Hurricane Irene Forces BCP Activation at EOS CCA, Fast Action Reduces Risk of Loss

Collecto, Inc., d/b/a EOS CCA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of EOS Group, has announced that Hurricane Irene compelled the company to activate its Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to protect employees and ensure the continued flow of client revenue.  The plan was activated August 25 2011 in anticipation of downtime the following week, as Irene continued to make its way up the East Coast toward the company’s Norwell, Massachusetts, corporate office.

EOS CCA has had a comprehensive BCP in place for years to ensure the protection of its people and the continued flow of revenue for clients in the event of a work stoppage resulting from any natural or man-made disaster.  However, because of the potential seriousness of this weather event, Irene marked the first time EOS CCA management felt the need to activate the plan in advance in a controlled, responsible way during a real-world scenario. Pre-emptive measures EOS CCA took even before Irene slammed into New England included the following.

• Employee Safety & Communications: EOS CCA acted on plans to buy air time on local radio as a way to communicate with employees, many of whom may have had only radio to rely on for news and information in a worst-case scenario.  EOS CCA activated its emergency messaging capabilities to provide status of operations at the Norwell facility to its employees.
• Interoffice Training: EOS CCA increased its existing training in its call centers outside the areas affected by Irene to ensure those call centers could meet specialized client requirements if work typically performed in Norwell needed to be moved elsewhere temporarily.
• Call Rerouting: Technical planning included efforts to ensure a seamless transition of voice and data to other offices in the same manner.
• Diesel Fuel Procurement: Plans were enacted to engage a fuel service company to remain on location with a full tanker truck loaded with diesel fuel to prolong the usefulness of the company’s on-site diesel generator.
• Proactive Client Notification: Measures were taken to proactively notify clients of how their business would be handled in the event of a disruption in Norwell.
• Daily Status Meeting: Key management held daily status meetings in the days leading up to Irene’s arrival, which enabled on-the-fly adjustments to planning based on available information.

Even as Irene lost steam and was downgraded to a tropical storm, EOS CCA saw great benefits in how it handled the event.  Primarily, the BCP activation enabled real-world testing in a live environment that gave management the opportunity to evaluate and assess the plan’s likely success the next time something big happens.  Also, EOS CCA strengthened ties with clients that now feel even more confident their business is with a provider able to respond to any potential disruption.

Commenting on a disaster averted, Senior Vice President Candice E. O’Brien, stated, “Disaster recovery and business continuity planning are critical to the safety of our employees and to the results we realize for clients and for the company.  At EOS CCA we take all of these very seriously.  We were happy that Hurricane Irene passed us by without major damage. Knowing we had our plan in place ahead of time while communicating with our employees and clients throughout the storm allowed our team to sleep a little easier during those days.”

Collecto, Inc. d/b/a EOS CCA is a national customer care and receivables management company founded in 1991 and employing more than 1,000 U.S.-based personnel.  Serving clients in sectors to include commercial, communications, financial, government, healthcare, higher education, insurance, and utilities, the company has call centers throughout the U.S. to serve the needs of more than 2,000 clients across the customer care and receivables management spectrum.  The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EOS Group.