In light of the current situation caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it’s likely that more of your employees are now carrying out their daily responsibilities from a home office. It’s also very possible, given the almost-daily-changes in our situation, that this shift from on-site to remote was executed quickly and with little time for proper planning.

Although your employees are making do for the moment, when it comes to business phone calls their mobile phone can only do so much.  For example:

• Incoming calls forwarded to a cell phone cannot be answered by the business phone system; instead they go to your employees’ wireless provider’s voicemail – leaving your brand behind.
• Outgoing calls show the cell phone’s caller ID, which reduces privacy and can impact brand image and continuity.
• Call flow and image are affected when functions like call transfer and conferencing can’t be managed easily.

Protecting Your Brand Image & Empowering Remote Workers

Getting your remote workforce up to the standards they’re used to in the corporate office is not as difficult as you may think.  Industry leaders developed technology like VPN, VLAN and VWAN to be user-friendly and intuitive to implement and operate.  Here are a few tips that can get your team closer to the way they’re used to working:

• Bring the office phone home. Many of our customers use the same VoIP phones at home with the same functionality.  Some firewall changes and licensing may apply, but those are relatively manageable tasks.
• Implement twinning. Better than call forwarding, calls disseminate to your desk phone and your cell phone simultaneously.  The advantage is that if the call is not answered, it will roll directly to the employee’s company voicemail. More often than not, we’ve found that the existing phone system has this feature on board already and just needs to be enabled (at little or no cost, depending on the manufacturer).
• Use the mobile app. Mobile apps are a low-cost way to give remote users maximum flexibility while using a mobile phone.  For the best of both worlds (features of your office phone and twinning), mobile apps are generally available for both iOS and Android devices.

At Pavelcomm, we specialize in making the tools you use work seamlessly together – whether you’re in the corporate office or a home office.  Although this particular topic focuses on voice platforms and functionality, keep in mind we offer a wide range of remote technology that can bring employees closer to the office without having to leave the comfort of their own home.

Interested in optimizing the functionality of your remote workforce to deliver a better customer experience?  Contact us today for a “Working Remote” consultation.