The Pandemic’s Lesson For CompTrak? In Uncertain Times, Be There For Your Customers

When the pandemic first hit, nobody knew what the long-term impacts would look like. But uncertainty quickly turned into an economic onslaught: Thousands of companies had to cut jobs, the consumer behaviour shifted drastically, and businesses were forced to make huge budget cuts. As a B2B company, we were braced for these ripple effects to hit us too.

However, it didn’t turn out the way we expected. In fact, it was quite the opposite. We realized that plenty of new and existing clients were aiming to innovate their compensation programs for the new remote-first world and needed to stay connected with their employees during these difficult times.

The pandemic was certainly challenging, but it did serve to show us how valuable customer relations are for our business. Here’s what we learned.

Remote work forced compensation online

The new reality of remote work forced many companies to rethink their approach to legacy systems and inefficient spreadsheets, pushing them towards technologies with a clear goal of solving problems for these troubled times.

The increased use of home wifi and personal devices also meant that security became more important than ever for our customers. As a digital-forward company, once we identified these changing needs, and knew we had to act.

We brought new people onto the team to offer fresh and diverse perspectives and also considered our client’s pain points closely when developing our new product roadmap. To aid the shift to remote work, we provided a secure, comprehensive digital platform from which companies could virtually manage their compensation programs and receive statements online instead of in-person

The capacity to communicate changes is of utmost importance in the remote world: A McKinsey study said that only 32% of employees felt changes to remote policies were communicated clearly and that communicating remote-relevant policies was pointed out to be the most important factor in employee productivity. A platform like CompTrak helps companies do exactly that when it comes to online compensation programs. For instance, we helped one client digitize their year-end letter process and communication piece and another to shift their entire compensation management piece online.

Customers were forced to pivot, CompTrak was there to provide support

The economic struggles brought about by the pandemic meant that many CompTrak customers had to reevaluate their compensation programs to account for budget changes.

We were able to assist them through this process to find new ways of compensating their employees. Some found that long-term incentive plans were a better option, or that one-time bonuses helped to negate the impact of changes to annual bonus calculations. A prompt response on our part to provide this functionality helped our customers perform a smooth transition process and also allowed them to remain transparent with their employees.

These quick reflexes along with our hard work philosophy and constant customer support saw CompTrak be recognized for Best Customer Support for a second year running by Software Suggest, something that fills our hearts with pride. But don’t just take our word for it, here’s what one of our customers thinks about the platform:

“CompTrak’s flexible platform and great support allowed us to accommodate the new reality of remote work and continue to effectively communicate with our leaders and employees across the globe. The partnership, support and expertise the CompTrak team brings continue to help optimize and evolve the compensation program at Nutrien.” Lucille Forrest, Sr Director Total Rewards at Nutrien

Empower employees to excel

If there’s one thing that we learned during these difficult times, it’s that the best you can do for your employees is to be there for them, regardless of whether it’s a global recession or an internal crisis.

Since we were already operating in the cloud and had the appropriate parameters for remote work before the pandemic hit, we were able to provide an optimal remote environment for our employees that allowed them to excel.

Giving our developers a seat at the table is one of our top priorities. Working in conjunction with the expertise of our senior compensation expert, their valuable input is the secret behind our ability to provide a smooth UX and well-functioning product that fulfills the needs of the compensation professionals that use it. It’s also worth mentioning that new employees get the opportunity to work with different development teams to get a feel for all kinds of projects.

Furthermore, all employees have the chance to engage in mentorship opportunities, by connecting them with co-founders or other senior staff members.

Despite the turbulence caused by the pandemic, staff turnover continued to be extremely low — we take this as a sign of how well we provided the necessary support for our employees, all the while creating the right environment for them to excel in their roles and support the company’s growth.

The Bottom Line

To summarize, customer service and satisfaction should always be paramount. In these troubling times, treating your customers as your partners is a must — it’s never a good sign when they perceive you simply as a vendor.

Deep down, the client relationship should always strive to be long-term; we need to remember that we are in it for the long haul. If we fall in the trap of just focusing on the immediate, short-term problems first, we will lose sight of the bigger picture, potentially leading customers to abandon our services. You should keep your vision of long-term service nurtured and alive, so in that way, your clients can always feel safe and supported in their journey with your company.

At CompTrak, we couldn’t be more grateful for our team’s hard work, and the trust of our valued clients.