Facilitate Hybrid Work with Unified Communications & Collaboration

Facilitate Hybrid Work with Unified Communications & Collaboration

After a couple of years of supporting remote workforces, most organizations felt quite prepared for the transition to a hybrid work model in which employees split their time between onsite and office work. However, many are finding that disjointed communication environments are making it more difficult than they imagined.

In fact, 70 percent of U.S. organizations say they’ve made communications modernization a top priority, according to a new study from Techaisle. Globally, 84 percent of organizations said modern communication solutions such as today’s unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) platforms are vital for business success.

In the early days of the pandemic in 2020, most companies scrambled to implement a variety of cloud-based communication and collaboration solutions to support employees who were literally working anywhere and everywhere. And it worked. Somehow, we managed to remain connected and productive using dozens of different platforms for phone calls, video conferences, email, text messaging and file sharing.

Rising Frustration

As more organizations open their offices, the shortcomings of this fragmented approach are coming into focus. Constantly logging in and out of apps such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, FaceTime and Google Meet in order to communicate with colleagues — whether they’re across town just down the hall — has become increasingly exasperating.

In multiple studies, hybrid workers report that the chaotic communication environment is making them frustrated, distracted and exhausted. Nearly half of hybrid workers in one study say they switch between apps at least four times every hour. About a quarter report getting into disagreements with coworkers because of misunderstandings across digital communication platforms.

Nearly half of organizations say fragmented technologies negatively impact their ability to innovate, engage with customers, and develop new products and services. Vanson Bourne researchers have estimated that the inability to unite disparate systems costs businesses $140 billion each year.

UC&C Benefits

As a result, more organizations are prioritizing the adoption of flexible and cohesive UC&C solutions that break down functional silos by integrating a diverse set of communication technologies. Respondents to the Techaisle study ranked the top five drivers of communication modernization:

  • Improve productivity (44 percent)
  • Reduce costs (42 percent)
  • Improve engagement with partners, contractors and suppliers (41 percent)
  • Improve operational efficiency (40 percent)
  • Drive innovation (38 percent)

Additionally, more than two-thirds said they prefer multi-purpose communication and collaboration technology over single-purpose, dedicated devices — effectively reinforcing the value of UC platforms. They noted that UC solutions allow for flexibility and include a breadth of useful features. Leading platforms also integrate well with other technology solutions such as analytics platforms, productivity suites, project management applications and CRM solutions.

Making Connections

These solutions can help employees become happier, more engaged and more productive by relieving them of the need to use multiple applications and platforms to do their jobs and connect with colleagues and customers. For example, MiCollab from Mitel is a single application for voice, video, messaging, presence, audio conferencing and collaboration.

With MiCollab, digital workspaces keep everyone connected. Team members can share status updates, files and notes just as easily as if everyone were together. Outlook and calendar integration lets users know who is available and where they are at any given time. Both planned and impromptu meetings are more productive with features such as desktop sharing and document collaboration.

Solutions such as MiCollab are essential to creating strong connections between colleagues in a hybrid environment — and those connections matter a great deal. According to a recent Harris Poll, more than 90 percent of business leaders say poor communication impacts productivity, morale and company growth, which contributes to increased costs, missed deadlines and damaged reputations. Contact us to learn more about modernizing your business communications environment to better support your hybrid workforce.


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