The Lessons of 2021 I’ll Be Bringing into 2022
By Yoni Epstein, Founding Chairman & CEO, itel
There were many hard lessons in 2021. It was a year of turbulence and market disruption, supply chain issues and recruitment challenges. But, as itel faced a year of rapid growth and international expansion, even during a lingering pandemic, the one thing I will take with me into the coming year is that the key to our success always comes back to our EX (Employee Experience) and the commitment and dedication shown by our team members, especially when they feel supported and valued. That’s why, as we look to the year ahead, our focus will be on the employee, as we declare 2022 the “Year of You”.
2021 Taught Me That EX=Success
In 2021, many companies struggled to meet client demands due to the employment challenges in the U.S., the unreliability of the Asian markets and unpredictable trends caused by waves of COVID-19 variants.
Yet, I was fiercely proud that, as a company, itel still managed to expand into 3 new countries within the year, adding thousands of new employees to our itel family; including new additions to our Sales Team, giving us an edge that allowed us to expand our client list and accelerate our growth.
This geographic expansion meant learning to recruit in new markets. With a high degree of competition, we had to “level up” our recruitment initiatives to attract the staff needed. And we overcame challenges by having a strong team, and an even stronger brand, along with a commitment to one of our core philosophies of EX=CX (Employee Experience=Customer Experience).
What Lies Ahead for itel
As we look to the year ahead, our focus is sharply centered on the employee experience. How can we make it better? How can we support, encourage, and introduce new opportunities for our people to grow? And how can we best support clients who are just as much a part of the itel family as our team members?
That’s why we’re making 2022 the “Year of You”. It’s the year of personal achievement and development. The year to concentrate on what makes our employees feel valued and fulfilled, and how we can help them achieve their goals, in and out of the workplace.
We may face an uncertain year with unpredictable challenges, but we can overcome anything if we focus on 3 key areas: communication, accountability, and planning.
By keeping on our toes, we can mitigate risks ahead. And we must always deliver for our clients and customers by being innovators and game-changing disruptors in the BPO industry.
We can only do this by sharpening our spotlight on the employee experience, and by extension, the client experience. Making it stronger and better than ever before. And with the launch of our “Year of You” our aim is to make it a year of upliftment, understanding, unity, and upgrades for both our colleagues and our clients.
Because when we’re more inspired, engaged, and energized, there’s no limit to what we can achieve. The sky is truly the limit.
Here’s to an amazing journey into 2022,
Yoni Epstein
