How itel’s Geographic Agility Safeguards Operations During Extreme Weather Events

When Hurricane Melissa approached Jamaica in late October 2025, itel’s CX delivery teams activated a proven business continuity and disaster recovery strategy. Built on geographic diversification, proactive planning, cross-regional coordination, and a people-first culture, this framework enabled itel to protect client operations, minimize downtime, and restore service rapidly, demonstrating how Caribbean CX organizations can deliver enterprise-grade resilience, even under extreme conditions.

THE CHALLENGE

Preparedness Before the Storm: Building a Resilient Operating Model

Long before the hurricane made landfall, itel activated its Business Continuity Plan (BCP) and disaster preparedness framework – a framework that is updated and ready-to-go well before hurricane season even begins. Under the fully activated BCP, a cross-functional hurricane task force, including leaders from Operations, IT, Workforce Management, Facilities (EHSS), and People Resources, began meeting daily to monitor risk and align response strategies.

Clear escalation protocols, centralized communication channels, and real-time reporting ensured that decision-making remained fast and coordinated across all locations. These structures enabled leadership teams to anticipate operational challenges and deploy resources in advance.

Client engagement was equally prioritized. itel initiated proactive outreach before the storm, providing transparent updates and outlining continuity measures. This early alignment helped reinforce confidence and maintain operational stability.

Our focus from day one was simple: protect our people, protect our clients, and execute the plan we had already built. Resilience isn’t something you improvise, it’s something you prepare for. — Neil O’Hanlon, Executive VP of CX

Response During the Storm: Maintaining CX Operations Through Agility and Coordination

Throughout the storm, volunteer skeleton teams remained on site at key facilities, enabling 24/7 service delivery for critical client programs. These teams were supported with secure transportation, meals, lodging, and on-site safety resources.

Simultaneously, leadership teams coordinated closely with utility providers, technology partners, and vendors to assess damage and prioritize commercial infrastructure recovery. This collaboration reduced recovery timelines and limited operational disruptions.

All the while, itel maintained constant communication with stakeholders. Clients received multiple daily updates outlining service levels, mitigation actions, and recovery projections, reinforcing transparency and trust.

As impacts were felt throughout Jamaica, especially its western side, itel’s multi-site delivery network and flexible workforce model became critical assets. Multi-location accounts transitioned seamlessly between sites, while single-location programs were prioritized for redeployment and capacity support.

Due to the minimal damage to roads and power infrastructure in the capital, operations at our Kingston site were restored to almost 60% capacity within 24 hours and returned to full capacity within a week. Workloads were quickly redistributed away from more impacted locations like Montego Bay to maintain service continuity, with approximately 70 volunteer agents temporarily redeployed to Kingston to ensure that single-site client programs remained operational.

A sister site in Saint Lucia absorbed additional volumes and expanded capacity, rapidly pivoting hiring campaigns to onboard 50 new agents to support client programs that had previously run through Montego Bay.

Post-Storm Recovery: Rapid Restoration and Employee Support

Following the storm, itel transitioned quickly into phased recovery, with service levels steadily improving in the weeks that followed. Cloud-hosted systems, off-site data centers, and secure remote access ensured uninterrupted data security and regulatory compliance.

Recovery efforts extended beyond infrastructure. itel launched coordinated employee support initiatives, organizing volunteer cleanup teams, distributing essential supplies, and ensuring access to safe transportation and functional workspaces. More than 75 employees and partners participated in restoration efforts in Montego Bay.

Facilities teams worked around the clock to restore safe, productive environments, enabling employees to return with confidence. This integrated approach, which addressed both operational and human needs, strengthened workforce engagement and accelerated Montego Bay’s stabilization, allowing it to return to operations within 2 weeks, more rapidly than many other competitors in the region’s BPO hub.

People were still willing to come back to work even when their own personal lives were still in disarray. They appreciated the fact that they had a clean, safe place to return to and were ready to get back to normal, which is a testament to the will and dedication of our workforce. -Duane Williams, Chief Technology Officer

IMPACT: Resilience by Design

itel’s rapid response framework reflected a long-term investment in business continuity planning and operational resilience. Early BCP activation, strong governance structures, and disciplined execution enabled rapid decision-making and consistent service delivery.

Geographic diversification across the Caribbean allowed work to shift dynamically based on available capacity, while cloud infrastructure and standardized operating procedures ensured that quality and compliance were maintained across locations.

Most importantly, a culture of accountability and collaboration transformed strategy into action. Teams across regions worked together to protect clients, support colleagues, and restore operations at scale.

 One of the most remarkable things that I witnessed right after the hurricane was the number of employee volunteers willing to help clean and repair our damaged facilities of their own accord, just so their colleagues could return to work as soon as possible. It’s a culture of caring, for each other, as well as our clients, that is unmatched in my 26 years of work in this industry. - Kelly Jenson, President of Business Development & Delivery

OUTCOME: A Model for CX Continuity in the Caribbean

When Hurricane Melissa tested the region’s infrastructure and business environment, itel stood strong, not by chance, but by design. Through proactive planning, agile execution, and a deeply human approach to continuity, itel safeguarded client operations and supported employees throughout recovery.

The outcome was uninterrupted service disruption across the majority of its operations, rapid restoration, and strengthened long-term partnerships. For global enterprises seeking reliable CX outsourcing in the Caribbean, itel’s response stands as a proven example of operational resilience in action.

Want to know more about itel's geo-diverse footprint, the key to our resilience and operational agility?

Explore our Locations page for more information about each facility location.

Or download our e-booklet "Closer Look at LaCa".