As South Africa enters year two of a rapid (and unplanned) shift to either home office or hybrid home office/onsite work, some companies are still scrambling to set up their communication systems to effectively enable both.
This provides an opportunity for companies that can provide affordable, effective and easy to use business phone solutions that keep employees connected whether they are working onsite, at home or on the road.
“Going remote can seem like an insurmountable challenge,” says Euphoria Telecom CEO John Woollam. “But there are solutions that allow you to act quickly, easily and cost-effectively, whether you are a three-person small business or a 1 000-plus seater call centre.”
VoIP, cloud-based phone solutions are substantially cheaper than PABX hardware solutions, are flexible enough to let businesses redirect calls easily, and enable employees to set up at home with just a handset and an internet connection.
“They’re very quick to sign up and set up too,” adds Woollam. “Plus, cloud telephony providers generally offer month to month contacts, as opposed to the 60-month on-site contracts traditionally offered, allowing for more flexibility and lower risk.”
Cloud-based PABX systems enable business owners to manage productivity and performance through built-in reporting functionality. So even if employees are at home, managers can easily see how they are performing against set metrics, without needing to fill in tedious timesheets or have constant (and annoying) check-ins.
Employees can receive calls on their mobile phones, using an app, a softphone on their computers or a VoIP handset, and access the same functionality they would have at their office phones. Digital receptionists can help receive and direct calls, meaning businesses don’t need a person at a physical location to handle phone calls anymore, it can all be done virtually.
According to a recent Gartner survey, 48% of employees will likely continue working remotely – at least part time – once the Covid-19 pandemic has passed. Businesses thus need to accommodate a hybrid model and ensure their technology solutions can cope over the long-term, not just as a short-term stop gap.
“Flexibility in today’s business environment should be a given. Cloud-based telephony can turn once static offices mobile, making it possible to stay in touch no matter where in the world you or your employees are,” concludes Woollam.