien is responsible for the personnel department Duffel, which takes care of the payroll for the University Psychiatric Centre Duffel, all residential care facilities, the Pastel rehabilitation centre, the PVT Schorshaeghen and the sheltered living initiatives. These activities account for the work of about 1,500 of almost 7,000 employees at Emmaüs.
Stability
in uncertain
times
“Coronavirus-related rules were changed several times, extended, abolished or re-introduced. Thanks to these clear and concrete newsletters, we were correctly and immediately informed each time.”
Sien Janssens,
responsible for the Duffel personnel department at Emmaüs
Sien: “During the first lockdown, we were flooded with mainly social-legal questions to which the answers were not yet always clear. At the same time, we had to organise ourselves in accordance with the new coronavirus-related measures. Although it affected a very limited number of employees – to fulfil quarantine obligations, for example – we also had to resort to temporary unemployment, which was unprecedented at Emmaüs. Thanks to a swift intervention by SD Worx via its payroll software, we were able to manage this easily, which saved us a lot of extra administration.”
“Furthermore, SD Worx launched its weekly Corona Newsflash. This newsletter provided us with all the relevant information on what the new regulations meant in concrete terms, as well as possible next steps. This was very welcome, since coronavirus-related rules were changed several times, extended, abolished or re-introduced. Thanks to these clear and concrete newsletters, we were correctly and immediately informed each time. I could always dive deeper into the matter with our dedicated SD Worx consultant afterwards, if necessary.”
Maximum knowledge sharing
Ilse: “The fact that SD Worx shared information and knowledge straight away in several ways was indeed remarkable and particularly welcome in times of crisis. It was not always on a large scale – for example, one effort involved making an essential travel certificate template available for employees. Figuring that out and drawing it up yourself is not that much work, but many little things together add up to a big difference.”
“Personally, I also benefited from the webinars that SD Worx promptly organised in cooperation with Zorgnet-Icuro and the Flemish Welfare Association. Each webinar focused specifically on the impact of coronavirus-related legislation on healthcare. Afterwards, it was possible to ask questions and exchange points of view via the chat box. The combination of SD Worx professionals and the legal and other advisors from both umbrella organisations was extremely interesting. I found it to be a relevant collaboration, because it ensures that both your HR partner and employer organisations are on the same page. That, in particular, provides a great deal of peace of mind in turbulent times.”
Sien: “I attended a few webinars on social-legal topical matters. Being able to watch online at a time that suits you is a godsend in extremely busy times. That unified voice and sector-specific information can also be found in the Corona FAQ of SD Worx. Concrete questions and answers on coronavirus-related topics are listed by theme and always contain up-to-date information. What if an employee falls ill, takes leave or resigns, for example? And more importantly: what does that mean for us as an employer and what impact does it have on holiday entitlements, notice periods and so on? I used to consult this page several times a day for answers to questions like these, especially in the beginning.”
Ilse: “I think the Corona FAQ was bookmarked by many other colleagues and organisations. This global health crisis overwhelmed us all, and being able to easily consult correct and up-to-date information was like a beacon of calm. The Corona Newsflash and Corona FAQ often even formed the basis of our internal communications. On our own information platform, for example, we regularly link to the Corona FAQ instead of rephrasing it ourselves.”
“The fact that SD Worx shared information and knowledge straight away in several ways was indeed remarkable and particularly welcome in times of crisis. This global health crisis overwhelmed us all, and being able to easily consult correct and up-to-date information was like a beacon of calm.”
Ilse Janssens,
corporate HR coordinator
at Emmaüs
Always within reach
Ilse: “Since March 2020, we have been living in a different world. At Emmaüs, we suddenly began working from home if possible, and after some initial bouts of cold feet, video conferencing has found its way into the organisation. This kind of digital turnaround requires a fair amount of adaptation, and it was great to see SD Worx as a stable factor in this process as well.”
Sien: “That’s right. For example, we could still reach our usual SD Worx contact person at the same fixed number, even when working from home. It sounds trivial, but if you have an urgent question, you really don’t want to look up telephone numbers first.”
Ilse: “As a complex organisation, we probably value those fixed points of contact and the associated continuity more than the average business. And I know from experience that only organisations the size of SD Worx can guarantee this service level. Furthermore, SD Worx specifically invests in services for non-profits, which enables them to offer these extra services on a made-to-measure basis and react quickly.”
Our initiatives in a nutshell
In this way, SD Worx contributed to the public priority of facilitating the continuity of the care sector. But everyone at SD Worx pulled out all the stops for every other sector as well. On top of our regular communications, we set up:
Our Corona Site, with handy schemes, accompanying step-by-step plans and practical and concrete translations of the impacts on payroll.
Our interactive Corona FAQ: the Google for HR questions about coronavirus measures and impacts, with all questions and answers bundled in clear sections. In 2020 nearly 176,500 users searched for info in almost 340,000 sessions.
Our Corona Mailbox, manned by a specialised and dedicated team.
Our Corona Newsflashes, again crafted by a specialised and dedicated team. This weekly newsletter reaches around 83,000 readers and has a click rate of over 30%.
We expanded our call centre and Legal Office team.
We held numerous webinars and livestreams, often in collaboration with experts from other organisations.
In line with
European
companies
It’s clear that we know and understand our customers and industry thoroughly, and that our reflex to immediately secure payroll was the right one, as confirmed by our large-scale online survey of 3,000 companies from 11 European countries (June 2020). It demonstrated the fact that COVID has required companies to change their priorities.
Basic tasks such as payroll are now the most important concern by far. In addition, we see a strong shift towards cost efficiency, but also a greater emphasis on employee experience and engagement, including personalisation and work-life balance.
