As a business owner you want to provide your customers the best customer experience and to do that your team members need the right tools to meet customers on their channel of choice (i.e. phone, chat, email, text, etc.). Over the past year the rules of business have changed and as employees return to work, new policies are being adopted. To compete and retain high caliber workers, businesses are beginning to implement a hybrid workplace model. It’s has become apparent that it’s not just the millennials who have a strong desire for more flexibility in their work schedule. Due to the pandemic, employees who have underlying health issues are also more hesitant to return to the workplace. In the new normal, “work” and “place” have become separated.

Employee Advantages

Some of the advantages to your employees who adopt the hybrid work model that includes splitting time between working from home and working in the office include:

• Less time commuting
• Work-life balance – flexibility to complete work
• Employee engagement – remote employees are typically more engaged when working remotely
• Employee safety and improved physical and emotional health
• Work from Anywhere just as if employees were in the office

Business Advantages

By adopting a hybrid workplace model and the right tools, businesses also benefit in new ways including:

• Productivity amongst a distributed workforce
• Increased collaboration between distributed teams
• Talent base is broadened to attract top talent who can work from anywhere
• Office space cost reductions (i.e. less office space leased, lower utilities, lower insurance, etc.)
• Business Continuity

Structuring your business and focusing your arsenal on being nimble is what makes your business grow, profit, and be a fun place to work for you and your employees. Adopting a hybrid work model is now part of the new normal and does come with advantages. However, to be successful your business must insure employees have access to the right technology to support this new business model.

Fortunately, today there are several ways businesses can improve on how they operate to leverage the advantages without risking what makes your organization successful. One of the best ways to stay nimble is to move your communications to the Cloud. Implementing a Cloud Phone Systems can help improve your organization’s revenue, productivity, reduce costs, and increase your customers’ satisfaction level when dealing with your business.

What is Cloud Technology

Many businesses don’t understand what cloud technology is, and the underlying business benefits.

Most businesses and consumers/employees have an Internet connection. Think of the “Cloud” as using your internet to access your phone service and PC data (that is not installed at your business location). In simple terms, just like you use your Internet to access websites, you can use the internet or “Cloud” to access all your business applications. Moreover, cloud computing is a technology that uses the internet and central remote servers that house and maintain data and applications in a data center rather than on-site at your business. A major advantage of cloud computing is that it allows your employees and businesses to use services and applications remotely without requiring installation and maintenance at your physical business location. It also allows full secure access to your phone system, business applications (messaging, video, phone), and personal files from any computer or mobile device that has an internet connection.

Rather than purchasing, installing, updating and maintaining all the hardware, software and applications at your business location, your Cloud service provider is responsible for these functions and services. Data Centers offer advanced security, greater resiliency/reliability/uptime, built-in disaster recovery, the latest updates and features, along with many Application Programming Interface (API’s) to integrate with the most common applications. For example, an API lets you tie your Salesforce CRM software into your phone system integrating the two. This makes your employees’ jobs much easier, more productive, and effective, leading to a better customer experience.

If your organization is using an older phone system and multiple individual applications for the various ways you communicate (text, chat, video, voice), it’s the perfect time to consider a move to the cloud.

Contact us to get more details and explore your options.