How to Optimise Your WFH Environments with UCaaS

Leveraging your UCaaS investment for Remote Work

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How to Optimise Your WFH Environments with UCaaS
Unified CommunicationsInsights

Published: February 16, 2021

Rebekah Carter - Writer

Rebekah Carter

Going into 2020, it was the companies with the most flexibility that had a clear advantage. By March, countless knowledge workers and professionals had begun working remotely to avoid the spread of the pandemic. Endless companies were suddenly shifting their strategy to focus more on the digital world, instead of the physical.

Time spent with the WFH environment helped companies to discover how beneficial remote workers are. They’re more affordable, often more productive, and happier too. The result? Most companies aren’t planning a full return to the office anytime soon.

So, what does that mean for your tech stack? Well, if you already have a UCaaS solution, now’s the time to really put it to the test. Unified Communications as a Service allows business leaders the freedom, they need to make crucial decisions about the optimisation of anywhere work.

Why Do UCaaS and WFH Go Hand in Hand?

Remote workers can only achieve the same kind of productivity they had in the office if they have access to the same tools at home. More importantly, they need to feel as though there’s an easy way to access and use those tools, without the promise of tech support to fall back on.

A big benefit of UCaaS for the age of remote work is that it helps the business to become more productive, by eliminating the demand for various misaligned pieces of software and communication platforms. You get to keep everything in one central place, and staff can access all the functionality they need via a single phone system.

A mobile workforce, like the one offered by UCaaS technology, supports the ever-shifting staff members who are searching for a more flexible way to work. The question is, how do you optimise your UCaaS solutions to get the best results?

1.    Go Global

If your UCaaS provider has data centres all around the world, are you taking advantage of that?  In today’s remote working world, UCaaS doesn’t just help you to empower your current workers, it could assist you in accessing new talent too. UCaaS solutions can help you to bring new staff members onboard from virtually anywhere, giving you the freedom to seek out candidates that you wouldn’t see on your doorstep.

Integrate a calendaring system with your UCaaS solution, and your employees will be able to figure out exactly when they can set up calls with their colleagues. You could even look into real-time translation tools with Microsoft Teams or Google Meet to ensure that your people understand each other.

2.    Set Up a Communication Policy

How are you going to manage communication within your UCaaS environment? Do you want to offer your employees an omni-channel landscape where they can talk to each other through messaging, text, video, and audio? Today’s UCaaS solutions have a lot of options available, so avoid confusion by laying expectations for how people might need to communicate.

For instance, quick messages on chat might be ideal if someone just needs to share an update on a project, or your teams could use broadcasts to reach lots of people at once. Alternatively, if a set of staff members is working together on a complicated task, then a video call with screen sharing solutions might be more effective to bring context to the conversation.

3.    Combine UCaaS and CCaaS

Why have a single pane of glass for all of your internal communications, but nothing to link in your external discussions with customers? Bring your CCaaS and UCaaS environments together so that your employees can more easily handle customer concerns and teamwork in the same place. By connecting the UC world and the contact centre, you open the door to better customer satisfaction.

Employees will be able to better track the customer journey in one place and offer support on a range of channels. When a problem becomes too complex for one employee to deal with, they can instantly see who’s available within their UCaaS system to offer additional assistance. The more teams can work together on challenges, the faster they’re resolved.

4.    Use AI and Automation

Automation and artificial intelligence are emerging as two unbelievably valuable tools within the current UC landscape. They can assist employees in the work from home environment in a variety of different ways. For instance, automation means that you can record information securely from conversations and even set up systems to take notes during meetings. The less repetitive work your teams have to do, the more they can focus on tackling tougher challenges.

On the other hand, AI can be there to offer all kinds of support. A bot could respond to queries on technical difficulties for your employees, so they don’t have to reach out to the support team. An AI assistant could offer suggestions and guidance to employees as they work through tasks so that they can stay protective and efficient from anywhere.

5.    Build the Right Security

A big concern for many companies is whether remote workers can really be as secure as the people they have on-site. Giving your teams the right equipment to ensure that they’re compliant with GDPR regulations and PCI laws is an important first step. Check with your UCaaS provider to find out where data in your system is collected and stored, so you can avoid any dangerous outcomes.

All of the information you work with, in your UCaaS system should be encrypted properly so that even if it is breached, no-one else can see it. It may also be worth setting your employees up with VPN connections and additional security practices, to help them stay safe wherever they are.

6.    Be Ready to Integrate

As technology continues to power the modern workforce, we’re quickly discovering it’s not a one-size-fits-all concept. Today’s companies will need to have an open UCaaS environment which allows them to adapt to suit the WFH employee. Make sure that you can integrate with any of the tools that your teams are already reliant on, from Microsoft Teams to your CRM technology.

The freedom to adapt and include any technology you need to make your employees more efficient will help you to leverage the full potential of UCaaS.

 

 

Artificial IntelligenceCRMHybrid WorkMicrosoft TeamsSecurity and ComplianceUCaaS
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