Perhaps the greatest difference between business 30 years ago and business today is the staggering array of communication channels we have available to us now. In the previous generation, if you wanted to communicate with somebody who was outside your office, you had limited options. You'd probably call them on the phone; maybe, in a pinch, you'd write to them. Now, the game has changed dramatically.
The modern employee has no shortage of communication options. Calls are just the tip of the iceberg.
The modern employee has no shortage of options. Calls, texts, emails, IMs and social media messaging are just the tip of the iceberg. Still more new channels are being introduced all the time. For employees, this is exciting, as it means an entirely new level of convenience. For bosses? It's mostly a positive, but with one caveat. It has become far more difficult to manage employees in today's hectic business world.
Unified communications (UC), however, is one innovation with the ability to make things much easier.
How UC can benefit your business
Fostering good communication has always been a priority for corporate leaders. Having reliable business phone systems is a constant focus. These days, however, companies need more. According to the Queensland Government Chief Information Office, the holy grail in the 21st century is a unified communication policy that brings phone, internet and other communications all under one umbrella. This offers many benefits:
- Easier collaboration. When you maximise the number of channels people have to share information, they can work together on their own terms.
- Eliminating silos. People no longer have any excuse for keeping their work separate from everyone else's. UC brings everyone together.
- Improved remote work. If an employee is travelling for business, or is permanently stationed elsewhere and telecommuting, they can keep in touch with the office easier.
- Cost savings. Fewer subscription fees and less required business travel both translate to a healthier business bottom line.
Add up all of the above, and it's clear that UC is well worth the investment.
What you need for a smooth implementation
If your company is considering making the move to implement UC, there are a few elements to consider as you go about planning for the transition.
For example, Higher Ed Tech Decisions recommends getting cross-functional input from your employees before taking decisive action. In other words, talk to different types of workers who communicate in varying ways. C-suite executives, for example, need a variety of channels for communicating with both internal stakeholders and external business partners. Salesmen spend a lot of time reaching out to customers; customer service people, on the other hand, receive more calls than they dial out. You want a solution that will work for everyone.
It's also crucial to consider the distribution of your workforce and plan optimally for it. This means knowing how many people you have in each office, how they work, how often they travel and so on. Your UC infrastructure must be ready for all challenges, no matter when or where they emerge.
Once you've figured out all of the above, you can begin to look for a provider that will deliver on all your communication needs. Ideally, this would be someone who knows and understands your business and is ready to cater to it.
How we at Fonality can help
At Fonality, we have a wealth of experience offering companies all the channels for communication they need. We specialise in phone systems for business applications, but our expertise does not end there. With our unified communications offering, we want to help companies reach new peak levels of productivity.
The modern employee relies on calls, IMs, emails and more for getting work done on a daily basis. Our goal is to help with everything. Talk to us today about how we can do just that.