ACS uses a proactive program to address health and safety risks
By Maria Mutya Frio
Photos by shishiir manzo
Given the rigors and the demands of working in a contact center, young professionals in this industry can easily slip into living a sedentary lifestyle. Long shifts especially at night can alter one’s biological clock. Interfacing daily with clients requires one to be in a cordial disposition at all times, demanding a high level of energy at each call made or received. Management would be wise to keep employees’ physical and psychological health in check, particularly those fronting its core business.
So how do you keep your agents in top shape?
Creating a culture of health and wellness
At Advanced Contact Solutions (ACS), health and wellness go beyond an individual’s physical fitness. Employees’ health and wellness are addressed in a holistic, pro-active approach rather than in fragmented ways dictated by what sport or wellness activity is in vogue. ACS’ health plan is anchored on a more sophisticated and logical system within the firm’s operating procedures, and is embodied in what it calls Enterprise Risk Management or ERM. It is a comprehensive “umbrella program” that captures pre-determined risks associated with the company’s nature of business, including employees’ health, safety and security. These risks have corresponding action plans for mitigation, target completion dates, and key performance indicators.
Part of the ERM is a health program geared towards pro-actively detecting trends on illnesses and diseases, mobilizing ACS’ medical team, and ensuring medical supplies and services are available and accessible. The program also covers providing health benefits, raising employees’ awareness on health-related matters, and running a year-round sportsfest that encourages employees to regularly engage in sports activities, among others.
ACS’ vice president for human resources Haidee Enriquez explains the company’s distinctive way of handling its employees’ health. “First and foremost, you need to develop that culture of health and wellness,” she shares. “Continuous, regular work to ensure people are made aware of risks associated with their jobs is pertinent in inculcating a culture of wellness within the organization. Employees are given the guarantee that the organization provides enough cushions to mitigate health risks.”
She adds, “After developing that and providing the opportunity by which people can feel the advantages of working or having this type of mentality, [we] then later come up with ways to mitigate or address certain peaks to it.” If a flu epidemic occurs out of the norm, for instance, management deals with it on a per occasion basis.
In relation to this, ACS holds a year-round activity on wellness which depends on what’s in or what’s out in terms of trends in sickness. “Our medical services staff look at our absenteeism and attrition data. There are specific periods of time when we found out wherein flu incidence was higher or at its peak. So the next time around, prior to that period, there are mitigating activities or preventive activities that are held. For example, last year we had flu vaccine, nutritional food sampling, [and] product sampling co-sponsored by either different health maintenance organization or other consumer or pharmaceutical companies,” Enriquez states.
“Instead of focusing on a particular event when it comes to wellness, we take it by exception. Instead of focusing on what’s in vogue, like yoga or tae-bo, we have gym facilities. For a program to create a lasting impact, it has to be sustainable rather than following certain vogues,” she says.
Keeping programs sustainable means they emanate from and are supported by company policy. ACS created committees that oversee various aspects of its employees’ well-being, including the health and safety committee, security committee, first aid team, and a fire brigade, among others. ACS has also put in place a policy addressing epidemics caused by the flu virus, avian flu, and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).
“All of these committees have their own calendar of activities. So it’s not just a one-time event. These are all on-going activities, seminars on first aid, health and safety. All of these committees have their own action plan. It starts from policy, making people aware of these policies, and implementing the action plans and programs to mitigate the risks associated with health. Action plans are implemented for all positions, all facilities.
Providing health benefits and facilities
From policy to strategy, how does ACS implement its vision of health and safety trickling down to each individual employee?
Foremost, health benefits are always good incentives to keep employees’ wellbeing in check and ensure they be consistently productive at the workplace. Unused sick leaves, for instance, can be converted into cash. This gives employees an incentive to take better care of themselves.
ACS provides medical services round-the-clock where doctors and nurses are available for consultation. Medical services staff are vigilant in curbing and reducing absenteeism. When employees do not feel well, they are asked to go to the medical services facility where nurses make sure they are properly guided on what medication to take and how to properly take care of their body.
The medical services team also holds different awareness activities to help employees be more cognizant of being healthy, specifically given the rigors of working at night. These activities are aided with leaflets, brochures, and flyers that talk about prevention of diseases most commonly experienced by call center professionals.
Medicines, including vitamins, are supplied. The type of medicines available is not just according to the requirement of the law, like first aid, but also what ACS tracks as the needs of its employees. “Our nurses do not just take care of those in need health-wise, but they also track absenteeism trends. So when they see a frequency of illness due to vitamin C deficiency, then they make sure that the awareness campaign, all the activities and the supplies of medicine are geared towards preventing that deficiency,” Enriquez shares.
ACS’ medical services team, composed of a safety and health committee and more than 40 first aiders, conduct first aid training as part of its training calendar. “They make sure they have their own action plans targeting mitigating risks associated with common problems,” Enriquez shares.
Gym facilities supervised by a trainer, an employee care center with sleeping quarters, recreational facilities like billiards, table tennis, dart boards, food suppliers, and shower rooms are all in place year-round for employees. ACS accredits its food supplier as well, ensuring that meals in the canteen are approved by employees, including options for vegetarians.
Further incentives for regular employees include an ACS privilege card that gives discounts, freebies, and free subscriptions to more than 80 establishment partners like Slimmer’ World, Fitness First, and The Spa.
Getting on with the program
Part of ACS’ health program is tying up with the Call for Health Program of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) that were run in ACS’ headquarters in Makati and in its provincial facilities. The one-day activity included lectures on reproductive health and workplace health and safety. Medical practitioners were also present on-site for call center agents to consult.
ACS also holds sportfests but unlike other companies that run them only as a one-week event, ACS’ sportsfest runs every weekend for 3-4 months. It encourages staff to engage in various sports like basketball, volleyball, chess, table tennis and darts. It not only fosters better teamwork, but the activity promotes the underlying idea for employees to be more physically active and channel their energies to activities that are not detrimental to their health.
“These are all part of a greater endeavor, the Enterprise Risk Management. We identify risks associated with the kind of work we do. And then action plans are put in place to mitigate the risks. I daresay if we compare the readiness of ACS with other organizations, we are the most ready because of the ERM,” Enriquez prides.
