The way a business communicates internally and externally plays an important role in its success. Employees, customers, teams, departments—they all need to stay connected.
But just how important is this trend? More important than you think. In fact, 87% of employees think leaders should reconsider the way they think about technology in the workplace. Another 84% say businesses today are missing out on opportunities by not transitioning to more modern applications.
In order to keep your best employees, attract new talent, and provide next-level customer experiences, your business needs to embrace modern communications and UCaaS.
That’s why today we’re sharing recent statistics that show you just how much is at stake. Read on to discover UCaaS trends, how it’s modernizing the workplace, and why it’s a must-have for any competitive company.
1. The Modern Workplace Thrives on Seamless Collaboration
The workplace is all about collaboration today. You need the right tools to keep your employees connected and engaged wherever they’re working.
Gartner keeps thinking remote collaboration thrives and sees teams leveraging the use of collaboration tools. And thanks to COVID-19 and workplace closures, we’ve already seen just how important collaboration tools are.
This trend will continue to dominate even as workplaces reopen because the majority of users like using these tools. They make it easy for your teams to dial into the workplace, chat, share files, and feel like they are part of the company culture.
The modern workplace is no longer rows and rows of cubicles and long commutes. Your employees may be working in the office, at home, or in a collaborative, virtual environment. You must have the right collaboration tools in place to make this possible.
You need to replace what were once water cooler conversations and pizza lunches by ensuring your teams can still connect and be a part of that workplace culture.
“When you have seamless collaboration that allows employees to communicate in fun and engaging ways, you make it easy for your people to buy into your vision.”
2. Video Conferencing Is Becoming the Standard
What about meetings and seeing your coworkers and clients? That’s just as important too.
75% of CEOs predict that video conferencing will be replacing traditional conference calling shortly. This means that even the leadership in companies have recognized that communication suites are important.
And remember, big implementation decisions are often driven by what leadership wants.
Having good communication within your business can save you both time and resources. For instance, employees can host on-demand video meetings, drag and drop files mid-meeting, and improve overall project visibility. All of this means less time searching through emails and coordinating calendars.
You also need to consider that we’re working in a remote-first world. Going out to meet clients or new hires seems strange now. Video meetings are one of the only ways to actually “see” coworkers and customers—one of the only ways to take part in a company’s culture.
If video conferencing is becoming the standard, you better ensure you have a platform in place that supports this trend.
3. Using UCaaS Heightens Productivity Levels
Collaboration tools have also impacted workplace productivity for the better. According to Cisco, over 75% of UCaaS users experience heightened productivity levels.
That’s a significant number for any organization, regardless of size. It’s also one that can help a company drive more value out of the resources they have.
Having a fully customizable collaboration suite is the ultimate play when it comes to creating a seamless experience for employees and customers. The challenge is finding a solution that’s fun to use.
The right collaboration tool will keep your people engaged, boosting their productivity in the process. Need proof? Would you rather use Slack or Skype for Business? Case and point.
Collaboration tools are the perfect catalyst for creativity. When your employees have a great idea, they can easily share it with a manager or coworker while it’s fresh. Having seamless communication is perfect for spur-of-the-moment interactions, and those interactions could be the ones that help bring your business to the top.
By ensuring your collaboration suite is customizable, easy to use, and fast, you can then boost both productivity and profitability for your business.
4. UCaaS Solutions Helps With Onboarding New Employees Remotely
Being a new hire amid the COVID-19 pandemic must be challenging, but it taught us a lot. Thanks to collaboration tools, it’s a lot easier than you think.
Nearly 41% of respondents in a study claimed UCaaS solutions could help them overcome more specific issues within the workplace.
What does that mean? Think about it like this: when taking on a new employee, it can be difficult to train them properly (especially remotely). That’s where UCaaS solutions step in. They make it easy to hop on a quick call, ask questions, share files, and more.
New hires can quickly connect with a more senior employee to clarify a potential problem. That’s a powerful tool to have at your disposal, and it’s something that will come to define the modern workplace.
It also makes the hiring process that much easier. You can turn an email into a phone call, and transition to a video call seamlessly. And on top of that, it’s been proven that businesses that have a strong onboarding process will improve new hire retention by over 80%.
Strong collaboration within the workplace is the easiest way to hire, train, and keep new employees engaged with and part of your company culture.
5. Integration Must Be Part of Your Long-Term Strategy
Did you know that 69% of employee phone conferences and video solutions aren’t integrated with their CRM?
What’s more, 86% of respondents rely mainly on their phones to connect with a global team. And while that might seem easier for some employees, disconnected applications can lead to siloed departments and processes.
The goal of any company should be to offer a baseline standard for all communications. And one of the only ways to achieve that is to ensure that your collaboration tools seamlessly integrate with other essential business applications.
“Integration will continue to be a focal point of the modern workplace, which means you need to look for solutions that are API-friendly, have an accessible SDK, and a support team that understands the importance of integration.”
6. Poor Communications Lead to Poor Security
You didn’t think we’d ignore the classic cybersecurity angle, did you?
Before the pandemic, fragmented communications were the norm. In 2018, No Jitter found that 81% of workers used different communication platforms to connect.
We already know that ineffective collaboration impacts productivity, user satisfaction, and a variety of other areas. We also know that 83% of employees say they use different tools for video conferencing, while 88% will jump between various apps for messaging.
This isn’t ideal for companies looking to streamline communications. It’s also a cybersecurity nightmare.
Think about it like this. If employees share sensitive data through unsupported and unsecure third-party apps, that information is compromised. The latest WhatsApp scandal is one of the biggest examples of why this matters.
You want to ensure that your information is protected, and one of the easiest ways to do that is to use a collaboration tool that’s approved by your IT department. That way, your data isn’t being sold and marketed or at risk of being hacked.
7. Ineffective Communication Will Cost You (A Lot)
What is the cost of ineffective communication? Somewhere around $37 billion.
Not only that, but according to 400 surveyed companies with 100,000+ employees, barriers in communication can cost businesses upwards of $62.4 million each year in lost productivity alone.
That’s one stat your business can’t afford to be a part of.
And this isn’t just about internal communications among employees either. When a customer has a poor experience with a company, especially a communications service provider, they’re more than willing to leave for your competitors.
After all, your competitive edge is the quality of the experience you offer your customers.
But that’s not all. Poor communications go far beyond impacting your bottom line. They also impact your ability to retain talent, hire new employees, and position your workplace as a modern and forward-thinking one.
Cloud Softphone: Create a Collaboration Tool for the Modern Workplace
The workplace is evolving. How are you keeping up?
Today’s users have high expectations for the collaboration tools they rely on. Having a proper UCaaS solution in place can make all the difference when it comes to seamless communications.
Industry leaders in all sectors now understand just how important collaboration is. Companies that want to be part of the modern workplace need to reinvent the way they approach communications.
Are you ready to equip your business with the modern solutions it needs to stay collaborative? Discover how you can build a feature-rich white label softphone solution in just hours with Cloud Softphone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Modern Workplace FAQs
What is collaboration, and how does it differ from traditional communication methods?
Collaboration is the process of working together on a project or task, sometimes remotely. In contrast to regular communication, collaboration must involve real-time interaction and the ability to share and edit documents and files in real-time.
Managing Director
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Rafael Torreblanca
Managing Director
Rafael Torreblanca is the co-founder of Acrobits and has served as the Managing Director since the acquisition by SINCH. With over 25 years of experience in the telecoms and VoIP industries, Rafael is a pioneer in the global adoption of Mobile VoIP. With his leadership, Acrobits has continued to thrive and innovate, maintaining its position as a leader in the telecommunications sector.
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