Gobeyond Partners expands into DACH region
Gobeyond Partners, a new type of consulting firm that partners with clients to solve complex customer journey challenges, has today announced its expansion into the DACH region. Building upon over 20 years of experience in the customer journey and consulting space, the firm will bolster its already strong teams across the UK and France and be better able to service its wealth of German, Austrian, and Swiss clients.
As part of the Webhelp Group, the new Gobeyond Partners DACH team will be co-located in Nuremberg, the current headquarters for the Webhelp in the DACH region.
Ludger Strom has been appointed the Managing Director of Gobeyond Partners for the DACH region, with a strong consulting background in customer journey transformation. Ludger and his team will develop Gobeyond Partners’ existing client portfolio across High Tech, Financial Services, Automotive, Health, and Multichannel Retail, as well, as work alongside Webhelp and its clients to support their transformation agendas
At a time when 60% of business leaders are re-evaluating how much they will be investing in change and transformation due to COVID-19, the team’s expertise will provide a significant value add to clients looking to build back better and navigate the evolving digital complexities in customer journey transformation.
Mark Palmer, CEO of Gobeyond Partners comments on the expansion:
“We have delivered work for DACH clients for a number of years, and a local team and location has always been part of our plan. However, the rapid digitisation of channels and cost transformation agenda that many companies are now facing, has accelerated this. Through our DACH team, we can help existing and new clients navigate this complex landscape.”
Ludger Strom, MD of the DACH practice continues:
“I am delighted to be heading up our new DACH practice. I look forward to supporting our current clients in the region, as well as partnering with new clients who are accelerating their digital customer journey strategies. It’s a very exciting time for us. We have some ambitious targets for the next year and I am actively looking for talent in the market to grow the team.”
Markus von Rhein, CEO of Webhelp DACH concludes:
“This is an exciting time for Gobeyond Partners and Webhelp. We know clients will value the additional service offering to support their transformation work.”
About Gobeyond Partners
Gobeyond Partners is a new type of consulting firm that partners with its clients to solve complex customer journey challenges. By combining deep sector expertise with an award-winning approach to client service and value, Gobeyond Partners brings its clients’ transformation vision to life.
Part of the Webhelp group, the team at Gobeyond Partners operates globally – understanding what it takes to transform organisations in the face of changing customer behaviours, cost pressures, and legacy systems.
The firm’s unique customer journey view is broad and deep, helping clients break down organisational silos and deliver a fully connected omnichannel customer experience.
More information can be found at: gobeyondpartners.com
Webhelp signs partnership with Allente
STOCKHOLM November 5th 2020
Allente has chosen Webhelp for the delivery of customer experience solutions including customer service, contact center platform and solution design for Canal Digital.
Allente, the merger between Canal Digital and Viasat Consumer, is offering high quality satellite TV and broadband TV solutions to 1,2 million customers throughout the Nordics.
Since 2010, Webhelp, a global leader in customer experience and business solutions, and Allente’s brand Viasat Consumer have developed a strong partnership of resilient and commercially successful customer service operations.
Webhelp is now adding Allente’s Canal Digital customer services for the Swedish market to its substantial portfolio of Nordic TV/Media clients.
Webhelp will deliver the Canal Digital customer service on behalf of Allente through a best-shoring operation located in Kalmar, Sweden, in Malaga and Alicante, Spain, as well as through advisors working from home. The recruitment of new team members has just started.
Victor Sundén, Chief Commercial Officer at Webhelp Nordic, said:
“We are very excited that Allente has extended our partnership to include Canal Digital, in addition to Viasat Consumer. We look forward to broadening our partnership at this important stage in Allente’s transformational journey, making sure Allente’s customer base is served with the consistent quality, brand ambassadorship and commercial prowess that we are known for. Together we will continue developing a partnership that powers the customer experiences in today’s and tomorrow’s TV and broadband solutions.”
Victor Liljeroth, Country Head Sweden, Allente Nordic, said:
“We have very good experiences of working with Webhelp, and are pleased to add on Canal Digital to our partnership. Webhelp will be able to provide valuable insights and support for our business at this exciting time for our company, and we will keep developing our partnership to give our customers premium service in this extended cooperation.”
Contact information:
Victor Sundén
Chief Commercial Officer, Webhelp Nordic
victor.sunden@webhelp.com
Mobile: +46 70 032 20 04
Maja Wikman Ulrich
Corporate Communications & PR Director, Allente Nordic
maja.wikman.ulrich@allente.tv
Mobile: + 46 936 99 26 65
Making business more human for the world’s most exciting brands.
We live in an era of fast connectivity and AI. Today, human experiences have even more power to make businesses come to life in customers’ hearts and minds.
Webhelp is committed to making business more human.
It’s through this commitment that Webhelp enriches customer experience, and designs business solutions that create value for the world’s most exciting companies.
Webhelp is a partner across a range of services including customer experience solutions, social media moderation through to payment services.
Hundreds of brands across the world trust Webhelp because of their people, the culture they work in, and the ideas and technology they put to work.
Webhelp believes that Emotional Intelligence creates a lasting impact, and their skill in marrying a differentiating human touch to the right technology is what makes a real difference for their clients.
By choosing Webhelp they access the passion and experience of 60,000 game-changers from more than 150 locations in 50 countries. Each one determined to bring their own intelligence, empathy and experience to the table every day.
Webhelp invests in people and the environment they work in, because they know that when people thrive, it has a powerful impact on them, their customers and on their partners’ business.
Webhelp believes that making business more human leads to a better customer experience – and a healthier bottom line.
Webhelp is the European leader in their industry, with a revenue of €1,5B in 2019, and aims for a global leadership position.
Webhelp is currently owned by its management and GBL, a leading global investment holding, as of November 2019.
More information can be found at www.webhelp.com
About Allente:
- Allente offers TV distribution via satellite and broadband to 1,2 million customers in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.
- Has approx. 300 employees in four countries
- Telenor Group and Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group) each owns 50% of the company
- Canal Digital and Viasat Consumer had a net revenue of 7,5 billion SEK 2019
Webhelp named CXM Leader by Everest Group for the second time in 2020
Following our positioning as a Global Leader in Customer Experience Management (CXM) by the leading analyst, Everest Group, we have now been recognized as a Leader again in its CXM in EMEA Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2020, rating high in terms of vision and capability.
This report is an objective recognition of Webhelp’s successful growth strategy, and our unique people-first, end-to-end approach with Skand Bhargava, Vice President, Everest Group saying:
“Webhelp is a leading CXM provider globally, especially in Europe, supported by a large multilingual workforce of more than 60,000 agents. With a focus on digital transformation, CX consulting, and customer journey orchestration, Webhelp has been able to drive exponential growth over the last few years,”
He continues “Further, its deep digital and domain expertise, outcome-focused approach, and strong leadership have allowed it to resiliently navigate the uncertainties created by COVID-19 and continue on its growth journey.”
This result builds on our strong track record in analyst rankings and assessments, and our second year as a Leader in the PEAK Matrix, with Everest Group specifically highlighting our strong coverage in major industry verticals, our geographical delivery footprint, and the value delivered to our clients.
Everest Group defines Leaders as companies that deliver consistent Customer Experience Management (CXM) Services through expansion in new regions, serving various buyer sizes, and delivering high satisfaction scores due to greater technological and advanced digital capabilities.
For this EMEA edition, Everest Group selected 21 organizations to evaluate and compare for their 2020 report based upon the service provider’s market success, vision and strategy, service focus and capabilities, digital and technological solutions, domain investments, and buyer feedback.
Why a robust talent strategy is so important during the Covid-19 era
Gillian Campbell, Chief People Officer – Webhelp UK Region, discusses what makes an effective talent strategy, the core steps in achieving this and why, during the pandemic, building the right resources and being willing to evolve rapidly has become so fundamental.
At Webhelp we work hard to attract, identify, develop, engage, retain and deploy talented and passionate people, and have designed a robust strategy to help us do this.
I believe that an effective talent strategy must have the company’s mission at its core. It must be completely aligned with the business strategy. Together, we strive to put our people first while making sure our clients remain at the heart of everything we do.
You need to have the right structures in place for employee engagement, rewards and development. Companies must also define and deliver good leadership at every level.
A diversity and inclusion programme is an essential part of any effective talent strategy today. Diverse companies and leadership teams have been found to be more successful. For example, recent research suggests that listed firms with at least one in three female executives have a profit margin over 10 times greater.
Identifying internal talent that can move up within the business is just as important to your wider strategy as attracting new employees. Creating dedicated initiatives for key groups within the company to achieve this goal is vital — it shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all approach.
At Webhelp, we have a Deputy Team Leader programme that develops a pipeline of Webhelp leaders of the future, with a structured academic learning path including on the job experience and an external accreditation. This ensures that employees can play an active role in developing their career and accessing a valuable network.
But the best talent strategies are always evolving, organisations have been focused on becoming more agile in recent years and that process has been accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Digital solutions should now be at the forefront of business strategy and, for talent management, investment in online learning and development systems will be a crucial in future proofing the workforce. Online tools like Office 365, SharePoint, Teams, Mural, Miro, Parabol, and Google Docs are helping everyone to work more efficiently, and have been invaluable during the shift to working from home. They engage, empower and assist in the easy execution of tasks.
And, it is also becoming clear that emotional connections in business matter so much more now. Companies will build stronger, more meaningful relationships with customers if they have that connection with their own people. Talent strategies have shifted in this direction, to put structures and benefits in place that respond to the needs of employees today. You have to start by fine-tuning the recruitment process to bring the most intelligent and empathetic talent into the business.
We’ve implemented a learning framework that ensures that we are developing our people and our future talent from their first day on the job and throughout their journey at Webhelp. Our learning framework identifies ‘core’ learning, ‘in-life’ development and talent development.
This new level of maturity in the learning framework for talent development programmes, has meant that everyone can see the benefits. Not only in terms of talent development but also the career paths we have put in place for our people.
It’s also vital to create a structured feedback forum, to create understanding of employee needs and expectations. It is equally important to acknowledge commitment, to reward and to recognise hard work and dedication, and to look at both personal and professional development.
As such, our WebPATHS career progression programme recognises that everyone’s ambitions are different. Some people want to learn new skills, while others need freedom to spend more time on their caring responsibilities, or to pursue studies. Providing exciting and tailored career paths with credible development opportunities means we can retain talent for longer.
The primary objective for most companies throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been trying to maintain continuity. For Webhelp, that was achieved by enabling 8,000 colleagues to work from home effectively – and keeping everyone fully engaged and supported. We have also virtually onboarded over 500 new advisors for home-working roles.
We have re-trained our people to work on the most urgent client situations. We provided access to real-time virtual coaching, training, tools and support to help them succeed in their roles during the crisis. In fact 20,000 hours of training were delivered over just eight weeks.
We also set up social learning groups, so that our team leaders could share lessons and ideas on engaging teams in a virtual world. This enabled our management development consultants to connect with our team managers and ensure that the development and support package was fit for purpose during the transition to working from home, reaching 650 managers across the globe with a personal and tailored learning experience.
We recognised the danger of overlooking employee career goals and aspirations during this time. We remain committed to ensuring that our people can continue to grow and develop and are rewarded for the commitment they’ve shown during the crisis.
Companies have to become more adaptable. Whether work is delivered at home or in the office is becoming less relevant. We’re seeing more flexibility in terms of when and how work is delivered, with greater scope to shift work between geographies and people, and adapt to external changes.
As businesses become more flexible, a much healthier focus on outcomes will emerge. This must be underpinned by data-driven performance management as colleagues at all levels increasingly understand the critical relationship between behaviours, outputs and outcomes.
As the significance of health, wellbeing and safety intensifies, a culture of responsibility towards one another has emerged. This brings shifts in the balance of trust and control. Businesses need to carefully consider how they can help create the optimal home-working setup and ensure employee wellbeing in the short and long term.
Organisations must act now to put these ideas into practice, as even before the pandemic, an effective talent strategy was central to a company’s success, but now having the right one in place will be absolutely fundamental to survival.
OneShot - Dark social
You are certainly missing something; two thirds of content shares take place in private channels. Are people talking about your brand or your product? Is your communication having an impact? If, in order to find out, you analyse your social media traffic with Google Analytics, it will probably only show you a fraction of the stats. Yes, it’s unfortunate, but it’s not a (complete) disaster.
What is it?
Dark social is a sharing space that eludes tracking-standards tools. This content – often copy-pasted links – is shared via SMS, email, private or encrypted messages, etc. That is to say, outside the traditional channels (Twitter, Facebook, a brand’s webpage, etc.). This method of sharing is overwhelmingly dominant. For each piece of content (published on a website) shared on social media, there are seven shared in the background via private messages.
Why does it happen?
For socionauts, sharing is clearly part of the private sphere; almost 70% of all content sharing takes place in private and the rest on public sharing channels. Because we don’t give our best discoveries to just anyone, hence the high informational value of ultra-specific sharing, which also involves seniors more than millennials and Gen Zs. The channels vary, but the rule of thumb, on the other hand, remains firm; only value-added content is shared.
Where do you start?
One way to get the ball rolling is to provide short links that are easy to share, attractive and SEO friendly with tools such as Rebrandly (although its scope is limited). Or to use the share buttons on ShareThis. Or specific analytical tools such as GetSocial. How do we see into private emails or encrypted messages such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger? We don’t. Above all, keep publishing value-added content and make it easy to share – never mind if you can’t get an accurate measure of the impact later on.
How can you make a performance lever?
Finance, travel, restaurants… In certain sectors, dark social is the sharing channel of choice. Try to gauge its importance in the sharing habits of your target audience. On this basis, you will possibly rethink your current KPIs, and redefine them. Because dark social is not only the dominant channel on a quantitative level, it also brings you clients and prospective clients who are following the recommendations of a trusted person! And it brings them into the light.
To appease the public, Google has created a dedicated site : “Bien vivre le digital”. (Living happily with digital).
It is highly educational, and it covers and clarifies sensitive subjects.
Read the full OneShot article here
Optimaal klantcontact tijdens piekdrukte
Alles over bereikbaarheid en klanttevredenheid
Download de longread en krijg meer inzicht in:
- De kansen en valkuilen in piekperiodes
- Het voorkomen van imagoschade
- De ervaringen van bol.com, H&M en Zilveren Kruis
OneShot – Win back trust in the era of fake news
We take a look at how the social media landscape is overshadowed by scandals with François-Bernard Huyghe, a specialist in geopolitics, director of research at Iris, expert in influence and disinformation.
Fake news, fake followers, fake influencers, deep fake, etc. Political currents, companies and simple individuals fight to spread their representation of reality and the courses of action. The craziest points of view – conspiracy theories, flat-earthers, anti-vaxxers, and other trolls – bringing together highly active small communities, whose impact is often destructive. In regard to digital technologies, it brings with it an arsenal of highly sophisticated disinformation that is constantly improving and increasingly easy to access. Is there a place for trust among all this?
Fake news, fake followers, fake influencers, deep fake… How did we end up here?
François-Bernard Huyghe: These Anglicisms are recent and numerous: I listed 60 in my essay on fake news (1). They can be found in journalism, politics, geopolitics and even in everyday conversation; so, they are now part of our reality. Of course, lies and deception go back a long way, but it was in 2016 that the general concern became widespread, with the election of Trump, Brexit, the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal, the Catalonia elections, in Italy, etc. So, we have granted great political power to the spreading of fake news -and other ‘alternative facts’- on social media. To the point that it is a threat to democracies, the media, and ultimately, to trust as a common socio-economic foundation. Thus, we have moved into the era of post-truth. And the context of Covid-19 confirms this point of view; WHO even talks of an ‘infodemic’, with harmful consequences.
Where is trust in social networks and media?
F.-B. H.: Trust in social media has flipped; we’ve gone from a concept, or from a meme, “social networks will establish democracy everywhere”, to “social networks are bringing down democracies”. We started with the idea that social networks provided a freedom of speech that would trouble the powers that be – those of governments and brands, in particular. And this would in turn lead to more lucid citizen-consumers, saner politicians and better-quality products and services. Ultimately it is the opposite that has become widespread. In the case of brands, other negative factors also arose, such as Dieselgate, the leak of personal data, its commercial exploitation, the opaque role of artificial intelligence, fake customer reviews, click farms, etc.
What are the consequences of these disinformation practices for the public?
F.-B. H.: Gafam and social media regularly report on the thousands of harmful messages or fake news that they delete. There is also corrective intervention from fact-checking experts or bodies, such as AFP Fact Check, partly financed by Facebook, whose new role is “to refute anything that did not happen”. However, despite this refutation, those who manipulate opinions are well aware that there is still some doubt. As Hannah Arendt already said, “When everyone lies to you constantly, the result is not that you believe these lies but no one believes anything anymore… And with such a people, you can do whatever you want.” Ultimately, the most serious aspect is not any particular fake news article; it is the torrent of them that has had a toxic impact on our minds. Citizen-consumers find themselves overwhelmed with doubt, with an inability to learn and act, which leads to frustration or even anger. Take a look at the USA, where Trump has attacked Twitter, while the social network was doing its job of moderating; it is like the start of a soap opera about freedom to express anything and everything, in other words, to misinform with impunity.
What kind of influence is legitimate in the eyes of the public?
F.-B. H. : We have gone from a time when mass media would publish a message in line with that of esteemed opinion leaders, and we have now arrived – through this crisis of general trust – at a strong legitimacy of nano and micro-influencers. Therefore, over prestige and authority, we now prefer proximity; people who talk to me should be people like me. They and I, we should find ourselves on a level playing field. Hence, also, a form of insularity. The citizen-consumer is eventually stuck between individualism and tribalism. Because a tribe is still necessary in order to feel valued within their choices and their identity. Consequently, speeches that often end up getting through are not those of the experts or the established authorities; instead they are the simple opinions or the raw emotions of ‘real’ people.
How can we rebuild trust?
F.-B. H.: On the part of the companies and brands, it seems wiser to establish horizontal and genuine links with consumers, rather than try to create messages that descend towards ‘the old style’. This probably happens through the human dimension, proximity, localness, transparency, proof, the personalisation of relationships, and by approaches that are more micro than macro. But, in a context of economic revival, they will have to ask questions about a shift in production, of real needs versus luxuries and ostentatiousness, of meaning and values, of the company’s social and ecological role, etc. Is it time for certain brands to make an ethical change and to become companies with a mission? It is worth thinking about.
(1) The term fake news, ‘infox’ or ‘fausses nouvelles’ in French, refers to untruthful information that is spread in order to manipulate or mislead the public.
“Over prestige and authority, we now prefer proximity.”
François-Bernard Huyghe
Read the full OneShot article here
Webhelp Confirming End of Operations in Kaunas, Lithuania
STOCKHOLM, October 13th, 2020
Global customer experience company Webhelp confirms their closure of its operational site in Kaunas, Lithuania by the end of this year.
The ramp down of Webhelp’s activity in Lithuania is linked to a strongly reduced demand in the global travel industry, on which the Kaunas team focuses, and will happen gradually from now until the end of 2020.
The tenured Webhelp team serves various clients at the international level in the areas of customer service, finance and data/fraud protection. Each employee speaks and writes two or more languages. Services provided from the Kaunas office are in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Spanish, Italian, German, French, Russian and English languages.
Webhelp is very thankful for the loyalty and support of its experienced team in Lithuania and is working together with Webhelp’s international locations, the local government, and other parties to assist their people in the transition to the next phase of their career.
For questions, please reach out to:
Janis Misans
MD Webhelp Latvia and Lithuania
janis.misans@webhelp.com
Phone: +371 27824787
Terje Andreassen
CEO Webhelp Nordic
terje.andreassen@webhelp.com
Phone: +46 70 226 42 85
Changing Lives in South Africa: Advisors in their own words
As Webhelp’s partnership with Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator continues, Cathy Kalamaras takes a look back at the story so far, explores why the alliance remains a priority, and shares some of the positive career journeys and life changing experiences of our Harambee colleagues.
As a South African who has personally witnessed that investment in the right training, effective coaching appropriate tools and the right attitude, can transform the outlook for the youth of South Africa, I am delighted to report that Webhelp’s partnership with Harambee, which was established in 2016, continues to go from strength to strength.
Harambee are experts in the dynamics of the South African unemployed youth labour market, which is much needed as youth unemployment in South Africa was called a “national crisis” by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2019. The figures have reached an all-time high of 59% in the first quarter of 2020.
Brandon Aitken, our Chief Commercial Officer for South Africa, remarks:
“The employment landscape has undoubtedly been impacted by the devastating COVID crisis, so it is NOW more than ever that we need to nurture and create opportunities for the enthusiastic and skilled young people in South Africa. We remain doubly committed to our work with Harambee, and the amazing candidates that have joined our business and I am delighted that we are in a fortune position to convert all our Harambee contractors into permanent employees. The work-readiness programme has prepared these candidates for the world of work, and our inhouse training and working experience opportunity has assisted in uncovering the high levels of potential within our people, thus allowing us to continue to deliver a high standard of customer excellence to our clients.”
I deeply believe that Harambee provides an invaluable lifeline in the fight against poverty, and that together we can create economic opportunities and growth for our youth. At Webhelp, we are in the perfect position to do this; as according to the Business Process enabling South Africa (BPeSA), the umbrella industry association for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector in South Africa, in their fourth quarter 2019 results, the sector now employs approximately 260,000 people, and remains a growth area. It is also a sector that doesn’t need formal tertiary education for entry level positions, which opens up the opportunities to growing and developing talent.
Whilst Harambee’s bridge into work activity has been halted by COVID-19, Webhelp made space for work ready candidates who missed out on an opportunity with another firm due to the pandemic. As a result, an additional 20 Harambee candidates have recently joined our Webhelp family to begin their journey into skilled employment. Plus, Webhelp is delighted to have driven a massive conversion rate for the Harambee recruits hired during our period in 2019, by moving 165 employees from fixed-term contracts to permanent placements.*
Since 2016, we have welcomed around 800, Harambee recruits into our organisation, and have found permanent positions for at least 633 supporting various campaigns and clients, to remain in full time employment. Of those 70 also took part in our learnership programme.
We thought that there would be no better way to give you a sense of how profound our impact sourcing model has had than to share some success stories, (in their own words) from the customer service advisor colleagues right at the heart of the partnership:
Devon Jacobs: Contact Centre Advisor
“The learning experience that Harambee had offered us is something I will keep with me for the rest of my life. I’ve made friends and learned so much about working in the corporate world. We learned about people’s backgrounds and different upbringings which, in my opinion made us grow so much closer to each other, and we still remember and check up on each other.
The environment is perfect for youth, we had five weeks training at Harambee as well as an additional five weeks at Webhelp that was beneficial for us in my opinion.
It feels great helping customers and actually being able to make people happy. I see myself growing here, and would love to become a Team Leader within the next 2-4 years, as I’m happy with my work environment and see myself hopefully a bit higher on the corporate ladder.
I am so happy I recently signed a new permanent contract on The Very Group Campaign, and I’m just in the perfect headspace to grow within the business because at Webhelp there is growth in abundance!”
Neziswa Mkitika: Contact Centre Advisor
“My name is Neziswa Mkitika, I’m 33 years old, have two kids and passed my matric in 2007. I started working as a clerk for six years and studied HR while I was working for human resources. I then worked in retail for four years as a merchandiser and became a field marketer.
Harambee was a bridge for me to cross, when I started I was at my lowest. They changed the way I think, started me from scratch and they have taught me how to come out of my shell. No university can teach you more than they can teach you. They are the experts in the industry and I am the person that I am now because of all the hard work that they have put into me.
I have a calling to work with people, which is my gift, because I can read a person. Thanks to Webhelp I have found myself, Webhelp values define me as I love people, it’s not about money – it’s about doing what you love. Webhelp has many opportunities, I cannot wait to grow in the business!”
Zubair Samuels: Contact Centre Advisor
“I got an opportunity at Harambee, I started in mid-May and to be honest it was quite challenging to be in that position where I was preparing myself for the world of work. We spent five weeks at Harambee working hard and having fun,
When it came to an end I was really sad, we were leaving the place where we were taught how to manage time, be responsible, be organised and well-disciplined – not to forget learning appropriate dress code. But the journey began and we succeeded in moving to the next step which was huge, I finally I got a job!
I was so excited and nervous at the same time, because it was a whole new challenge, a different environment and different people to adapt too. Firstly we had to go on a training course, to be honest those were the best five weeks ever, training is basically the best ever!
We had so much fun and obstacles in our way as well that we had to overcome. The trainer was very knowledgeable and extremely chilled which made learning the product so much easier. The training prepared us for how it should be on the operational floor.
The first time on the operational floor I was so nervous, even though we had call listening in training. But, as I took my first call the advisor sitting with me was very helpful and made it easier. I made a lot of mistakes which I learnt brilliantly from, it helped me grow as an advisor. The campaign I am on is very busy but I love challenges and this was one of my biggest ones. It paid off and I passed GRAD BAY and then became LIVE, which was a great achievement!
Then finally my role became permanent, this company is really good and they provide lots of growth opportunities.
In the last of couple of months it has been tough due to the current pandemic, but it has been worth it as now the opportunities are actually flying out – giving all of us the chance to grow and succeed. I would actually love the chance just to showcase my ability in a leader role, I dearly hope that this journey does not end here and is continued with many more opportunities available to come!”
This is a model that has truly benefit our organisation, and there has been nothing more fulfilling; knowing that we have had an opportunity to nurture the untapped skill potential of unemployed youth in our country, not only impact their lives, but also the lives of their immediate families. We are proud to be playing our small part to #changinglives
Civic responsibility is part of the DNA of Webhelp, which has been running successfully for twenty years. Discover the four pillars of Webhelp’s citizen action here.
The DSA – a newfound content moderator
Strengthening the responsibility towards online platforms, the DSA could be the newfound content moderator.
As the digital economy continues to grow and evolve rapidly, it becomes more imperative for platforms to manage the content they have on their websites.
The Digital Services Act (DSA) is part of the EU’s digital strategy to regulate the online ecosystem. Clarifying rules that propose a new liability framework for online platforms and the content hosted on their sites.
We could wonder – “How does this differ to GDPR?”: GDPR aims to protect customers’ personal data at the forefront of every business. It is the EU legislation that regulates how organizations use personal data, but it does not regulate the content that is shown online to customers. This is where the DSA comes into action.
The European Commission announced the DSA as being a package formed of two pillars proposing the following new frameworks:
- New rules framing the responsibilities for digital services – protecting customers in the digital ecosystem when it comes to user-generated content and new risks that may arise on these platforms
- Ex-ante rules for large online platforms that act as gatekeepers to ensure platforms act fairly and challenged by new entrants – the market stays competitive and innovative, so customers get the widest choice.
This is not to say it does not come with its own limitations and challenges. These new provisions can facilitate users to identify issues and risks that is indistinct with the current regulations. It augments more attention to platforms’ guidelines and safety measures.
It is crucial these online intermediaries take responsibility and introduce trained content moderators to avoid these potential faults.
Growing liability for online platforms and digital gatekeepers
Online intermediaries have been protected by the e-Commerce Directive against content liability, enabling these providers to establish their own content moderation regulations.
Social media is one of the most popular ways for users to spend their time and engage with people. It has become an integrated communication tool for people to connect with others and express public opinions. From their personal views in politics or about a product they recommend (49% of consumers depend on influencers recommendations on social media according to Oberlo). Statista states Facebook has 2.7 billion monthly active user’s vs Instagram with 1 billion monthly active users.
Social media user-generated content statistics show daily:
- Every 60 seconds there are more than 317,000 status updates and 54,000 links shared on Facebook
- 94 million photos and videos are shared on Instagram
The virality of content can be constructive as well as destructive. With the current regulation for the interdependence of these large platforms, it does not allow for legal reprisals and liability.
According to the DSA, a new standard for large platforms that act as digital gatekeepers will attempt to impose tech regulators with the power to enforce rules where content could be deemed illegal or inflammatory. Creating a fairer, and more competitive market for online platforms in the EU.
Implementing these new standards requires content management services to support focusing on the right content for your business. Poorly handled owned content can be pernicious and potentially discriminating.
Adapting the DSA on a global scale
Online platforms are key drivers of digital trade, innovation, and globalization.
The EU is an attractive market that was the motivation for GDPR scope to become transnational as compliance is required when companies encounter EU citizens personal data. Consequently, forcing international firms to adapt to these regulations.
As with the DSA, the intention is to improve the supervision on digital services and to help protect EU citizens across the single market.
The framework offers benefits to sellers and consumers, with an attraction to different gatekeepers in the market as the digital ecosystem continues to grow and broaden its reach. The DSA introduces broad derogations for members discretion – the UK is not obliged to follow these regulations due to Brexit, as the UK’s transition period ends before 2020. Nonetheless, this package requires harmonization between the UK, EU, and even international platforms to obtain the balance of legal protection of responsibilities to protect its customers.
Our services
The DSA invites more regulation for online platforms, but this cannot be transformed in the current way content is moderated. It requires dexterity and vigour.
Putting our people and our clients at the heart to ensure we build trust, and a safe user experience is part of our think-human approach – 74% of our operators recommend Webhelp as an employer (NPS). Our teams are trusted to detect and assess issues for user generated content with our content moderators, as well as finding the right content for your brand with our content management service. We have managed 1 billion pieces of content in 25 languages every year with flexible operations onsite and homeworking. This role is time-consuming and requires attentiveness, so it is important for us to provide our content moderators with mental health support.
We focus on our robust processes and in-house technological solutions to ensure a smooth delivery of outcomes and a high productivity rate to deliver on objectives.
Are you interested in how the DSA may affect your organization? Talk to us today about how Webhelp’s Content Management services can help you.