Kumospace improves Altig's remote workplace interactions

Supporting people through tough times is at the heart of Altig's business.

Altig provides life insurance products to help protect members of credit unions, labor unions, associations, and their families worldwide. Like any insurance company, Altig's employees make numerous outbound calls to sell benefits to potential clients and receive inbound calls to answer client questions and issues.

The Problem: Feeling of isolation

Before COVID-19, the team at Altig used to work in person but, like so many other industries, had to deal with changes that led to most of its members working remotely.

Still, like any manager worth their salt will tell you, to meet an organization's ambitious goals, you need a work environment that fosters collaboration and spontaneous interaction so that you get things moving fast. With the right tools, remote working can be a challenge to meeting these goals in good time.

Sandra Austin, a Manager at Altig, understands this dilemma quite well.

Zoom Fatigue

Before the great migration to Kumospace, Sandra struggled to create a cohesive "family atmosphere." Her team was using Zoom, which by design is overly formal. They all experienced zoom fatigue by being in each other's faces all at once all the time. She also didn't like the lack of a "normal" interactive atmosphere, where everyone had to be muted.

Lack of socialization

Working remotely can be lonely.

Written chats and scheduled calls often lack crucial social cues, including body language, gestures, and subtle tonal variations, making them prone to misinterpretation. Reaching others on the phone and taking time to construct thoughtful messages can delay response, feeding into project progression delays. Unlike face-face communication, written communication, and scheduled online meetings do little to nurture and affirm work relationships.

Sandra and the rest of the team struggled with all these challenges before Kumospace.

Kumospace enabled community rebuilding

Following a free trial and being convinced of Kumospace's potential, Sandra started to use Kumospace for training and saw how useful and fun it was. Now her whole team is in Kumospace!

She says, "it's like you're right there" when someone wants her quick help.

She also noticed the team could keep a more fun and lively community on the platform.

Kumospace empowered Altig to create a space of seamless communication, team building, and genuine human connections.

Free environment

Kumospace also enabled an in-office feel where Altig employees could be more productive while working remotely. Through the break-out feature, employees could now come together into individual spatial audio zones to form personalized connections. This way, the days became more interactive, natural, and human. 

Her employees call on their phones and stay on Kumospace all day without pressure. It's "just like when you pass someone by in a cubicle, and they're on the phone," says Sandra. "It's like a physical office." Kumospace gave the Altig team the real-time collaborative benefits of the physical office in a virtual environment.

Key features

Scheduling multiple meetings can feel like work before the actual work begins. With Kumospace's user-friendly interface, Sandra's team no longer had to play calendar Tetris. A virtual shoulder tap helps reach a resolution that would have otherwise required scheduling multiple meetings. Projects now move at the speed of decision-making.

Specifically, spatial audio meant they could split into brainstorming sessions and be able to only hear those closest to them. The closed-doors feature meant they could hold private communication as one would pull aside an employee at a brick-and-mortar office. The focus status also allowed employees to remain uninterrupted while away on break or on a call.

Feels like a physical office

"Being stuck at home and isolated for a year was really hard on people. And KS helped to bring people back together and heal their heads/hearts," says Sandra. "Any time I talk about Kumospace, I say I love it."

Sandra says that even after the pandemic, Kumospace continued to foster free environments, as employees didn't want to sit in cubicles all day, every day. She also wanted them to be able to roam free, work, and have fun at the same time. Altig handles 25-30 callers; Sandra's team has 17 using Kumospace!

Fun aspect

Human beings thrive in fun, and work shouldn't be any different. Sandra's team loves the simplicity Kumospace brings into their workspace and relationships. Kumospace enabled them to bring joy back to work with impromptu mini-games and casual conversations. Through fun features such as the bell and drinks, employees could once more fill the information gap by bringing back water cooler conversations and giving them visibility into what's happening in the company and industry.

Sandra gives an example of when Kumospace helped spice things up at Altig. "I put a bunch of virtual spiders in my office to spook people during Halloween. Employees also started pranking each other. Some would click on the turkey icon and then run or fill someone's room with virtual trees," she says.

Manager's POV

Sandra enjoys the aforementioned interactive features. She says that Kumospace has allowed "naturally shifting most of her team to want to work remotely. Generally speaking, we now have a "big empty [physical] office."

Accountability

Sandra especially likes that she "walks the Floor," listens in, and jumps in for help on sales calls and that callers can pop in whenever they need help or to celebrate a milestone. This ensures that the managers are in control and executing their mandates as well.

Try Kumospace today

You, too, can tell a positive story like Sandra. With a Kumospace Virtual Office, you easily see what's happening, check in on your team, and provide support. Are you ready to see the transformation Kumospace brings to the hybrid and remote universe? Schedule a demo and start your free trial today!