Do you have a portal? No, neither do we.

Over the years I have often been advised that Carrington Umbrella should have a portal for workers to upload and download various documents, but I have always pushed back on this. This is not a luddite rejection of all that is new or newish in the world, but a considered aspect of our business. Carrington Umbrella spends time and energy employing the right staff to make sure that the quality of our communication is superb.

We employ people who like working with (and for) people and are entirely focused on providing solutions to any of the problems presented – Why deny their skill-set in the pursuit of “efficiencies”?

I am a fan of the self-service checkout as much as the next busy businesswoman, but this industry is more complex than buying some pasta and pesto. We believe that email is still an ideal vehicle for flagging a quick query or request in the hectic working day of you, the umbrella workers. If your working schedule permits we are also tremendously happy with a phone call.

Portals are part of the evolution of business communication and have a place in the market, but we believe that the nature of our umbrella market does require a more personable approach. We are not alone; we gather there are many references on LinkedIn to surveys, indicating a whopping 83% preference for email over customer portals. The two main complaints are; the lack of engagement, and the cost that is inevitably passed down the line.

The business world continues to wrestle with the ever increasing proliferation of technology, we are reflecting currently upon AI, and its many benefits and consequences. Digital is clearly the future. We embrace a digital world partly from the evident sustainability improvements with the decline of paper postal use.

We remain convinced that email or phone calls remain critical tools in customer led communication. Most of all we believe that it is still and will always be good to talk.

As always, do get in touch if you have any questions.