managers and business owners has indeed
become a little different.
“Some of the in-person things are
changing,” Winters said. “We used to make
a point of meeting the customer, shaking
hands, giving our business card. It was
part of our customer service process. Now
there’s access protocols. The only time we
go inside the customer’s building now is
for essential leak investigation. And that
only happens after we’ve made contact
with the customer over the phone and
we’ve decided we really need to get inside
to have a look. So we’re asking a lot more
questions when the call first comes in, and
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• Site Preparation &
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we’re deciding some of those things before
we even arrive.”
A helping hand
from technology
Government-enacted lockdowns around
the globe have placed a spotlight on the
processes – good and not-so-good – of
companies deemed ‘essential’ and excluded
from such measures. Grocery stores with a
curbside pickup service already in place,
for example, have been able to scale-up
easily to meet demand, at the expense of
competitors who might now be struggling
to catch-up.
Years ago, Flynn developed its own
mobile technology to meet the needs of
their customers and employees. Born on
the Prairies in 1978, Flynn is now one of
the leading building envelope contractors
in North America. Last year alone their
crews worked on more that 27,000 repair
and maintenance projects.
Their suite of apps, built and maintained
by an in-house development team,
includes a servicer call request app, and a
“coaching” app that allows seasoned crew
members to mentor rookies during their
first months on the job.
“We’ve always pushed communication,”
Winters said. “We have the Flynn service
app, where you receive the service call,
you make contact with the customer, you
document the work, take photos and the
customer gets a report. All from the app.”
The aim was to improve performance
and develop people, but now the
technology is paying additional dividends.
Like many companies with pre-existing
processes and technology well-suited to
the new reality and customer expectations,
Flynn has been able to adapt faster
and easier.
“All the things that we did before
that really set us apart, well now it just
looks like common sense. Of course, you
would send photos from your phone. Of
course, you would tap to schedule a repair.
These are things that now are going to
be expected.”
Continuity
As facility managers navigate the change in
attitudes and policies that are already defining
the COVID-19 outbreak, some things
won’t change.
“There’s so much for facility managers
to worry about. Furniture, flooring, HVAC
systems, cleaning. Honestly when they call
a company like Flynn, and there are others,
but when they call Flynn, they’re doing it
because they know we’ve got our safety
culture, the right processes in place and the
people trained. They can keep their focus
on the long-term health of the building.”
Flynn’s repair and maintenance department
tagline, “We have you covered, coast
to coast,” is meant to reflect the company’s
over 30 offices and 24/7 response. It may
also reflect a certain peace of mind this
year, as, like many other companies in
Manitoba, Flynn is well-prepared to meet
a challenge few saw coming. n
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