With the option to work from home, communicate from any device and location – why would job candidates want to relocate? In fact, studies show that only 11 percent of job seekers relocated for work in the last decade. This is a decrease from the previous decade and is only expected to continue.
Annual Average Relocation Rate
- 2007 – 2007: 11.3%
- 1996 – 2006: 18.8%
- 1986 – 1995: 30.5%
Read the full study here.
Video conferencing, collaborative tools and remote access to networks and applications have allowed employees to be productive from almost anywhere. This means employees can provide service to clients when and where they need them to. For businesses owners this means needing to understand what client expectations are. Do they want assistance 24/7, expect email or voicemail returned within an hour, or ability to speak to the manager directly? Armed with that information, business owners are able to utilize partners and technology to establish communication methods, whether employees are local or remote. Methods may include using laptops, voicemail to email notifications, VPN connections, and VoIP phone systems.
For this article, we are focusing on VoIP phone systems. Please contact us to discuss additional solutions for your business technology.
VoIP for Remote Workers
VoIP is a term that is frequently used in today’s business technology discussions. Basically, VoIP means a telephone that is talking across the internet rather than through a local phone line. Businesses use VoIP phone systems so that they do not have local equipment or phone lines, rather their phones plug into their network and register across internet connections. VoIP can also be used to connect remote staff to the main business office. This is beneficial when a company needs to expand or hire without limiting the candidate pool. A particular person may be a great fit, but they are not local and unwilling to relocate.
At CommWest, we partner with numerous businesses that have offices in several locations, and/or sales force and support staff in multiple locations. By using VoIP we are able to connect their remote staff to the main business office. Even when the remote staff has a premise phone system and the phones on the desks are not VoIP, they are able to stay connected to their main office. Cloud or Hosted VoIP solutions is another method we have used to connect staff, allowing for conferencing calls, transferring callers, shared voice mail and other business collaboration.
Whether your staff is in one office, several locations or across the country, we work to connect your employees for their network and file sharing. With the use of VoIP, we are also able to maintain communication with your entire phone system no matter the location.
With the changing workforce and ever-evolving business technology, business owners must adapt to stay ahead of their competition and build a foundation for future success. Yet, no office technology solution is the same for each business. Don’t fall trap to the ‘one size fits all’ mentality. VoIP is a wonderful tool for remote workers but does not fit the needs for all businesses.
Give us a call to discuss your options for VoIP and other office technology solutions. As your technology partner, we want to give you the tools – local and remote – to thrive and grow your business.