Surviving the second wave: How digitising with TIMIFY keeps your services and staff productive

The coronavirus pandemic is far from over. Several countries are being hit hard by a second wave leading to new lockdowns. This puts many companies, authorities, organisations and schools under enormous stress right as they were beginning to recover from the spring and summer downturns.

For many, the only way forward is to digitise their operations and make everything virtual. What does this mean for your company? Now is the time to update your services and operations, embracing digitisation and preparing for a future far beyond Covid-19.

Digitising during the pandemic

Every company needs a digital infrastructure. In the current climate, it is the only way that businesses can continue to function, and be better prepared to keep offering their services in these changeable times.

For business owners, this means prioritising what needs to be digitised immediately and what can be shifted online over the coming weeks and months.

Companies have a wide variety of requirements when it comes to working digitally. Regardless of what you need, to ensure a smooth transition, it is important to bundle services, customers and teams together in a single system. These changes help simplify your normal business activity, allowing you to focus on providing the best services for your customers and clients. Below, we highlight how TIMIFY can help minimise disruption caused by the pandemic and, in the process, move your business forward into the future.

Offer a better service through online booking

While some companies were already dependent on scheduling, others are having to deal with it for the first time to comply with new government regulations or simply to improve their services. If scheduling in advance is required, customers will expect there to be an online booking option. By letting your customers book appointments online, you not only avoid overloaded telephone lines but can also rid your office of confusing and inefficient paper booking calendars. With the current Covid-19 crisis, online appointment booking offers a clear and organised process that is now more important than ever.

Benefits of online booking:

• Online booking gives you an opportunity to provide your customers with important information. You can customise the booking form to fit your needs, like notifying your guests of your hygiene measures or to let them know of any preparations they need to make prior to their visit.
• With TIMIFY you can set a maximum number of visitors and the length of each appointment. This allows you to allocate specific booking slots to prevent overcrowding or queues.
• With online booking, customer information is saved in the customer database. Should you need to perform contact tracing due to a Covid-19 outbreak, you can view your booking history in the TIMIFY calendar and see which staff members and guests were present at the same time.
• In order to comply with social distancing and hygiene measures, TIMIFY allows you to schedule automatic buffer times between appointments. This prevents customers from overlapping, avoiding unnecessary contact, and allows time to disinfect spaces and equipment between clients. Also, if appointments require contact with different staff members in different locations, they can be divided into different time slots to aid distancing and sanitisation during the appointment.
• By providing customers with the option to make online payments in advance, it reduces unnecessary contact by eliminating the need to exchange cash or cards. An added benefit is that it speeds up customer processing. TIMIFY partners with STRIPE, a leading online payment platform for SMBs that easily integrates with all TIMIFY accounts, including the free version.

Managing crowded waiting rooms

Some companies have to coordinate an unpredictable number of visitors, such as medical or government offices. TIMIFY brings relief to these companies by organising crowded waiting rooms in two ways.

Online appointments

The best way to prevent crowded waiting rooms is by having visitors book in advance online. This reduces the number of visitors arriving without an appointment and helps manage waiting room congestion. Because TIMIFY automates much of the booking process, it reduces calls and emails, allowing your staff to focus on more important work.

Digital queue

With the TIMIFY Queuing App (coming soon), visitors without an appointment are merged seamlessly with visitors who booked in advance. Walk-in visitors have the option of scanning a QR code with their mobile device, which will assign them a virtual number and place in the queue. All other information, such as the estimated waiting time or notifications that they are about to be called, is sent directly to their device. This allows them to repurpose their waiting time for other errands, but most importantly, it prevents overcrowding in waiting rooms, reducing the risk of infection.

Shifting services online

Many companies may not be allowed to remain open as a result of measures to combat the virus or they may not be able to comply with the required hygiene measures. Many are forced to invent new business models in order to stay afloat. In some areas it might be possible to offer services online. If you can no longer offer in-person appointments, you may be able to offer virtual appointments. TIMIFY helps you organise these online services by managing the booking process and providing links to online events. TIMIFY automatically integrates with Zoom and GoToMeeting, ensuring all meeting links are organised in a central location. All important details are sent to the customer and payments are also possible using our online payment tool.

Learn how to shift your in-person services online.

Manage remote teams

Many companies are forced to have their employees work from home. To make this successful, it not only requires laptops and cell phones, but also a flexible tool to connect employees and enable collaboration. TIMIFY bundles these processes smoothly into a single system.

Shared calendar with colleagues

Coordinating working hours, meetings, holidays and free time can be difficult for remote teams. TIMIFY, used on its own or integrated with the calendar system of your choice, offers a central view of employee availability and working hours. At a glance, your team can see in real time who is currently working from where, who is available part-time and who may be sick. TIMIFY makes it easy to track your team.

Schedule appointments and video calls with colleagues

Working from home makes communication between colleagues difficult. Since you can no longer meet in person, video calls offer solutions for communicating effectively with your team or with customers. Regardless of whether it is a group or individual conversation, or a mix of internal and external parties, all participants are sent the details and, if necessary, reminded in advance. Everything works seamlessly and saves time for more important tasks.

Read more on how to work together as a remote Team.

The future is digital

The coronavirus pandemic has hit certain industries particularly hard and has sped up the inevitable shift to digitisation. Many customers are just learning to appreciate the advantages of digital innovation and will continue to value it even after the crisis subsides.

However hard the current circumstances ultimately hit in the long run, digitisation still provides an opportunity to build the foundation for a successful future.

TIMIFY is here for you

TIMIFY specialises in developing and providing individual solutions for every company. We can help you survive the coming weeks in the best possible way - and equip your company well for the long term.

If you would like to see for yourself how TIMIFY can help your company adapt and grow, join our satisfied customers by opening an account for free today, or chat with one of our team members on our website to find an individual solution for your company.