Front-line retail associates, transport and logistics workers, and healthcare professionals have been lauded for their services these past six months. And the way things are going, society will continue to rely on these teams of heroes to get through the pandemic’s ongoing effects.
To carry out their valuable jobs in situations where public health protocols reduce close physical contact, heroes like these can’t get by on commitment and hard work alone. To address the situation, UCC tools are increasingly being deployed to empower these heroes with additional superpowers that enable their organisations to be more efficient and productive, and to provide their end customers with outstanding experiences.
Outdoor
We’re all buying more online, which means more door-drop deliveries and more upstream pressure on supply chain logistics. For some time, delivery drivers have been accompanied by ruggedised handheld devices with barcode scanning and signature collection capabilities. As well as automating paper-based verification processes, these tools use applications that collect data that customers can access in real-time to track their orders.
What’s changed more recently is how UCC is allowing these devices to become an extended part of the corporate phone system, enabling drivers with seamless voice and messaging capabilities that optimise communications with internal colleagues and customers alike. Vulnerable people ‘shielding’ at home, for example, are reassured by speaking with their delivery driver, advising on any last-minute changes to delivery instructions, or helping the driver navigate to their door.
Not all transport and logistics workers are delivery drivers, of course. Many work in warehouses organising stock and arranging shipments. In this respect, they have much in common with in-store retail workers, with the crucial difference being that retail workers engage face-to-face with customers.
In-Store
COVID-19 has compromised everything about face-to-face consumer experiences. But, despite restrictions and the availability of online alternatives for making purchases, shoppers are still seeking out the expertise typically only found inside retail stores, making in-person visits to get a better feel for a product, or otherwise dropping by to ask questions or discuss issues.
That’s why the people in retail are heroes – they are there when people need them. Undoubtedly, the most valuable asset in any retail environment is the store associates’ knowledge. By equipping each associate with a UCC-enabled endpoint that replaces isolated ‘phones on poles’ and personal 2-way radios, this knowledge becomes a shared resource, directly benefiting the customer experience.
UCC’s ability to integrate with enterprise applications, support team-working with any colleague at any time, and enable rapid access to shared knowledge can now be mobilised onto any smart device. On a practical level, this allows better communications that overcome social distancing barriers — preventing internal ‘huddles’ of information transfer and allowing associates to show their screens to customers from a safe distance.
Speaking of COVID-19 public safety protocols, another virtue of UCC is applying compliance assurance across the business consistently. By equipping all field workers with the same tools and enabling direct interface with corporate resources and systems, best practices can be implemented and sustained. Localised issues – such as reports of customers breaking protocols – can be alerted and dealt with more quickly and discreetly.
Empowering associates to share their knowledge is excellent news for customers and employers, but even better is enabling colleagues to extract knowledge from each other, i.e., via a curated collaboration space made possible by UCC. Knowledge sharing multiplies the problem-solving capabilities each associate has at their fingertips, enabling them to learn faster and become net contributors to the overall sum of knowledge.
Using UCC like this also allows a retailer to collate rich, real-time feedback from in-store front line workers and apply that information to faster, more accurate, and better informed centralised decision making, such as around how new products are sold and supported.
Clinical Environments
Another indoor environment where UCC has come to the fore is healthcare, where infection control is a significant issue. A main problem here stems from the shared use of desk phones that necessitate continual disinfection between uses or the challenge that clinicians face trying to operate these tools while wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).
The availability of UCC softphone technology has been a game-changer in healthcare environments, allowing rich multi-channel communications to be fully portable and personalised. Using voice-activated commands for actions like call pickup and forwarding, clinicians can communicate more freely and do so beyond voice – sharing critical patient information via applications and image files. Also, by enabling each clinician’s presence to be always visible, the appropriate clinical staff can be relied upon to attend emergencies and deal with specific patient issues.
There aren’t many aspects of real-world technology that can lay claim to bolstering real-life superheroes’ superpowers, but UCC has undoubtedly earned its place. Not only can it allow these heroes to communicate in more effective and efficient ways that give a safer and more positive customer experience, but it can do so in the broadest possible variety of scenarios.
Guest Blog by Todd Carothers, Chief Revenue Officer at CounterPath
Bria Teams solves the communication and collaboration needs for teams and small-to-medium size business. Easily enable calling and messaging between team members, plus integrate your call server or VoIP service so users can collaborate and stay connected on-the-go.
