Unified Communications is not just about digital transformation, it is the key to turbocharging customer experience. Jacob Daniels SEO Content Manager and Copywriter, Movers Development chalks out the inherent benefits of implementing modern unified communication software solutions in all kinds of businesses.
All businesses, regardless of their size, look to achieve one goal — a return on investment. This requires more than a high-quality product or service. Apart from that, a business must also structure its organization in a way that minimizes the time to market while allowing for maximum efficiency and productivity.
In some companies, physical logistics are the most important part of this structural organization. Regardless of what kind of business you operate, however — communications Opens a new window are crucial. Having a flexible and intuitive communications system is crucial. In this day and age, the most practical solution is a switch to Unified CommunicationOpens a new window . This is a comprehensive software suite that is usually cloud-based and allows for the integration of all company communications and information exchanges in one place.
Learn More: Moving UC to the Cloud: Tips and Best PracticesOpens a new window
The Basics
What does Unified Communication actually entail? In most cases, UC represents a software solution that includes video conferencing, telephony, instant messaging, and file exchange services under one software platform.
These are all facets of modern communication Opens a new window that employees of any company would use for any kind of communication. In the absence of a unified communications solution, all of these would come from separate vendors, with disparate data structures. This prolongs the flow of information within a company, and unnecessarily complicates communications.
UC solutions also contain presence status information, allowing employees within a single company to know what colleagues can be contacted and through which channels. This sort of solution is also better in terms of IT, as support staff can manage the system settings far more easily. There would be no need to manage multiple software solutions, as all settings are conveniently available in one interface.
More Efficient CollaborationEfficient staff communication is incredibly important in large companies with multiple departments, floors, and even different offices. Unified Communications solutionsOpens a new window improve work collaboration by offering integrative capabilities with file-sharing SaaS platforms. Many UC platforms have Dropbox support, for example.
When it comes to organizing meetings and teleconferencing, UC platforms remove the possibility of lost access passwords or badly organized dial-ins. These platforms can be integrated with major calendar applications for easy meetings and brainstorming sessions.
UC software frequently has its own video conferencing Opens a new window capabilities, or integration options with Zoom Opens a new window or Skype. There is no need to gather the entire team physically in order to collaborate on a project. When it comes to employees in different locations, this is incredibly important for productivity — as well as the overall structural efficiency of your company.
Learn More: Top 10 Unified Communication as-a-Service (UCaaS) Companies and Providers in 2020Opens a new window
Higher Productivity Levels
Most company employees and team members use some sort of instant messaging software. Even if the company does not provide its own official software solution for this, employees will almost always use private channels to communicate. When people have the opportunity to quickly communicate an issue via a WhatsApp message or a Facebook nudge, they aren’t likely to physically go to another office and lose time for nothing.
That’s definitely more efficient, but it also takes company communications Opens a new window outside the bounds of the company. That’s why unified communications solutions have their own instant messaging platforms, keeping productivity high while also maintaining the security of sensitive information. There is no need to hold meetings Opens a new window and even video calls over issues that could be solved rapidly with a couple of exchanged messages.
Better Customer Service
For consumer-facing manufacturers or retailers, brand reputation is everything. In the age of the Internet, single bad customer experience can wreak havoc if it goes viral. That’s why good customer service is more important than ever.
A switch to unified communications increases the efficiency of your customer service department as well. Having real-time information on staff presence allows customer service requests to be handled quickly, by being immediately forwarded to a free employee. Such improvements in staff communication and attendance info lead to a much higher level of problem resolution.
Learn More: Should Persistent Chat Be Part of Your UC Strategy?Opens a new window
Insightful Management
Tools for corporate communications in UC platforms do more than allow people to share information more efficiently. These also contain tools for corporate productivity management, giving your employees ways to achieve time tracking for their various tasks.
This is useful for the employees themselves, as they can account for how they spend their time in the workplace more easily. Apart from that, it also gives management an easy way to complete accurate performance reviews. Additionally, management is made simpler by the fact that you can see what your employees spend the most time working on, and try to streamline the company processes accordingly. Every business could be optimized by making sure your staff don’t lose too much time on menial issues that could be automated or relegated elsewhere.
Lower Travel Expenses
When company communications aren’t handled via a UC platform, this requires more business-related travel. These expenses can seem unimportant when viewed on a case-by-case basis, but can add up to quite a lot and become a serious strain on your corporate budget.
Much of this is eliminated if your staff is able to communicate via a simple conference call. Something that would otherwise require a multiple-day gathering would be solved in a call that costs nothing but Internet coverage.
Inter-office information sharing is improved by UC as well, which also negates the need for middle management to constantly go back and forth between different offices.
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