As 2020 progressed and the Coronavirus pandemic deepened, more and more staff were required to work from home regardless of industry, sector, geographical location or size. Throughout the year businesses demonstrated that by modernising working practices and embracing modern technology to its fullest extent, they were able to quickly and easily move to a flexible working arrangement without loss of service levels: a modern working revolution.
A recent LinkedIn poll asked workers across the UK how they would prefer to work when the current pandemic is over. An overwhelming proportion – some 63% – indicated they would rather a flexible arrangement working that involved an element of office presence on occasion. So, it looks like employers will need to continue embracing the latest tech and facilities in order to retain the very best talent.
A key element to making this a reality will be having an effective phone system in place that allows them to achieve that home / office working balance whilst keeping them seamlessly connected to customers, colleagues and key stakeholders.
If flexibility and adaptability is the key requirement, VoIP is definitely the answer.
Ultimate Flexibility
As businesses everywhere find their ‘new normal’, there are likely to be yet more periods of uncertainty with staff returning to the office in part, in full or on a rotation basis. VoIP technology simply enables your staff to use a desk phone, their laptop or an app on their mobile whether at work in the office, their home office, (or anywhere they may be for that matter!) and for calls to function exactly the same as if in the physical premises of your office. This is ideal if your staff are still moving between home and office working for the foreseeable future as they can easily make and take calls however is best at the time.
It’s Scalable
Once your VoIP system is installed, it is much easier to scale up (or down) than a traditional analogue or ISDN line phone system. That means that should your business suddenly boom or you need to take on additional staff and get them to work quickly, it is much easier to add additional phone lines and numbers with VoIP than it is with the older technology. It also costs a fraction of the costs! We know that many businesses aren’t booming right now, so on the flip side of that coin, you won’t be left with massively expensive phone lines, hardware and contractual obligations should you need to make redundancies or place people on furlough due to lower work levels.
Keeping Staff Connected
With almost 50% of the British workforce working from home at certain points through the last year, people have had to become quickly accustomed to much less human contact. For many employers this is a worry; how do you keep staff connected, their mental health strong and their work rate high when you can’t physically come together? In reality VoIP makes it so easy to host conference calls and make quick connections with colleagues that productivity has actually risen!
Cost saving
Many businesses have had to face staring into the financial abyss during the pandemic, whilst many others have had financial hardship that can’t have foreseen at the start of 2020. That means that unnecessary costs really do need to go! When we often talk about a system that can offer you greater functionality, increased productivity and greater levels of flexibility, we often think that it’ll cost an arm and a leg. In reality, VoIP phone systems are quite the opposite; call savings and a low cost initial set up means that large sums can be saved, depending on the size of your enterprise.
If you need advice on upgrading your system, talk to your local experts on 01237 420010. Now really is the time.
