Cathy Biddulph, director of HR, lead the Blue Ocean team that executed a complex reconfiguration plan.
Flexibility and a quick response to changing dynamics are an integral are part of any Blue Ocean customer service solution. With two of Blue Ocean largest projects experiencing significant growth at the same time, the company applied that resourcefulness and adaptability to meet their own changing needs.
“We provide logistics and technical assistance for the world leader in networking technology and we provide Tier 1 tech support for the global leader in interactive whiteboard technology,” reports Cathy Biddulph, director of human resources, “Business demands for those clients put both projects in a mode of rapid growth at the same time, triggering a major reconfiguration of our Blue Ocean resources. Fortunately, our facilities are designed so we can adapt our physical space, technology, and human resources quickly to meet any particular client’s requirements while maintaining seamless service across the board for all of our projects.”
“We operate two separate centers on the same campus in Halifax,” explains Barry Browne, technical support manager. “These two centers, each housing multiple projects and hundreds of agents, are free-standing facilities with both shared and redundant technology to protect against service interruption. Having two stand-alone facilities in close proximity to one another is a key factor in our ability to meet and adapt to major growth on the fly.”
Meeting the needs of the company’s networking project and interactive whiteboard project required a complex series of maneuvers not unlike a military operation. “Over the course of two very short weeks we relocated 250 agents between our two centers; we reconfigured 450 workstations; and we moved and reinstalled our whiteboard tech lab which contains ten whiteboards and projectors, two huge rear-projection units; and several highly sensitive interactive touch tables,” reports Cathy Biddulph.
“Our priority was to accomplish the move in the most efficient timeframe possible, with as little inconvenience to our workforce as possible, and with zero impact on the service we provide,” Barry Browne says. “This transition happened without a hitch. We have a great team and they make amazing things happen. I don’t mean just the tech and human resources people at Blue Ocean, but the dozens of coaches and hundreds of agents who all did their part to make this move happen and to ensure that there was not a moment of lost or diminished service for our client’s customers.”
“I guess that’s just how we roll in any situation,” Cathy Biddulph says with a smile, “we have the right people and technology; we plan carefully and we execute effectively.”
