Like many businesses across the world, Dutch car auto-leasing company ProMobility has found itself having to adapt in uncertain times: the company\u2019s employees have been working remotely from their homes since the middle of March 2020.<\/p>\n
But according to Dick Dekker, co-founder and director of ProMobility\u2019s Zaanstad office, north of Amsterdam, Netherlands, there have been some unexpectedly positive outcomes of the extraordinary circumstances the company has recently found itself in.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are working hard to keep our business alive,\u201d Dekker says, speaking from his home in Amsterdam. \u201cBut something that I would never have imagined, is how the technology we are now using has brought us closer together as a team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt may sound crazy,\u201d he adds, \u201cbut I feel we are more connected now than we were before this situation started; to our customers, to our suppliers \u2013 and amongst the team here too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keeping team spirits high with technology<\/p>\n
Operational since 2006, ProMobility has a portfolio of about 350 clients, leasing some 1160 cars to Dutch businesses that range from construction companies to marketing and communications specialists.<\/p>\n
With two offices located in different parts of the Netherlands \u2013 the company\u2019s other office is close to the south-western city of Rotterdam \u2013 ProMobility\u2019s business model has always required communication across large domestic distances.<\/p>\n
But it wasn\u2019t until government-mandated restrictions on the movement of people due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to the company\u2019s employees having to work remotely that ProMobility realised just how beneficial the solutions they had at their disposal could be for the business.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used to use Microsoft Teams occasionally,\u201d Dekker says. \u201cBut now it has become such an important part of our business.\u201d<\/p>\n
The working day now begins with a full team call on Microsoft Teams at 9AM, and closes with another at 4.30PM.<\/p>\n
\u201cMicrosoft Teams allows us to see each other and talk to each other as a group twice a day, so we keep up the team spirit like that,\u201d explains Dekker. \u201cIn some ways, the contact is more meaningful than before, because you really have to listen to each other on Teams. Plus, you see everyone in their homes, feeling relaxed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is more human,\u201d he adds. \u201cI didn\u2019t expect that at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company has had Microsoft technology at its core since its establishment 14 years ago. And having recently upgraded to Microsoft 365 across the business, it is now reaping the benefits of the platform\u2019s many tools.<\/p>\n
While Microsoft Teams has been a vital way of staying connected and communicating over the past month, the company has also been using Microsoft OneNote to share files and communicate between team members.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are using Microsoft Teams and OneNote together, rather than email,\u201d explains Dekker. \u201cAnd it\u2019s so much easier and more efficient. It gives us more space to do our work, so we are actually performing a little bit better and more efficiently as a team, even if the business is under pressure from the current situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
That added efficiency is allowing the company to reach out to its clients, many of whom are fighting to keep themselves afloat too.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of our clients we know personally, we know the history of their companies,\u201d says Dekker. \u201cThe tech helps us stay in contact with them, so I can video call them or arrange a virtual meeting and speak to them face-to-face on Teams to see how ProMobility can help them, because we are all going to have to be flexible to come through this period.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dekker has found that keeping in touch using Teams has come as a relief for both his company\u2019s long-standing clients and ProMobility\u2019s suppliers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt keeps them calm,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd we\u2019ve embraced technology to help make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pace of the changes businesses have found themselves having to adapt to in recent weeks is extraordinary.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a reality that the team at ProMobility is learning from. \u201cThe possibilities to improve your company by using Microsoft 365 are enormous,\u201d Dekker says. \u201cIt has really streamlined the procedures and processes of our company, so I am very glad to have discovered this technology in the last few weeks, and we are definitely going to continue to use these technologies when the current health crisis has passed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dekker is so satisfied with the success of the technology his company is newly using, that he also has a message for other small businesses that find themselves in a similar position: \u201cYou have to leverage the learnings from these past few months and embrace collaborative technologies. Because it will help your company to have everything in one place,\u201d he says effusively.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would advise all managers and owners of companies to try these technologies,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
To discover more about ProMobility\u2019s adaptation to remote working, watch the video.<\/p>\n