At RMS, the health and safety of our people and that of our retail partners is of paramount importance. With the continually changing circumstances and uncertainty surrounding Covid-19, it’s crucial that our people, retail partners and supplier partners are aware of the contingency plans that we have in place at RMS to ensure that we look after our people and continue to provide the highest level of service possible.
Over the last few years, we have invested heavily in developing flex, our end-to-end workforce management platform that intelligently schedules, optimises and manages our teams of flexible workers. This means that we are well placed to deal with the challenges that the next few months present as flex not only allows us to quickly react to urgent or last minute requests for merchandising and retail support staff, but it also allows online communication between the management team, our field staff, suppliers and clients.
RMS Field Staff Deployment
All of our staff have been provided with guidance on the measures that they should take to avoid contracting and spreading the Covid-19 virus. We are reiterating this advice regularly to our people as the advice from the Government develops.
We are continuing to supply our retail partners with ongoing merchandising support to ensure that shelves are replenished as quickly as possible in order to meet the recent high levels of consumer purchasing.
Our field staff can now use their myflex app to let us know if they suspect they are suffering from the symptoms of the virus so that we can swiftly communicate with all relevant parties to inform when they self-isolate.
What is our Process for New Staff?
All new candidates applying for a role with RMS are assessed regarding their potential exposure to the Coronavirus during the recruitment process. They’re also provided with a copy of our safeguarding policy so that they’re aware of what actions to take should they begin to experience symptoms.
Head Office Support Staff
As a company that supports flexible working, all of the staff based at our offices in Newport and Belfast have the ability to work remotely, and do so on a regular basis. To mitigate the risk of spreading the virus through the core management team, we have implemented a remote working policy.
With our collaborative tools and flex, we will be able to provide continuity of service and continue to support our staff on the ground in the stores as well as our retail partners.
Managing our Suppliers
We have made our suppliers aware of the policies and processes that we have put in place at RMS to deal with Coronavirus and what their obligations are in ensuring that they adhere to the same standards.
How Retail Partners Can Maximise the Value From flex
Our retail partners who have access to their bespoke partner portal on flex are already aware that they can build jobs, specify requirements and have full transparency over the progress of each project that RMS are delivering on their behalf. They are able to gain access to real time data from anywhere, meaning that they can always remain up-to-date and any potential issues or additional requirements can be quickly dealt with.
If any of our clients need guidance on how to use the partner portal, they are able to contact their Account Manager who will be happy to help.
The myflex app that our staff are provided with also means that we can continue to communicate with them and be able to quickly get in touch about any new shifts or, in the event of any concerns or questions around Coronavirus, they can use it to contact us.
The Retail People are Ready
We know that the next few months are going to be extremely challenging and that there is a lot of uncertainty around how this virus is going to develop and affect our everyday lives as well as the long-term future.
We all need to work closely together to deal with this unprecedented event and to ensure that retailers can continue to operate, and consumers can get access to the goods that they will need over the coming months.
The RMS Family are here and ready to support the retail industry to overcome the challenge that lies ahead.
Kind Regards,
Daniel O’Toole, CEO.
