A guide to working remotely with a VoIP solution

The current VoIP market trends point to increased VoIP usage and spending in the coming years. A 2020 VoIP intelligence report predicts that the global VoIP market will grow at a 10.40 percent CAGR between 2020 and 2024.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the main reason for the spike in VoIP adoption in 2020. Since the onset of the pandemic, millions of employers have been forced to work from home; even now, most workers are yet to return to their normal workplaces. As companies frantically put together remote working structures, a VoIP solution comes in handy as a quick fix to keep remote workers connected.

Interestingly, the post-pandemic workplace may still be dominated by remote workers. In a recent survey, only 19 percent of remote workers said they preferred the office to working from home. Many employers also realize the benefits of remote working and plan to make it a permanent arrangement. All this favors VoIP’s growth, but how exactly does VoIP facilitate remote working?

Provides a central hub for information

A VoIP solution is so much more than your basic telephone system. VoIP technology is the framework for unified communications (UC), a system that integrates multiple communication mediums into a single platform. With UC, your remote workers can interact through various business communications channels, including SMS, fax, instant messaging, voice, conference calls, and file sharing, without needing third-party add-ons.

A UC solution preserves information within a central hub, meaning every update takes effect throughout the organization in real time. A holistic communications system also prevents information diffusion and reduces data loss risks.

Allows unlimited access

Unlike legacy phone systems that rely on restrictive telephone network coverage or landlines, a VoIP solution only requires the internet to work – regardless of the ISP or location. VoIP users can simply download an app on their smartphones or computers to access VoIP services without worrying about tariffs and country codes.

Since VoIP services are accessible from any location via any capable device, remote workers from different regions and time zones can connect instantly with a mere click of a button.

Supports remote workers’ management and monitoring

Managing and supervising remote employees is a big challenge. But with VoIP’s user visibility, tracking, and transparency features, it becomes easier to monitor and oversee employee productivity. For instance, you can draw detailed call reports from call logs and statistics to look at how individual employees handle calls. This can reveal workers who are slacking off by ignoring customer calls, giving unsatisfactory responses, or enabling the do-not-disturb feature.

You can also view live call data on VoIP’s virtual switchboard to know who’s on the phone with whom, for how long, and so on.

Cuts communications costs

The cost of communicating with remote workers can be prohibitively high, especially if the workforce is vast and spread out across international borders. But that’s not the case when using a VoIP solution. VoIP systems have a clever way of routing calls over the internet and regular airwaves to save on call rates. Overall, VoIP can save you up to 30 percent of your business’s phone bill.

Interconnectedness is the most important thing when working with remote staff. Keeping open communications lines at all times brings together employees who are hundreds of miles apart and tethers them to a shared interest, common goals, and the host company. A reliable, fast, and versatile communications system is undoubtedly the key to productive collaborations among remote workers. Clearly, a robust enterprise VoIP solution ticks all the boxes in keeping remote employees connected, focused, and productive.