As we emerge from the pandemic, we can see that some things are never going to be the same again. But that doesn’t mean they will be worse. On the contrary, they will be BETTER! And if you ask employees and employers across the country about the “pandemic’s silver linings,” you’ll hear the same thing over and over: the rise of a remote work solution.
Indeed, employees love remote working because they avoid a tedious and costly commute, and have more time to achieve work-life balance. And employers love remote working because it reduces overhead costs, and lets them recruit beyond their local labor pool.
And so, how do employees and employers reap the full rewards of remote working? Simple: they rely on a cloud phone system, which is the perfect all-in-one remote work solution. Here are 5 key reasons why:
Reason #1 Why a Cloud Phone System is an All-in-One Remote Work Solution: No Need to Install a Dedicated Business Line
From their home offices, remote workers can make/receive calls using a smartphone, a headset that plugs into their PC/laptop, or an IP phone that plugs into their home office Wi-Fi router. And when remote workers make outgoing calls, their business’s name/number shows up on the recipient’s caller ID — not their personal name/number.
Reason #2 Why a Cloud Phone System is an All-in-One Remote Work Solution: Remote Workers Can Text with Colleagues
Instead of a situation where various remote workers are using different text apps — some using Facebook Messenger, others using WhatsApp, others using Slack, and so on — everyone will be on the same, unified messaging platform. And what about team messaging? Yup, a cloud phone system checks that remote work solution box, too!
Reason #3 Easily Launch/Join Video Conferences
Sometimes a phone call or text chat isn’t as effective as a face-to-face conversation. In these situations, remote workers simply launch/join video conferences. And the story gets even better: video conferences are 100% browser-based. This means that participants simply click a link. They do not have to download, install and configure an app — which means no firewall issues or compatibility headaches!
Reason #4 Why a Cloud Phone System is an All-in-One Remote Work Solution: Remote Workers Can Instantly See their Colleagues’ Availability Status
Remote workers can see their colleagues’ status in real-time: available, busy or away. What’s more, managers can keep an eye on remote worker productivity. For example, if a particular remote worker’s status is “busy” for a prolonged period of time, then the manager can reach out to see if everything is OK.
Reason #5 Why a Cloud Phone System is an All-in-One Remote Work Solution: Remote Workers Stay Productive and Connected Even During Power Outages
America is the best country in the world, and we always strive to be #1 in everything we do. Unfortunately, there are some cases where we would rather be #200 — such as when it comes to brownouts and blackouts. The U.S has more power outages than any other developed country. And due to the nation’s aging and overburdened power grid infrastructure, the problem will get worse before it (hopefully) gets better.
Unlike a conventional landline phone system, a cloud phone system uses a geographically-dispersed cloud infrastructure. As a result, if one area is affected by a blackout, the entire system does not go down. Instead, power shifts to an area that is still on the grid. The following simple example highlights this key remote work solution advantage:
Sarah is an account manager who works from her home office. A major storm has triggered a blackout in her neighborhood. Fortunately, Sarah uses a cloud phone system. As a result, she can easily:
- Make and receive business calls.
- Connect with colleagues through instant messaging and SMS.
- See colleagues’ presence icons to know if they’re available/busy/away.
- View and manage call history.
- Create and change call answering rules.
- Access a list of shared contacts (e.g. customers, vendors, suppliers, etc..)
- “Read” voicemails through automatic text-to-voicemail transcriptions.
- Use voice commands to initiate calls, search contacts, and more.
Unfortunately, Sarah’s neighbor Trevor — who is also a remote worker for another company — is still using a conventional landline phone system. He cannot access any of these features and is getting REALLY stressed out because his backlog of tasks is growing bigger and bigger (but the good news is that Sarah’s company is hiring and Trevor is sending in his resume, because he wants to work for a company that uses 21st-century vs. 19th-century phone system technology!).
Ready to Get Started?
Remote work is here to stay and will become even more dominant in the months and years ahead. Empower your remote workers to thrive on the “new normal” — and move your company ahead — with a cloud phone system from Carolina Digital Phone.
Schedule your free, guided demo today of our affordable and advanced all-in-one remote work solution. Call us at (336) 544-4000, or click the chat icon on the bottom of your screen.