28 Oct 2021 How start-ups can take advantage of remote working
Since last year more and more businesses have turned to working remotely. It’s a great way to improve your business’ availability, staff morale, and your team’s general sense of productivity. With large organisations such as Natwest claiming that only 13% of their workforce are now exclusively office based, the remote working revolution seems like it’s in full swing. New business start-ups shouldn’t need to feel left behind.
We know that smaller teams often feel limited in terms of where they work by the technology that they use. But SMEs have the most to gain from implementing a flexible working plan. At One Connectivity, we think that all businesses should be able to take advantage of remote working. That’s why we provide a wide range of technology solutions that can help make it possible. In this blog we’ll cover our favourite cost-effective and efficient services that start-ups and SMEs can use to gain an edge when working remotely.
Unified Communications – An accessible alternative to MS Teams
Over lockdown the vast majority of us had to get to grips with services like MS Teams very quickly. Clearly it was a bit of a culture shock, as “you’re on mute!” was featured in London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display. MS Teams might also not be the most cost-effective way for smaller teams to access video conferencing and instant messaging services. Especially when combined with one of Microsoft’s calling plans, the prices start to get incredibly steep.
The alternative is to use a unified communications platform. These services, designed by leading communications providers provide the benefits of MS Teams, with a greatly reduced price point, and even more flexibility.
You can access your UC platform on a device of your choice, from any location with an internet connection. It allows you to access video conferencing, calls and messaging, and also shows which members of your team are online at any time. Furthermore, UC platforms integrate with a huge range of business CRM platforms, allowing you to improve customer service from any environment.
This technology has been taken one step further though…
WebRTC – A new way to communicate remotely
Web RTC (Real Time Communications) is a way to host video conferences via a web browser instead of an application that users need to install. This allows remote staff to access high-quality video conferences quicker than ever before.
It also has brilliant customer service benefits. Many larger businesses host webinars to communicate with existing customers and sell to new ones, the issue is that the services they use to host these conferences are not accessible to everyone. Whether it’s apps that require complicated installations, to setting up accounts on software you know you’ll never use again, it turns a lot of people away. Making the most of WebRTC allows smaller teams to create a new niche.
All you need to do to set up a meeting in a unified communications service such as iPECS ONE using the WebRTC feature, is to send a link to any attendees in an email or message. That’s it. This opens up your business to an entire new audience and can all be done remotely.
Cloud Communications – Create a hybrid working space
Remote working doesn’t necessarily involve spending every day at home. Many businesses are taking a more flexible approach, where staff can drop in and out of an office space at will. This is great for maintaining collaboration and helps prevent staff from feeling isolated. You need to work with the right technology to make this happen though.
First of all you need technology that works just as well outside of the office environment as it does in it. This is where your unified communication service comes in, but it is also the ideal situation for cloud phone systems. Unlike UC, cloud phone systems aren’t just an application they also include actual physical phones, however the main benefit of these is that they work at their best just about anywhere.
As they don’t need an external server or equipment to make, receive and control calls, they can be plugged in just about anywhere with an internet connection. This allows you to turn your office into a hub space where any staff can drop in and communicate at their best with ease.
Call Management – Keep track of the whole process
Especially when it comes to start-ups, if you work remotely, you can feel out of the loop. That’s why we provide managers with all the tools they need to stay informed, no matter the scale of their team. Our management service allows you to keep a log of every call that comes into your business’ phone system and matches any numbers to names in your CRM. This means you always know who’s dialled in and can make a quick follow-up call whenever needed.
If you’d like to learn more about the services mentioned here, get in touch with One Connectivity at 0115 896 88 60.