Yoni Epstein | Outsourcing beyond the storm

On October 28, Jamaica witnessed a once-in-a-generation storm, a Category 5 hurricane, the largest to make landfall on the island since Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, and we are just beginning to understand the depth of the damage and the effort it will take to recover.

Hurricane Melissa is what I call ‘the great equaliser’ because regardless of your social or economic status, whether you’re an employee or employer, we are all affected.

Nothing is ‘normal’ and many are living hand to mouth.

The basic things we once took for granted – transportation, communication, running water, power, access to food – are no longer guaranteed. Regardless of where you live or your situation, at this moment we are all in the same boat, and the only way we are going to lift ourselves up is if we work together.

Though there may have been no real way to fully prepare for this level of damage and destruction, I’m inspired by the efforts the Jamaican government has made to mobilise its resources, and the way both private and public sectors have come together to clear roads, open support lines and bring relief into the most affected areas. It shows not just the resilience of our economy, but the resilience of our people, and it speaks to the strength of the Jamaican culture.

Over the past 10 years, we have witnessed this strength and perseverance in the growth of our economy, our business sector, the boom in tourism, manufacturing, and business process outsourcing, and the fact that we have been creating jobs at record pace with the lowest unemployment in history. It shows hope, and a light that cannot be dimmed, even now after this destructive and disruptive turn of events.

The local business community will play a key role in Jamaica’s recovery. Business leaders must do their part to restore global confidence in our country, to demonstrate by our actions that we can recover and rebuild, and that we can weather the storm and come out stronger.

We do this by opening doors as soon as possible and by supporting our employees, whose confidence has also been shaken, giving them the opportunity to come back to work, to restore a sense of normalcy and most importantly, to generate income, so they can attend to their everyday needs and help their families recover. I feel that it is our duty as employers to help them find stability quickly.

One of the big questions on everyone’s mind is will Jamaica’s reputation in the BPO sector now be damaged? Will overseas partners leave? Will global brands still feel confident outsourcing their customer experience or CX services to Jamaica?

My belief is that we will strengthen Jamaica’s reputation by the way we respond to this crisis and how quickly we recover.

As business leaders, we must demonstrate our resilience and our ability to overcome any challenge. We need to show that the Jamaican spirit still shines through, by maintaining business operations through well executed continuity plans. For me, it’s a highly personal mission. My company is deeply rooted in Jamaica and always will be, and for us to rebuild as a nation, we must all work together to remind our partners that Jamaica is still one of the best places to do business.

Right now, it is time to lean into partnerships with clients. Strong business relationships are what will restore confidence in our industries, and so far, the clients I’ve spoken to have been extremely supportive of the work that we have been doing to restore our operations after such an historic and catastrophic event. It is a testament to the way we do business and to Jamaica’s ability to deliver exceptional and reliable services that generate loyalty and sustainability.

Our clients feel as connected to the people in Jamaica as we do, and their willingness to work with us, to donate money for care packages, to do whatever they can to support our employees has been amazing. It’s given us an opportunity to reaffirm our foundational values and to show that we truly live by them; because it’s easy to talk about ‘integrity’ and ‘family’ when times are good, but to see it come to life when there’s a challenge, that’s when your company’s character truly shows.

Best of all, we can remind the world that yes, our airports are open, BPOs are running, hotels are reopening, and general commerce is resuming its day-to-day operations, and despite the adversity we face as a nation, we are going to continue to operate and we’re going to continue to do business.

That’s the way we restore hope and confidence in our industries, our economy, and our people and attract global investments that will help us rebuild. That’s how we will show the world that the Jamaican spirit cannot be broken, that we may be down, but we are certainly not out.

Yoni Epstein is founder and CEO of itel.yoni.epstein@itelinternational.com