Remote working has been a critical enabler for organisations, supporting their business continuity throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Ensuring that the communication experience, for customers and colleagues, was kept as close to consistent during the upheaval felt during the pandemic was a primary focus for many organisations. So how did organisations keep direct dials, hunt groups and compliance in place? And what happens next can organisations look at the enabling technology used at the time to integrate into their “new normal” working practices?
For those organisations that did not have remote working capabilities, with their communication solutions, for some or all of their staff, they faced several challenges including:
- Driving productivity
- Providing consistent communications
- Ensuring network security
- Retaining data governance
- Securing access to systems
There are a number of communication solutions, that during the pandemic have enabled organisations to keep the same voice functionality which has allowed them to deliver a highly available workforce for their customers, even if their employees are working from different locations to where they normally would be. Some of the key communication solutions used were:
Hosted IP telephony
A hosted IP Telephony platform can connect all your staff, across every location. An IP telephony solution allows you to redirect your users’ individual landlines to mobile or alternative landlines and allows users to access their voice application via a desktop or mobile device. An enterprise telephony service can also support you with additional functionality that you’d normally find within call centres, such as hunt groups, call forwarding no answer and do not disturb.
Teams & PSTN calling
Intuitive collaboration tools enable your employees to meet, interact and share information supporting your organisation to work together as a whole, even if they’re not together.
Microsoft Teams enable your employees to chat, message and share files as well as make PSTN calls from a single workspace. PSTN calling capability means you never have to leave the familiar Teams environment and can use all your existing advanced telephony features such as call centres, hunt groups and routing within a single interface, supporting working from home and business continuity plans.
Fixed mobile convergence: Unity on a SIM
Extend your company’s PBX into your employee’s mobile devices using fixed mobile convergence. This solution allows your employees to use a familiar tool, keeping them connected to your customers and suppliers whilst retaining organisational compliance.
Unity on a SIM requires no installation and can be enabled on any mobile device. Employees can simply insert the SIM into the phone to extend the company PBX onto their device. Employees don’t need to be on a corporate network to access their contacts and recognise who’s calling them and they can access the functionality they normally expect from their desk phones.
As we move into a new way of working, good communication for employees and ensuring a consistent customer experience, is key to any successful remote working program. Organisations can become enabled by their technology solution, making a difference in how you can continue to communicate and serve your customers.
For more information on how to support your remote workers with seamless and consistent communication services, please contact Redcentric.
