Work Alone Call Centers vs Automated Work Alone Solutions: The Pros and Cons
Table of Contents
Work Alone Call Centers vs Automated Work Alone Solutions: The Pros and Cons
What is a safety call center?
Alternatives to call centers: Automated lone worker systems
The benefits of automated work alone systems
Added benefits and features with SafetyLine
Work Alone Call Centers vs Automated Work Alone Solutions: The Pros and Cons
When a worker is experiencing an emergency, they need someone who they can reliably contact to get immediate help. One strategy being employed to address this issue is by creating internal call centers to monitor vulnerable and lone workers. What is a high-functioning and collaborative team, the call center is funded by the company budget or employed by company staff. What makes this team unique is that its primary and direct objective is worker safety. As you will read further, a call center has benefits, but also challenges, making it a safety strategy for unique circumstances.
What is a safety call center?
A safety call center is a department or organization that receives and coordinates inbound calls and messages from employees regarding their safety and well-being.
These call centers can be internal as a company department or branch, but they can also be outsourced to another company or service whose purpose is to handle such communication.
By using a call center, lone workers can call in before going to work or when they are due to check-in and confirm their safety. If they miss a check-in, the call center follows up in accordance with your organization's safety procedures.
Whether it is internal or external, the decision to use a safety call center must be based on thorough occupational health and safety (OHS) research, as well as regular and exhaustive risk and hazard assessments of the employees’ work environments. Both options can be expensive, so it is important that a lot of time is spent ermining if (and how much) this safety strategy will benefit the organization and its lone workers.
Call center benefits
Call centers provide several benefits for worker safety. These include:
A reliable contact to send help in emergencies.
Another person/co-worker to talk to in stressful situations.
With outsourced call centers, an emergency contact does not require employee time.
Additionally, external call centers are ideally stress-free and more dependable as the call center specializes in this service.
The challenges of call centers
While call centers do have benefits for your company’s OHS, there are several challenges that they can present:
Expensive. Both internal and external call center options can be costly, requiring not only funding but potentially new employees or additional staff work time
Slow. Due to the dependency on human engagement, response times can be slow and delayed.
Human error. Speaking of which, call centers are also vulnerable to mistakes made by the responsible monitors.
Requires a lot of time. In order to get a call center operating, a significant amount of time (planning, implementation, onboarding) and employee training will be required.
Unreliable. Call centers are vulnerable to cut-backs and reduced hours, a solution that is not dependable and lacking stability.
Alternatives to call centers: Automated lone worker systems
Whichever safety hazards and pain points you identify within your organization, they can also be addressed and mitigated through an automated lone worker system. More affordable and arguably more effective than call centers which can be costly, automated lone worker systems leverage advanced technologies to:
Automate the worker safety system, reducing human error
Eliminate the need for expensive additional staff and infrastructure
Eliminate the need to purchase additional devices because they can be used on everyday, ubiquitous technology like smartphones, laptops, and tablets.
Automated check-ins
In SafetyLine’s case, the lone worker system allows automated check-ins in which the lone worker can easily confirm their safety through the app. If the worker does not confirm their safety, an alarm will be raised, sending immediate help to their location, which is also tracked by the app so that aid is sent to the correct place.
Check-ins can be performed in manual lone worker safety systems via phone calls, texts and emails, and even whiteboards, but are more cumbersome and less dependable than an automated work alone system. With an automated work-alone check-in solution, small or large teams can easily check in throughout the shift or day, creating a useful record of all check-ins, which can be used or adjusted to improve occupational health and safety.
The benefits of automated work alone systems
Reduction in human error
As mentioned earlier, human error can be a major problem with emergency response and how long that response will take. An automated work-alone system removes that issue from the OHS equation, requiring less human, time, and financial resources to employ while resulting in higher numbers of lone workers kept safe. An automated work-alone system does not require additional resources; only patience, practice, and commitment to using it every workday.
Cloud-based
When an automated system is used every workday, a lot of sensitive personal, professional, and operational data is documented and must be stored somewhere. An effective automated work-alone system is cloud-based to store those mass amounts of information safely and be able to dispense it quickly for future safety and human resource needs.
Because cloud-computing infrastructure and storage cost almost nothing, this makes your work-alone system affordable and adaptable to almost any OHS circumstances, industry, and team size.
Easy to onboard and implement
An automated work-alone system is much easier to onboard with your team, regardless of size and industry. Whether it’s 10 lone workers or 100, SafetyLine can start protecting your team quickly, on their existing devices, with minimal training.
A major challenge of implementing a new system or platform that will be used daily is that it requires many steps to begin using or is maybe not very user-friendly. To start using SafetyLine, all that you need to do is download the app, choose your monitor(s) and develop powerful emergency response protocols.
Able to use with existing devices
As we just mentioned, automated work-alone systems like SafetyLine can be employed on existing devices such as your smartphone or tablet. This does not require the employer to purchase any expensive, additional devices that can not only consume a big part of your budget but require your lone workers to carry more equipment while performing their work.
Provides valuable context
A major factor in a lone worker’s safety is how much context the employer knows about their working situation and possible safety hazards. Automated work-alone systems provide valuable information about the worker’s circumstances, information that can impact how quickly and efficiently emergency help will be coordinated and dispatched.
Also, the different details about the workers’ emergency situation include accurate location tracking through cellular and wi-fi networks, as well as dependable satellite and GPS tracking. When seconds and minutes can make the difference in life or death, or a lost limb, the employer should leverage existing technology like automated work-alone systems that will immediately send help to correct coordinates.
Valuable OHS and safety reporting
One little-known benefit of automated, cloud-based lone worker systems is the amount of data they collect that can be used to prevent accidents in the future. Every safety manager wishes they had a crystal ball to see any work accidents before they take place. The next best tool available is the knowledge and lessons learned from past incidents in your workplace as well as comparable situations and circumstances in other cases.
Automated work-alone systems can provide reports on OHS data that can be analyzed and leveraged to forestall work emergencies and incidents down the road.
Measurable safety metrics
An automated work-alone system such as SafetyLine can provide a wealth of safety metrics and safety data, clearly showing the location of the user, the itinerary, and more,. You can also evaluate your lone worker solution fairly easily, particularly by starting with any OHS policies you may have in place.
Added benefits and features with SafetyLine
High-Risk Check-in Timers: Depending on the hazard risk scenario, users can set their check-in duration and intervals to under 15 minutes or every hour. If a worker misses a ‘check-in' a manager or monitor would be immediately notified of a possible emergency, and be sent the exact location, and any other details the worker has previously supplied, such as voicemails and work itinerary.
Proactive Notifications: SafetyLine does not require a worker or a user to signal for help manually. For example, if a user was to get in trouble and can’t call for help, SafetyLine’s safety app will sound an alarm once the timer expires and lets their manager or monitor know they need help.
Emergency Panic Button: When triggered, a manager or monitor will be notified, immediately, of a confirmed emergency, and sent any voicemails that have been previously been recorded, details of location, and work profile.
Making a decision
Whether using a call center or an automated check-in solution like SafetyLine, use the technology available to protect your team while out on the job. Lone worker protection does not have to break the bank and there are options out there for every budget and safety need. However, it is a big decision when implementing such a major tool for worker safety and their well-being. Take your time, do the research, and consult with your team – you will eventually make the right decision.