How Companies are Adapting to a New Generation
The year 2020 marks a new decade and we can except to see, over the next ten years, an even more rapid decrease of businesses using “traditional” non-VoIP phone solutions. In fact, the natural progression to VoIP solutions has already managed to transform the face of business communications across the globe over the last decade. And, it’s not stopping there.
With VoIP solutions, companies big and small are completely reimagining the way businesses communicate and collaborate both internally and with each customer interaction.
So, as we ring in the New Year and strategize for 2020, let’s dive into some of the top VoIP trends and predictions as it pertains to business communications.
GET MOBILE
We are a generation on the move and have long entered into the era of the mobile device. If you look around, you’ll notice that it would be undeniably hard to find someone that doesn’t have a mobile device on them. Our smart phones have become a lifeline in our society and have transformed the way we communicate with family, friends, colleagues, service providers and favorite retail companies.
So back-in-the-day, in response to the era of the mobile device, businesses started providing company-issued mobile devices to allow for the flexibility of mobile business communications for their staff. However, mobile devices on their own lack many of the features modern VoIP solutions deliver.
Company-issued mobile devices, not backed by VoIP solutions, fell short on integral features like CRM integrations, unified communications and collaboration applications, team-collaboration and optimization applications, caller ID management, file sharing, messaging, presence, call recording, and more. It just didn’t cut it.
Did you know, the BYOD market is on course to hit almost $367 billion by 2022, up from just $30 billion in 2014? (Source: BetaNews)
That’s because companies are realizing that just issuing a mobile device to employees isn’t enough to meet the modern demands of business communications. We’re seeing more and more companies allowing their staff to bring their own devices, and allowing users to download critical applications directly to their personal cell phone – all managed and operated by a VoIP solution unifying the entire organization.
So, in 2020 VoIP solutions are tackling the gaps in mobile business communications and businesses are adapting.
MORE THAN JUST A CALL
We’ve moved away from using our phones to call one another and have moved towards a culture that normalizes text for almost any type of correspondence.
While the Boomers are sitting behind their desks, caged in the four walls of their offices dialing phone numbers only to receive voicemails, Millennials are on-the-go, putting their phones on silent and communicating in entirely different ways – SMS, email, social media, web chat and self-service options.
So, with that said, the companies that are still accommodating what is now considered ancient norms of customer communications, are already failing in the customer experience department. Furthermore, companies that expect to hire from today’s new talent pool, must be able to accommodate the critical shift in business communication technology.
A study shows that 7 in 10 Millennials prefer to communicate digitally and there are over 56 million Millennials in the workplace – making them the largest segment of professionals today. (Study Finds)
Are those numbers shocking to you? They should be…
Millennials, and their younger “Gen Z” counterparts, are setting in motion a fundamental change in business communications. Forcing the hands of VoIP solutions providers, the next generation of workforce professionals are calling for innovative technology that simplifies digital communication in lieu of picking up a phone and making call.
REMOTE WORKING
Yes, Boomers are starting to embrace the flexible, remote work culture embedding itself into the modern business world. Yes, they are seeing the benefits of offering remote work opportunities – many of which positively impact their bottom line. And yes, Boomers are starting to realize that restricting employees to the traditional 8-5, in-office work life, is actually contributing to missed potential in productivity and collaboration. Not to mention, restricting new hires to the local talent pool significantly decreases the potential to hire more qualified staff from around the world.
We could go on explaining why companies are quickly adapting to remote work opportunities, but the trend is not new and the benefits for employees and their employers are not a secret. It’s only now taking flight and soaring high above the clouds.
Studies show that 74% of Millennial and Gen Z managers have team members who work a significant portion, if not entirely, from a remote office. (Make It)
…and don’t forget a stat from earlier in this article – Millennials make up the largest segment of professionals in the workforce.
So, when you put those two stats together, it’s no shock that remote work is sweeping the professional environment.
By 2028, 73% of all teams are expected to have remote workers. (Make It)
That is a ton of people, a ton of teams and a ton of companies that have less than 8 years to fully embrace a culture that will likely reinvent business for the next century.
With all that said, the major point is that VoIP solutions are answering the call to develop business communication technology, tools, and applications that bring us into the next decade.
VoIP solutions are ensuring that the future of business communications means employees can work from anywhere, at any time and on any device while ensuring the innate potential for remote collaborative team-work isn’t wasted.
