WE EMBRACE CHANGE
This post is from an article posted on LinkedIn written by our Director of Customer Experience, Olivia Frère
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. So many companies accept this as truth when they look for ways to improve processes and make changes that better their customer experience. Why? Why not strive to level up and embrace change that drives business forward, allows employees to grow, and ultimately creates a stronger customer experience? This should be the ultimate goal after all – making changes where needed to ensure your brand is providing the highest quality experience for your customer.
I’ve been at Walker Edison for just over eight months. I find it rather ironic that I, the newbie, was asked to write about changes at Walker Edison. I was not part of the dramatic shifts this organization went through when the pandemic began, nor was I part of the tremendous success that resulted from pivoting and changing our strategy during that time. After taking some time to think about the request, I realized that Walker Edison made tremendous changes in 2020, but that does not mean we are done. Walker Edison is always changing; we are constantly updating strategy, designs and processes to make sure we are delivering the best experience to our customers and employees. One of Walker Edison’s core values is, “WE Embrace Change” and we really do embody that.
In 2020, when the vast majority of the US population was sent home, Walker Edison made a concerted effort to ensure our customers were taken care of. Supply chain teams worked tirelessly to ensure we had products that supported the at-home worker. Yes, of course, Walker Edison had always thought about the customer first, but how we thought about our customer changed. Our teams pivoted quickly toward ensuring that the new at-home workers had what they needed to succeed. Over the course of just a few weeks’ time, our supply chain team made the extraordinary changes that allowed us to stay on top of our consumer demand. Our order processing team and operations teams also leveled-up and rapidly processed these orders, ensuring that they reached our customers as quickly as possible. While suppliers around the world faced incredible inventory challenges, Walker Edison stayed ahead of the game because we were able to adapt.
When online ordering spiked, our customer service team had to make some changes, and quickly. With many people working from home, turning to simpler ways to communicate became key. We turned to chat, a completely revamped emailing and ticketing system, more staff and extended phone hours. This helped us ensure we could reply to our customers as quickly as possible. During a time of so much uncertainty, Walker Edison made sure that being able to reach us was never in question.
In an interview earlier this year, our CEO Brad Bonham said that he wants employees to “feel like Walker Edison is the best place they’ve ever worked”. With the guidance of our leadership team, employees were introduced to hybrid work schedules, more work from home opportunities and more flexible work schedules. This change created an environment where employees felt supported, appreciated, and empowered. While everyone at Walker Edison was working to make changes for our customer, it was gratifying to see the changes we made to support our team as well.
Walt Disney said years ago “Times and conditions change so rapidly that we must keep our aim constantly focused on the future.” Here at Walker Edison, we thrive on change. That is why “WE Embrace Change” is one of our core values. We are constantly updating our processes and product with our current and future customer in mind. In 2020 we effectively implemented numerous changes that propelled us into 2021, a year that will likely prove to be one of our strongest yet. I am excited to be on board. I look forward to being part of the changes that will continue to level up Walker Edison and make it the best place to work for our employees as well as create the best experiences for our customers.