I’ve set up my staff to work remotely using company phones and IT equipment, but is it working efficiently? 

Under the current circumstances, remote working has become the norm for any industry that is able to accommodate their employees working from home.  

But, is your business working as efficiently as possible this way? 

Before the Christmas period hits, when most people will be wanting to spend as much time with their families as possible, now would be a good time to consider prioritising your business’s ability to streamline the remote working processes through technology. 

 

But won’t that cost me more money? 

 

Perhaps you’ve already made a large investment in your IT facilities to enable your staff to work remotely and are unsure if you want to, or even can, commit you and your business to even more costs just to improve its efficiency. 

Yes, increasing efficiency using technology can sometimes come with an increase in costs, but no, those costs don’t have to be steep and can even, potentially, save you money in the long run. 

By implementing and utilising next generation technology you can improve your systems and the efficiency of your business without breaking the bank. 

 

Ok, I’m paying attention – how can I do this without spending too much money? 

 

VOIP – Voice Over Internet Protocol. 

With a VOIP telephony system you can utilise the internet connections that your remote workers use to make and receive telephone calls for your business. Not only that but the number that you use for your VOIP system belongs to you and your business, and you can take it wherever you go – meaning it is not limited to use by any specific phone or location and can be moved whenever needed. Should you or a worker move location for the Christmas period, all you would need to do is take the phone, laptop or equipment used for making and receiving calls from its current location to the new one, reconnect it to a working internet connection and it’s back up and running and working from the same business phone number it was previously using. 

 

That sounds a lot like a normal mobile phone… 

 

Yes, it does. But, if your mobile phone loses connection, that’s it – no more phone calls. 

With VOIP telephony systems you benefit from business continuity. If the device you would normally use to make and receive calls suddenly loses its internet connection, you don’t suddenly lose your inbound calls – they follow you to any other device that you have that is enabled to use your business’s VOIP service. One of your workers’ internet develops a fault and goes down for part of the day? No problem, the VOIP service diverts to another workers system instead or to the workers mobile phone using the network providers internet connection. 

On top of this, you choose the type of number you want to use for your business, whether that is a non-geographical number or a regional number for satellite offices, and that number stays with you, wherever you go. 

 

Sounds great but what if I need to make any changes, add or remove workers for example? 

With VOIP, you can control it all from the cloud. VOIP technology has the ability to change and scale in line with your business. By utilising cloud technology you can install and control everything you need to from the cloud, allowing you to decide and control where your calls go, who answers them and, in the event of internet or power failure, you can set your calls to follow you to your mobile or an alternative number. You can upsize or downsize your system with no disruption to your business. 

 

Alright, but what if we’re closed for part of the Christmas period or have reduced numbers of staff? Won’t our customers get frustrated if their calls aren’t answered? 

 

They probably would, if that was the case. 

But with VOIP telephony systems, you can set a voicemail answer phone service for when you aren’t open or don’t want to receive phone calls. You can customise the time that it turns on and off too, so you can set it to come on at certain times of the day – between 5pm and 8am for example. You can relax, safe in the knowledge that at the end of the working day, your phone calls are being taken care of, allowing you to get on with socialising with your family and friends and enjoying your Christmas evenings. 

VOIPs answerphone service also automatically sends any messages it receives directly to your email address, allowing you to listen to them at a time that is convenient for you, wherever you are. 

 

Ok, that sounds quite impressive actually, but what if I run an ‘Out of Hours’ service, won’t I have to have a completely separate number and system to run that on? 

 

Not at all. With VOIP you can implement an auto attendant to answer, which will provide your customer with an option to ‘Press 1 for Out of Hours service’ for example, which, when selected, will automatically redirect the call to a designated mobile or number of your choice. 

So, if you offer an emergency service for customers over the Christmas period, you can simply enable that feature and any customers calling in while your ‘remote office’ is closed and select the out of hours service option will ring through to whichever mobile or number you have selected as the ‘on-call’ number. If they don’t select that service they are still able to leave a voicemail that you can listen and respond to at your own convenience via your email address. 

Meaning you do not have to miss a single business opportunity, even though you are closed for the Christmas period. 

 

This all sounds fantastic! But it also sounds expensive… 

 

It really isn’t as expensive as you’d think! 

A VOIP phone system can cost as little as just £13.49 per month – with unlimited land line calls (01/02 numbers) included along with free site-to-site calls, should you or your workers need to speak to one another over the system, so your phone bills won’t run away from you. 

You receive efficient call handling, call forwarding, time-of-day rerouting and voicemail services all included in your package as standard. Any business, no matter its size, can make use of the same features and functionality (e.g. voicemail, music on hold, hunt groups) all of which were once the exclusive preserve of larger corporations. 

And, want to know the best part? All of this can often be set-up and running, including the allocation of the phone number, in just 48 hours! 

Get your business set up with a VOIP telephony system in the lead up to the holiday period so that your business can run more efficiently this Christmas and you don’t miss a single lead or business opportunity while your ‘remote office’ is closed. 

For more details give us a call on 01452 222 000 and we’ll ensure you keep in contact with your customers this Christmas and well into the new year!