While many companies struggled during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, for others, it was a moment to prove what was possible. Migration to cloud-based communication and collaboration solutions was initially pursued for cost savings and agility benefits but became essential during the pandemic.
Now, more than two years later, the post-COVID work environment shows indications of permanent change. Employees often prefer to retain some of the flexibility of work-from-home, and companies recognize that remote and hybrid work environments are effective. Previously, companies resisted work-from-home plans because of concerns around productivity and team collaboration, but the pandemic proved these fears were unfounded.
The Ultimate Stress Test: The immediate removal of all non-essential workers from their typical work environments allowed companies to do an unintended stress test on their communication and collaboration technology. Once immediate networking and security concerns were addressed, companies could begin to evaluate how to create consistent work experiences.
Customized Options: One of the benefits of cloud-based communication and collaboration tools like unified communications as a service (UCaaS) is the ability to choose from a wealth of features, with everything from voice calls to video conferencing, chat, and texting available. Companies are able to tailor their technology to their exact needs. With choices like a virtual receptionist and real-time status updates, companies can keep teams nearly constantly in communication.
The end result of this focus on communication and collaboration is that teams are able to streamline projects. They can determine at any given moment whether a colleague is available to discuss options and make a decision, accessing shared workspaces to examine relevant data. This replaces potentially endless voicemails and emails that came with delays between each communication.
Integrating With CCaaS: As companies look ahead to what’s coming, they can expect to soon have options available that incorporate the internal communication and collaboration benefits of UCaaS with the customer-facing contact center as a service (CCaaS). When these two tools are integrated, companies can reach new levels of productivity through artificial intelligence and customer relationship management to add in more channels.
The end result is improved customer experiences. Communicating with customers with integrated UCaaS and CCaaS removes barriers like having to toggle between various platforms in order to answer questions about an order status or product availability. Contact center agents can seamlessly communicate with employees in other departments to quickly resolve customer requests.
In a post COVID world, companies have the assurance that employees can be just as productive and work effectively in teams when they have consistent access to network resources. With the right communication and collaboration tools, teams will take this work-from-anywhere model forward with improved business processes. Contact us at IT Broker.com for guidance in choosing a cloud-based communications solution to fit your company’s needs.
