January 2022

CRIF is a global company with people working all around the world, which is why we have always paid close attention to all the tools and solutions that allow us to stay connected, work remotely, and collaborate efficiently, even if we are not in the same room.

Online collaboration tools provide a modern solution for keeping businesses connected and sharing presentations all on one digital platform, keeping relationships on track, regardless of location, device, or time zone.

To guarantee these benefits, the collaboration tools selected by CRIF allow colleagues to interact with each other, as well as with partners and customers, via web-based systems, sharing information and working toward a common goal.

We have seen many advantages in using these tools: more efficient collaboration between multiple countries, reduction in unnecessary travel expenses, and knowledge sharing and fast access for all colleagues with an increased number of online training courses.

Thanks to this approach and the chosen technologies, at the start of the 2020 lockdown CRIF was already well-prepared to work in a fully digital environment: when face-to-face meetings were no longer possible, a huge number of digital meetings were held, on top of those that already usually took place.

The graph shows that not only have we been able to easily switch from “in-person” to “online” business meetings, but also that we are able to use digital collaboration tools for all informal meetings (previously at desks, in corridors, in breakrooms), keeping in touch with colleagues and strengthening relationships.

45% of meetings lasted under 30 minutes with fewer than 4 people involved: that shows an agile approach that allowed us to keep up to date while balancing the time spent in meetings and individual worktime.

Moreover, the remote approach has had no negative impacts on relationships with customers.

According to our Turkish colleague Mehmet Piskin, collaboration tools have increased external communication, easily overcoming the difficulties in planning face-to-face meetings. There is a different sales approach in this New Normal, like remote working, a paperless office, new workflows and virtual platforms, always keeping in mind the human interactions in our digital journey (online games, coffee breaks, after-work drinks, quizzes).

The Turkish sales team learned how to redesign processes and workflows, measure digital performance, and engage and communicate effectively with customers and team members.

This digital experience has also been easily translated to our offer to the market with the implementation of new digital solutions. 

Digital OnBoarding (DoB) is a clear example of how we are always evolving our solutions to meet client needs and deal with the lack of face-to-face interactions.

Within the Digital OnBoarding offering, VideoID is the remote ID verification solution based on an assisted process with an agent in a video chat. The agent guides the customer step by step through the ID verification process, acquiring all the necessary information and the identity document, using the customer’s camera as a remote scanner.

In recent years, CRIF has invested in strengthening its omnichannel smart onboarding platform, including through the acquisition of Inventia, one of the European leaders in Digital Onboarding, Video Biometric Recognition and Video Collaboration services, thanks to its proprietary software technology Phygital4x. The CRIF solution can now count on premium components which facilitate the user experience in the ‘phygital’ (physical + digital) interaction with the end customer through an end-to-end solution able to streamline the digital experience, at the same time ensuring compliance with customer authentication and identification legislation, in full compliance with KYC (Know Your Customer) regulations.

That’s the next step into the digital world, and we are already there!