Solution Archives - Glowing

Digital Daily Health Checks – Improved Workplace Health and Safety

Glowing — Sat, 25 Jul 2020 19:26:39 +0000

As the business world prepares to emerge from the devastation of the coronavirus, we find ourselves in a place where “COVID-ready”, contactless, and socially distant interactions have become the new norm.

If you’ve started the process of reopening your business, the health and safety of your employees and customers is paramount. This can be a stressful and difficult responsibility. Incorporating remote work opportunities is one option, but it isn’t always feasible in all industries. Workplace precautions include implementing sanitation routines, safety protocols, conducting temperature checks as well as performing training and conducting health surveys.

How do we know we’re doing enough? Are physical temperature checks the best solution to keeping your workplace safe for employees and customers? Is routine sanitizing at the entrance enough?

Many health experts suggest that temperature checks could create a false sense of safety. If this is the only method used in the workplace, it could potentially be dangerous. Pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic transmission (where no fever is present) makes temperature screening less effective.

To put it into perspective, a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that two-thirds of seriously ill COVID-19 patients didn’t have a fever. That’s not even considering asymptomatic cases. Thus, the virus keeps spreading.

How can we use modern technology that’s already available to us all to help our employees navigate this time while keeping each other safe?

Digital Daily Health Checks

Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb on a recent appearance on CNBC, mentioned that even with temperature checks and other on-site prevention techniques, businesses really should couple these measures with health questionnaires. He calls this a “layered approach.”

“If feasible, conduct daily health checks (e.g., temperature screening and/ or symptom checking) of staff and students.” – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Health checks and questionnaires are great to keep everyone in the workplace, ie. employees, customers, guests, or vendors, aware of their health as well as to keep them vigilant of the symptoms they or others could experience if they are exposed to the virus.

These checks and questionnaires are also used to inform people of the extra safety precautions they need to take even with safety precautions in place, ie. following social distancing protocols and wearing masks. Employees will be more aware of their health as well as the symptoms of COVID-19 when they’re reminded daily.

While questionnaires can be powerful tools to identify health concerns and also to educate employees, there are additional risks when these are done on-site, such as on iPads. It adds to the risk of exposing employees to shared objects like pens and computers, or where the questionnaires are done in person, there is a risk of direct exposure. In cases where guests or customers need to complete a quick, on-the-spot health check, the use of personal devices and QR codes can eliminate the need for shared devices.

Digital daily health checks are a new way for businesses to conduct health checks, which should ask questions covering not only symptoms (e.g., “Have you had a loss of smell in the last 24 hours?”), but also to assess exposure (e.g., “Have you been in close contact with anyone who has tested positive for coronavirus in the last 24 hours?”). Furthermore, digital health checks keep employees informed and aware while eliminating the risk of further exposure and spread of the disease.

Completing health checks or questionnaires remotely via text messaging is safer and easier as employees can complete them at home via their personal devices, eliminating the need for shared devices and personal interviews.

To make digital health checks truly effective they need to be easy to complete, easy to understand, and easy to manage. Automated health checks ensure that they are always sent out and managers are immediately alerted of any potential risks, such as an employee mentioning any COVID-related symptoms or not responding to the questionnaire.

Delivering the questionnaire directly to an employee’s personal handheld devices via a common communication channel such as text messaging ensures that everyone receives the questionnaire and can complete it.

The US Department of Labor has specifically stated in their Guidelines on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 that “Employers should develop policies and procedures for employees to report when they are sick or experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.”

The response data needs to be collected, tracked and interpreted in realtime and that’s where artificial intelligence (AI) is critical, to ensure that nothing is missed by human error. This means that even if a fever isn’t detected, other symptoms or responses can still help stop the spread.

Automated daily health checks help employees feel safe in the workplace, keeps all employees aware and informed about the symptoms of the disease, and helps management ensure health and safety protocols are adhered to in these difficult times.

Glowing

Glowing, Inc. is a leading US-based software company that specializes in AI-enhanced omni-channel guest engagement solutions. We provide some of the world’s leading brands in hospitality and other verticals an intelligent and unified platform to overcome the complexity of in-the-moment messaging and enhance guest experience–helping them win guest satisfaction and loyalty.

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The New Normal in Hospitality During and After COVID-19

Glowing — Fri, 01 May 2020 17:12:16 +0000

The effect of the novel coronavirus pandemic has been swift and far-reaching. Perhaps the worst-hit industries have been healthcare, retail, travel, and last but certainly not least, hospitality. While all sectors have seen drastic changes take place over the past few months, the hospitality sector has been one of the worst hit. There will be a new normal, and how we choose to implement our response to the growing need for social distancing and establishing safety and health standards, will determine the future of hospitality.

The “Top-of-mind” Issue for the Vast Majority of Hoteliers is…

How can we drive occupancy?

While most realize that the core challenge will be to boost the confidence of future guests, to make it clear that every precaution has been taken to safeguard guests and employees, that new standards have been implemented so that guests can reast assured, knowing they can check-in safely, and not checkout with COVID-19.

We believe that a tremendous amount of confidence can be built through leveraging a smart messaging solution. The right messaging tool can directly help with social distancing and help hoteliers prepare for what is quickly becoming the new norm in health and safety.

Many things have changed since the start of the global pandemic, and depending on where your business is based you might have faced forced closure, canceled booking, or simply fewer guests. In areas where national lockdowns are slowly being lifted, a new reality is setting in.

Socially Distant Communication: Omni-Channel Messaging Necessary to Support Traditional Communication Channels

Issues the hospitality industry will face in the future are numerous, but the most pressing may be communication. Guests will no longer wish to speak to the manager directly, they will demand an alternative and simple solution.

Dealing with guests’ requests and issues immediately is essential to the overall experience guests have at your establishment. The coronavirus has forced us to practice social distancing, and guests are now anxious and even fearful of direct communication. For guests to have to discuss queries directly or send emails that will only be responded to once the manager reaches his computer, simply won’t work.

This can lead to disappointment, frustration, and inevitably negative reviews.

Solution: Anytime, Anywhere Omni-channel Communication Integration

Glowing’s Omni-channel messaging solution connects customer experiences across several channels for higher engagement. Customers can instantly connect with the various departments, albeit housekeeping, the restaurant, or management. Guests get instant feedback and solutions to all their queries.

Decrease Health Risks by Digitizing “Shared Surfaces and Assets”

Covid-19 is spread through direct contact and exposure to contaminated surfaces. Not only does this affect how we communicate with our guests, but also where. No longer will a well managed front desk serve your guests effectively. Your front desk needs to be online and always available.

Your guests’ needs have changed and most communication should be online with minimal need for direct interaction. This is applicable to reservations, check-in, ordering at restaurants, sharing menus, resort maps, as well as eliminating the need for shared room service telephones.

Solution: One platform that connects it all – Instant communication via any device, in any language, and through any communication channel

Through Glowing’s integrated platform, guests can easily engage with their hosts via their own personal devices, seamlessly integrated with Glowing’s messaging platform-agnostics (unique design attributes) and bi-directional language translation – allowing both your staff and guests to communicate in their home language which is then instantly translated before delivered.

Replace Delayed Alerts, Updates & Notifications with Real-time Broadcast Messaging

In the past, any news could be communicated via the front desk to one member of a group, especially where larger tour groups or business delegations are concerned. As we veer away from shared surfaces and assets, it becomes increasingly more difficult to communicate alerts and important updates and notifications.

Online Travel Agencies (OTA’s) and Airbnb are taking increasing direct market share simply due to the fact that they operate online. Their online presence, even for those who make use of them, doesn’t solve the problem in-house.

Solution: Omni-channel Broadcast Messaging

With Omni-channel Broadcast messaging you can send out group messages, including groups designated by custom tags, effortlessly, to any device, while allowing individual personal communication. This allows guests to easily communicate concerns, receive personal feedback from management within seconds. The query can then be routed to the relevant department and escalated when necessary.

Other benefits of omni-channel broadcast messaging include sending out additional updates, special offers, and more.

Communicate and Drive Guest Engagement (in ANY foreign language)

Customer engagement can be difficult even in the best of times. There are a magnitude of different languages to consider as well as different cultures and personalities. For these reasons, foreign tourists or busy business professionals have often preferred non-verbal communication.

Solution: Easy Customer Engagement – Direct Messaging, Human-assisted Chatbots & Easy Automation

Effective customer engagement is about being available. There are numerous ways Glowing’s platform helps business owners stay connected and engaged. Direct messaging allows your customers to contact you how they want, when they want. Seamless integration means the person on duty gets notified and the query is resolved.

Automation and human-assisted chatbots help to resolve FAQ’s and free up more time for queries that do need more personalized attention. Customer engagement solved.

Glowing’s Core Features Power Engagements

Today, how we engage with our clients has numerous constraints, and having the right tools takes the thinking out of effective customer engagement. Glowing is committed to offering your business tools that are compliant with global regulations – meaning no matter where you are you’re within the law.

Glowing also understands that as the industry is changing you might need help developing a strategy and help integrating new tools. We’re here to help with dedicated strategy sessions, as well as implementation sessions to get it all up and running.

With ongoing support 365 days a year – our mission is your success and continued growth.

As we enter a new era of hospitality, our vision remains to enable effective communication and customer engagment across the globe, spanning all industries. We want to help you develop more enriching and meaningful (and glowing) relationships with your customers.