Modern business is unrecognizable to what it was a mere five years ago, predominantly due to the world’s ever-increasing reliance on technology and the new ways of working that have followed in its wake. Technology will continue to advance rapidly, in turn creating more new ways of working for organizations all around the world – one thing that will never change is how essential it is that you get the most from the technology at your disposal.
You can make as many changes as you like in the workplace, but, regardless, there will always be one constant – communication. Communication is the beating heart of every organization around the globe, and is the vital element amongst all the other aspects of business that allows all your systems to work in conjunction with each other smoothly. Without efficient ways to communicate – not just with customers but also in-house amongst your team – you stand no chance of running a successful organization.
There are many different ways of communicating in the modern world. Let’s take a look at some of them now and delve into the future of business communications.
Communication – The old way
Email has been an integral part of communication in business around the globe for decades now. Tech rarely has such a long life; this only proves just how influential Email has been – never before was there a way to connect your team no matter their location on the globe. However, the question isn’t how good has it been, but can it keep up in today’s world?
Spam is a big problem that comes along with email. Spam filters are improving but it is still apparent that the majority of emails most of us are receiving are of no value to us, and in the modern fast paced workplace there is simply not enough time to spend sorting through them – not many are happy to scroll through countless ads to find the Emails that enable them to complete their important work.
Email also takes a long time to convey messages, when your team can spend hours sending and receiving Emails back and forth before getting to the point. Wasting time like this can have a serious detrimental effect on the amount of productivity that is achievable each day.
The Telephone
The telephone is still as important now as it was when it was first introduced to businesses. The modern world offers many alternatives to the telephone, but it still stands strong at the very top of its game. When communicating in the workplace, there is nothing quite as powerful as the tone of voice you use, and the language you choose when trying to talk business with an existing or potential client. Using these methods will almost definitely get you better results than written text in an Email. Microsoft Teams and Zoom, for example, are both excellent quality alternatives, but for a conversation that needs to happen right now the telephone is the first and best choice for most.
We are by no means recommending that businesses get rid of their office telephones and only use the alternatives, but we are saying that your phone system could benefit from a modern makeover.
Landline technology is dated – it has done a great job for many years but unfortunately it is no longer capable of assisting you and your team in being productive. The modern world of business requires you to be available for contact at all times, just because of the fast pace that we must now work at to keep our customers happy – remember they are fickle, if they can’t get hold of you then they won’t hesitate to take their business elsewhere, or, at the very least, their relationship with you may begin, or continue, on a negative note.
It is essential that you are always contactable if you want to achieve the levels of communication, collaboration, and productivity demanded in the modern workplace. Remember, customers don’t care what your reasoning is for being unavailable – they will simply take their business elsewhere.
Meetings
Meetings in the modern workplace cannot consist of your team slouched around a little desk in the dingy meeting room that never gets used. Conducting them in this way has always caused problems, and this may be why they are often not as common as would be beneficial. But this isn’t necessarily the fault of business owners – it can be impossible to find a date and time that suits everyone and getting team members to take time out of their day when not on shift is a futile exercise. In recent years – with the right technology in place – businesses have adopted a new solution that avoids all the time and effort which is normally spent on organizing a meeting.
We will now explore modern communicative methods and see how these up-to-date systems have the power to revolutionize your workplace, in turn allowing you to have confidence in your tech into the future.
Communication for the modern business
VoIP – Telephony for the modern business
VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. It allows you to make a call directly using a computer or a VoIP phone from anywhere, all whilst keeping the same contact number. Its low-price tag when compared to traditional methods, and its advanced capabilities, allow you to communicate with your team no matter where they are in the world!
Why is VoIP the obvious modern communicative method?
The ‘office setting’ from anywhere
VoIP allows you to ‘deceive’ your clients into thinking that your team are still at their desks, when in reality they could be anywhere in the world. VoIP allows you to better your levels of professionalism in comparison to traditional telephony with no change to the process for your customers. Let’s walk through the average processes between a business and their client when using VoIP – when a client contacts the business, the number they call is the same reputable company one that they always contact the business on, and the call is still answered with the same cheery professional greeting, regardless of where the team are working from. These details seem small, but they are integral to the success or failure of the contact – for new customers in particular this is essential to not only portray the most professional image possible but also to develop trust with your organization in the timeliest manner possible.
Mobility
Traditional phone lines that run to a business have a specific number assigned to them. The transition to remote working has meant your employees have to remember complex codes and keys to dial in order for their device to appear as the office number, a process that wastes a lot of time that could be spent on being productive.
Relationships
In the past, Voicemail has been a key part of businesses all over the globe – but in the modern fast paced world of work it is simply too time-consuming to be of use any more. VoIP has made Voicemail surplus to requirements – it allows you to choose where your calls ring and for how long (theoretically, you could have the first few rings take place to your office, the second to your home office, and the last to your mobile), meaning that you can be out on your boat or on the golf course and not have to sacrifice customer service for the pleasure. A revolutionary feature of VoIP, I’m sure you will agree.
Reliability
By correctly implementing the tools we described above you can make guarantees that you couldn’t before. In the event of a disaster, you can simply route your calls to another location by choosing where your calls are forwarded to, meaning that you can guarantee a certain quality of service no matter the circumstances.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is widely seen as the best addition to the Microsoft suite. Regardless of its relatively new presence it has rapidly become one of the most successful applications of all time. It has amassed a huge following and a daily average user count of 145 million people spanning the globe. Teams integrates with the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, it allows your team to share files, co-ordinate tasks, and schedule meetings, all in one place, allowing you to completely irradicate in-house emailing, and, in turn, take your business into the future! We have to say that it is leaps and bounds ahead of any competition.
Meetings in Teams
As we touched on in the previous blog, traditionally meetings were carried out face to face, but the modern digital world has allowed for easier – less time-consuming – ways of holding them.
Meetings in Teams allows you to organize a meeting in advance and automatically finds a time slot that works for all the team members involved, removing the hours that it used to take to organize a suitable time for everyone. With Microsoft Teams your staff team can join the meeting from anywhere in the world.
Keeping up-to-date with the technological landscape of workplaces around the world and what could benefit your own is essential, as, by doing this, you guarantee that your team are as well-equipped as possible to complete their roles to the best of their ability.
Communication in the modern world
Since 2009, BoldTech Solutions has been delivering state-of-the-art services to small and medium-sized businesses in Vancouver. We operate under one slogan: Making IT Work For Your Business. To do so, we’ve built a team of highly qualified IT specialists that are well versed in a wide array of tech solutions and can help you to increase productivity and profits. Our team also proactively manages your IT infrastructure and is always available to fix issues, enabling your technology to always work for your business.
Over the years, we’ve served clients from numerous industries, including (but not limited to) manufacturing, biotechnology, education, and health care. This has taught us to understand that every business is different and therefore requires different solutions. So, no matter what the issue is, rest assured – by contacting us you will receive a solution tailored to your needs.
