Over the past eighteen months we’ve been working out of the office more than ever before and for a lot of businesses flexible working seems to be here to stay.
There are clear benefits of remote working, with studies showing that staff working from away from the office are happier, produce a higher quality of work and are more inclined to work longer hours.
Although there are many perks of remote and hybrid working a challenge that many businesses have encountered is providing the right tools for their staff to stay productive whilst working on the go.
Whether it’s the distractions of home working, connectivity issues while on the move or a general lack of the right tools, it’s an understandable issue and one that we want to help with.
At Chrome Telecom we’ve been helping businesses across the UK to solve their remote working struggles. We’ve discovered and provided a range of useful devices and software to improve productivity, whilst still supporting a healthy work/life balance. These tools, combined with some handy best practices can make a real difference.
Retaining access to your essential services
This sounds simple but many remote workers don’t have access to the same services that they use in the office. This will vary from the convenience of high-speed broadband to the essential access of their files and customer information. Solving this issue is the key to maintaining productivity away from the office, and the answer lies in the cloud.
Working with cloud-based computing and communication services will allow you to access your most important tools anywhere, on any device. Once you’ve used a cloud computing service like Office365 to access your files, and customer data through a cloud-enabled CRM, you’ll be amazed by what you can achieve from a remote working environment.
With a unified communications service remote staff can instantly share files with colleagues also working remotely, or from the office. UC also integrates with over 60 CRM systems, improving the level of service that your team can give as when customers call their relevant data will automatically pop-up on screen. These services combine to create a comprehensive customer service and collaborations suite, accessible from wherever you work.
Turn to your mobile
Is your mobile phone a distraction during working hours or a valuable tool for success? With the right software, your smartphone can become a remote working powerhouse.
Once again, unified communications can make a huge difference to your productivity and the quality of your work, this communications service includes a comprehensive mobile app, designed to facilitate your team collaboration and customer service on the go.
It does this in two ways, the first is through video conferencing which allows staff working on the go to get a clear picture of the needs of one or more colleagues or even customers. The second is instant messaging. This provides the fastest way to let a group of colleagues know vital information, as well as creating a platform for sharing images, files, or videos, which you can later access for reference.
Create a business continuity plan
Even if you don’t plan on implementing a remote working policy throughout your entire business, it pays to be prepared. That’s why we recommend accessing solutions that mean you can quickly work from home if needed.
Cloud communication services allow you to set up automatic call routes. This service means that when a call comes into your office, if the normal receiver is working from home, then the call will be diverted to their mobile or other device of their choice. This means that customers can still get in touch with the staff member they need, without sacrificing professionalism.
You also need to know that your staff can access a reliable internet connection at home. For nearly every role in a modern business, it is an immense challenge to work from home when you can’t reliably stay in touch with customers and colleagues. Thankfully, due to the rise of remote working, more people than ever now have access to fibre broadband from home, or at least a connection fast enough to support video conferencing. If any of your team have a connection that isn’t up to scratch, check out our MiFi solutions.
Stay secure
If you’re constantly worrying about the security of your site and your staff while working remotely, you probably aren’t being as productive as you could be. It’s natural to be concerned about security, and it’s important to get some peace of mind.
If nobody is at your site, how do you know that it’s secure? Our CCTV services are cloud-based and can be monitored remotely through a mobile app. It alerts you to any potential threats, and you can check back any time for some extra reassurance.
When your staff are working from home there are some important tips that they should follow to ensure maximum security:
- Avoid using public WiFi when accessing work devices
- When hosting video conferences, make sure invitations are sent privately
- Make sure to check emails carefully, phishing attacks have risen in recent years.
- Make sure that passwords are fully secure, ‘password123’ isn’t keeping anybody out!
For more information about any of the services mentioned, get in touch with our team by calling us on 03333 212 707, or provide us with your contact details and we’ll be in touch with you shortly.
