With the full easing of COVID-19 restrictions on 19th July came an official end to the governments’ ‘work from home’ directive. With a vast swathe of office staff working predominantly from home since the start of the first lockdown in March 2020, many businesses have seen the benefits of flexibility first-hand: happier, more engaged staff, healthier work life balances and increased productivity to name a few. So, what do we do now? Is there a reverse exodus back to the office? Or something new…
A recent survey of 50 of the UK’s biggest employers suggested that the majority of businesses will now be looking for a hybrid solution to benefit both employer and employee. The CIPD are also recommending that employees be involved in the decision-making process and with some 70% of British workers indicating a preference for a flexible working arrangement, it’s looking increasingly likely that this will become the new normal for many.
Of course there as many ways of making flexible working, work well. Nationwide have pledged to allow each and every one of their 13,000 employees choose their own flexible working pattern whilst the Bank of England have promised its employees at least 2 days per week working from home. Whether staff have true freedom over their working choices or are having to adhere to a proscribed hybrid pattern one thing is for sure – you are going to need a flexible, adaptable, multi-functional communications system to keep up.
This is where a VoIP system really comes into its own. Needing only a working data connection and an app or handset to get your staff going it couldn’t be easier to implement, scales easily up or down as your requirement change and offers a full range of communication tools to keep your teams connected.
To explore how a VoIP system could benefit you, please contact us on 01237 420010.