The way we work is rapidly evolving. Mobility and the need for a better work-life balance are challenged by the need for increased competitiveness and productivity. Businesses should be considering new working practices as a way to improve staff morale and retention as well as to reduce communications overheads. Michael Calvert, General Manager for Aastra illustrates a ‘day in the life’ of a Communications-enabled worker.
Younger generations of workers are increasingly comfortable communicating by a variety of means, not just voice, having grown up with instant messaging (IM) and social networks such as Twitter or Facebook. Forward thinking companies will recognise that people want to communicate regardless of device, place and time.
But this is not simply a question of preferences in communications practices. As fuel costs remain high and technology advances diminish, commuting daily just to come into central office seems increasingly senseless, while remote working can add hours to the day and reduce environmental impact. The contrast between workers relying on traditional working models and those enabled by new communications technologies can be simply illustrated.
Rush hour or hush hour?
Dave and Pete are neighbours. Both of them have jobs which require some travelling to visit customers, but most of the time they’re in the office. Dave’s company embraces flexible working and he works from home two days a week whereas Pete’s company prefers its staff to come into the office.
By working from home two days, Dave saves significantly on fuel, parking costs and time. Pete, unfortunately, has higher daily expenses and wasted commute time. Dave feels fresh and stress-free because a couple of mornings a week he can take extra time and recharge while Pete starts his day stuck in traffic, inhaling noxious fumes and anxiously glancing at his watch. By 9 am Dave is booting up his laptop and fifteen minutes later he has already caught up with his overnight emails. Dave is now about to let his chosen contacts know he is available using the ‘presence’ option on his instant messaging system , while at just about the same time, Pete is out in the rain fishing in his pockets for coins to put into the parking meter.
Presence is one of the key tools offered by Unified Communications. Colleagues can keep track of Dave’s availability, know when to contact him and by what medium. Dave can also filter his calls to make sure he can focus on mission-critical work.
Making the connection
Mid-morning, Pete catches a train to a meeting 40 miles away as it’s quicker than driving. Dave also has a meeting this morning, but he is using a videoconferencing tool to connect with his office and another regional customer. This way he saves the company money and time while getting the same benefit of a face-to-face meeting, virtually. Videoconferencing doesn’t have to cost the earth: by choosing a videoconferencing solution which is bandwidth efficient, Dave’s company is able to use the existing Ethernet network to offer good quality video links.
Pete’s meeting ends after lunch and he’s on his way back to the office. But he’s not been able to do any work during the two-hour round trip because his company has no remote email access, so when Pete gets in he has to play catch-up.
While on his videoconference Dave gets a voice call which he cannot pick up but his email informs him a customer has attempted to reach him. Dave is able to get back to the customer straight after the conclusion of his videoconference, proving his responsiveness.
At the end of the day, Pete gets home late after having caught up on all his work deliverables at his desktop PC; he is stressed and a few Pounds down. By now, Dave is relaxing with his family, having swapped his daily drive for a new way of working. Both Dave and his company are more productive and better off as a result.
Standard practice
Research by the analyst house Canalys backed by a survey of over 600 IT decision makers in key European countries in 2008 found that the vast majority of organisations offering flexible working only equip employees with laptop PCs and rarely provide GSM connectivity.
Yet for remote workers and employers the right technology needs to be in place to ensure the success of flexible working In the same research, Canalys also concluded that “technology will play an important part in flexible working practices. Employees will need the same access to information, communications and security as permanent deskbound workers”.
For more efficient remote working, companies should consider elements such as:
• Integrated mobility: A mobile workforce is a growing requirement and major driver in the adoption of UC solutions, especially for knowledge workers who are spending less time in the traditional office. It is essential that companies fully integrate mobile phones into their communication systems and should select Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC) solutions that can offer a single number. This ensures that members of staff can be reached effortlessly on a single number, no matter which device they are using or whatever their location. Least Cost Routing can contribute to substantial savings, especially for staff members travelling overseas frequently. It can also increase employee efficiency by providing easy access on the move to the most popular features of a desk phone.
• Presence tools: Reducing “phone-tag” can deliver significant productivity benefits. Presence tools enable workers to connect faster with the right people, by indicating when they are available and how they can be reached
• Instant and unified messaging: Instantly relaying information can provide greater customer satisfaction. Instant messaging is a handy consumer application that has expanded into a very useful business tool. Now, UC takes it one step further – voicemail can be generated as an email, either attaching the voice message within email or using voice-to-text technology; faxes can be read from a screen; email can be accessed while on the road – so all forms of messages can be responded to “instantly.”
• Scheduling: Today, we all need to stay on schedule regardless what we are doing. Synced up calendars can alert users on their telephone to upcoming meetings and unfinished tasks wherever they are, not simply on their laptop Outlook calendar.
• Videoconferencing: Most companies would benefit from reducing high travel costs. Videoconferencing can eliminate excessive travel, save costs and improve our environment. This can be achieved through dedicated videoconferencing units at the company premises or even software based videoconferencing for home workers.
• Contact centre solutions: Customers need to get answers to their questions easily and quickly. Contact centre solutions empower companies to respond quickly to customer demands and keep them satisfied – this can be achieved through the integration of mobile phones in the contact centre. Contact agents can more easily reach engineers who are often on the road or even become homeworkers with the same supervision tools as their colleagues have in the office.
Companies often succeed best by starting with a small-scale initial deployment. They can then assess their unique experience, benefits and best practices for such new communication and collaboration tools. The objective of such tests is not only to ensure a smooth technical implementation but also to learn how such solutions can adapt to or meet the cultural specificities of the country – or countries where it will be rolled out. One knows that work culture and practices vary hugely between countries – it’s not any different for communications. Companies should be aware of such differences, consider them and ensure that the unified communications solution chosen, address these needs and differences.
Firms can also take advantage by allowing remote and flexible working to lower real estate and energy costs, with the added benefit of improving morale and staff retention. These tools should also be considered for all “key workers” allowing remote working for the company business continuity plans. Weather conditions or strikes can have a dramatic effect on the road traffic and public transports – and thus a huge cost for small and large businesses. Companies giving employees the tools to work remotely are also better positioned to face such situation and can maintain an active workforce in exceptional circumstances.
Sign of the times
In times of budget constraints, short-term investment in more collaborative communications technology can lead to long-term savings and an overall leaner business with:
• Better integration between various modes of communication helps drive productivity improvements. Handsets can be more versatile with UC clients, thereby reducing investment in multiple devices.
• Reduced business travel is facilitated by the use of reliable video and teleconferencing
• Better integration of mobility empowers the virtual office, saving time and overhead costs.
• More real time information and tighter integration with business applications drives greater operational efficiencies.
For companies that want to operate leaner and more efficiently, the time to look closely at flexible working is now and, with the right advice and solutions, businesses can gain increased competitive edge.
Netco Remote Working communications-enabled worker, mobility, Remote Working, voip, wan