With much of the world on pause during the beginning stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, the NYCM Mail Center Team never wavered. Although the transition to what we now refer to as our ‘new normal’ may have felt abrupt at the time, the team was able to adjust almost instantaneously. Continue reading to learn more about the NYCM Mail Center and the team’s amazing efforts to meet not only the company’s business needs during a difficult time, but also the needs of their fellow employees.
The Transition
Although the team’s goals remained the
same throughout the course of the pandemic, the ways in which they were able to
accomplish them completely changed. “When it first happened, we had to flip a
switch almost overnight,” says NYCM IT Operations Supervisor, Tony Berryment.
NYCM strategically partners with a local business called IMS,
Immediate Mailing Services. This company offers mail-related business
continuity and disaster recovery guidance and options. Partnering with IMS went
a long way this year helping NYCM prepare for situations such as these. With a
plan already in place, the Mail Center Team was able to switch gears
effectively and seamlessly.
“I think people might be surprised to learn just how much mail is
actually processed through our facility,” says Tony. “Although it varies, on
average the mail center processes over 130,000 images per day, and about 15,000
pieces of mail. Fun fact: We process over $2.6 million in postage alone, each
year.”
To ensure the safety of NYCM employees and their families, the amount
of traffic
in our offices had to drastically decrease. In order to accomplish
this, the mail center staff began a
new routine. Only two employees were permitted to be in the office at a time on a
rotational basis. “We knew that we wanted to limit the amount of hands that
would physically touch the mail that we were processing,” says Tony. To do so,
two things needed to happen.
Tony goes on to explain, “The first task that the mail center team undertook
was transferring a percentage of what was being printed from our office to IMS’s
larger facility in Syracuse, NY. The print we send up to Syracuse equates to 25% of our
total mail volume for the day. The majority of the print and mail being
generated in Syracuse are the large envelopes.” Doing this allowed the team to meet the needs of
the company in a timely fashion and limit
physical contact while focusing on
what was most important.
The second task was to start moving towards a more electronic process.
While NYCM isn’t completely paperless, the Mail Center Team has made a
significant impact on reducing
paper-consumption during the pandemic and have encouraged others
to do the same.
Eco-Friendly Advancements
“Something that became immediately evident after the
pandemic started and the offices were essentially closed, was just how much
paper waste we accumulate as a society,” says Print/Mail Operator Brad Belden.
“It was crazy to see just how much paper was being saved when personal printers
were unavailable.” Brad says that, over the course of the last year, they were
informed that several printing jobs were almost immediately recycled or thrown away.
Brad continued, “We’ve really taken this as an opportunity for growth company-wide
and have taken steps to help reduce the amount of paper we use while still
getting information and products where they need to go. It all starts with
awareness.”
Pre-pandemic, there were several employees whose jobs heavily involved
working with printed documents. For a short period of time, the mail center was
involved in helping these employees by having their incoming mail delivered to their homes. More
recently they have developed a scanning system which has saved the company time
and resources. Print/Mail Operator Rhonda Cote says that she likes the new
direction we are taking when it comes to limiting our printing and focusing on
what's necessary. “I think the pandemic challenged us in many ways, but this
challenge was unexpected. It really helped us realize just how much waste we
can avoid by leaning on our digital
resources.”
Making A Difference
When asked what their biggest take-away was, Tony emphasized that it
was very important to him and his team that they were able to tackle individual
issues during this time of transition. Jodi Hawes of our Underwriting
Department had this touching story to share about the Mail Center Team, “Tony
and the Mail Center Team have gone above and beyond for me on several
occasions. One day, I was in a pinch trying to get a package to my son in
Virginia. I called to see if I could send it through NYCM and Tony stepped
right in to help me. ‘Yes, of course,' he said, 'Bring it right over.’ Tony met me outside and took the
package. He even took the time to ask me how my son was doing. He showed genuine
care for me and my son during what was a difficult time for all of us. The
Mail Center Team is always doing things like this. It makes such a difference.”
Brad Belden describes something that he noticed as a major positive to come out
of all this change, “It was a huge opportunity to learn, and for others to
learn about what we do. We were able to start making a difference to our
co-workers on a
personal level. I don’t think there was a division that we weren’t able to connect with.”
Tony shares that he is proud of the
work his team has completed and of the resilience NYCM employees have
shown over the course of the pandemic. “A lot has changed over the last year,”
shares Tony, “but I have to say, I am completely amazed at not only how my own
team handled the transition but how NYCM as a whole was able to switch gears
overnight, and hasn’t missed a beat since.”
