How employees like to work has changed dramatically in recent times, with businesses having to rethink their office environments, flexible working offerings, and find new ways to stay attractive to top talent. While coming back to the office is now well and truly back on the cards, many employees want to maintain the flexibility of a hybrid working arrangement.
Employees want to continue to maintain an effective work-life balance, and have options to fit their working life around their personal life, at least some days of the week. This might mean being able to take calls in-between getting the kids’ school lunches ready, connect while on route to the office, or being able to seamlessly transition from a meeting on a mobile device to a desktop computer (and vice versa).
Whether you have team members working in the office, from home, or remotely, having a cloud calling platform powerful enough to facilitate a more seamless calling experience can be helpful. This matters because when your technology supports business performance, employee satisfaction, and customer experience – it can help you more easily achieve your business goals.
What is cloud calling?
In the past, teamwork was a fairly simple proposition: voice calls happened over a fixed phone line at a physical premises and meetings usually happened in-person. These days, the working landscape is vastly different, with hybrid working the new normal and communication with teams and customers taking place over voice, video, instant messaging, email, and cloud-based file sharing.
Cloud calling, or cloud telephony, is a form of unified communications (UC) that offers voice-based communication services through a third-party. Cloud telephony services enable users to place calls directly from any computer or mobile device and all calls are placed over an internet connection instead of a landline, which replaces the need for organisations to manage their own systems. Tech solutions like Cloud PBX Calling, Telstra IP Telephony and Telstra Calling for Office 365 are all examples of UC software that allow for more seamless cross-channel communications in the workplace.
Why are collaboration tools important for hybrid work?
Choosing the right unified communications tools can help businesses and modern workforces work smarter, save money, and improve operational efficiency. At TBTC Tasmania, we’ve seen first-hand how the right cloud calling platform can help businesses with hybrid teams break down barriers to better support free-flowing collaboration and enhanced productivity. Let’s explore how below.
1. Simplifies lines of communication
If you’re a small business, it’s more than likely your organisation does its best work as part of a team and with the ability to connect, communicate, and collaborate. However, in the modern world, the best teams aren’t always in the same place. So, when you have the right cloud calling tools to unite your people, it means team members can easily come together to share information and communicate fast without spending time and energy switching between platforms or deciding how or where to communicate.
2. Powers productivity, regardless of location
Whether your team is working from a home office, driving out to a vineyard, or visiting clients located in more remote tourism centres – with greater simplicity and mobility comes a more productive workforce. Cloud calling solutions empower teams to connect and collaborate from more places with an internet connection and over a platform built to support more efficient and effective work.
3. Provides a consistent customer experience
Whether your staff are taking calls on the road or working from home, customers expect the same level of quality and professionalism. When you leverage cloud calling technology that powers a consistent communication experience, it not only positions your business as cohesive and reliable, it frees up your team from trouble-shooting tech issues to focusing on what they do best: providing exceptional value to your customers.
4. Keeps business data more secure
In the past, computers stayed in a fixed location in a secured premises. Now, devices are on the move as people work from different locations, making keeping sensitive business data safe more challenging. When you have one, simple cloud-based calling platform it means there are fewer platforms to log in to, keep up-to-date and protect. With a cloud calling platform like Telstra IP Telephony, the latest security updates, features and capabilities are continually integrated into the system, which means you have the most up to date version and advanced security.
5. Supports teamwork and collaboration
The right cloud calling solution for your business can result in your team being able to connect and collaborate from more places. This supports better teamwork and collaborative efforts since it will let them meet, chat, or call from any device without worrying about technology integrations or complicated access instructions.
How TBTC Tasmania can help
At TBTC Tasmania, our technology advisors can help uncover how your hybrid team can work more effectively, and from more places, with the right cloud telephony solution for your business. Every business collaborates differently, which is why we first take the time to get to know your business. We’ll ask questions like how many people you have connecting, the applications you need to run your business, and your plans for the future. Talk to us today, and let’s get collaborating.
