Since March 23rd, the UK has taken the drastic step of ordering a lockdown, with people being told to stay at home unless it’s absolutely necessary to leave. It’s all due to the spread of Covid-19, more commonly known as the Coronavirus. Millions of people across the world are living in similar lockdown conditions; adjusting to the measures for the weeks and months ahead is taking some getting used to for all of us.
Schools, pubs, restaurants and gyms have all been forced to close, while a huge number of businesses have decided to shut up shop during the outbreak, putting staff on the government’s furlough payment scheme. It’s all to try and reduce the strain put on the NHS and slow the spread of the virus.
Yet while it feels like the country has largely ground to a halt, plenty of people are still continuing to work from home where they can. For those working from home, there are some benefits; it removes the commute and you can create your own comfortable, unique workspace. Yet it can create headaches, like ensuring staff find it easy to stay in touch with one another. If your business’ phone system is a VoIP system, it can help keep people working from home more easily.
How does VoIP keep communication easy during lockdown?
If your employee has a broadband connection at home, they can take a VoIP handset home, plug it into their home internet connection and it will retain the same phone number. That means anyone ringing in will still get through to the correct person, without the need for rerouting or handing out personal mobile numbers.
VoIP has a wide range of fantastic call handling features ideal to keep conversation flowing during lockdown. These can include easy transferring to route calls where they need to go, automated receptions to direct people to the right departments and even emergency messages telling people a change in opening hours or operations.
All of these features can make your ability to communicate that much more robust.
The VoIP app can also connect mobiles into the system and make video calls easy, allowing for meetings to still take place while everyone is at home!
Long-term benefits
The lockdown situation the UK is currently experiencing is unprecedented in peace time, but as well as added flexibility, VoIP systems have genuine long-term benefits for businesses too:
- Once a VoIP system is set up, you’ll see costs drop almost immediately. It uses the internet connection, so it reduces costs on multiple phone lines, eliminates the need to pay for added services like video calling, plus if your business makes calls to overseas, long-distance charges are reduced.
- As your business grows, adding new lines and numbers is easier with VoIP than traditional systems.
- You’ll be ahead of the curve as BT plans to “switch off” all the country’s traditional phone lines by 2025.
If you’re wanting to keep communication flowing for your employees working from home, give us a call on 01237 420010.
