In today's fast-paced world, agile communication and collaboration is the difference between a growing business or a sinking ship. The good news is, unified communications (UC) provides the networked connections your business needs to thrive.
The Swiss army knife of communication
What is UC? Ken Tunnicliffe, Vodafone Enterprise Director explains, "UC is a single, intuitive system that manages multiple tools, such as instant messaging, telephony, video conferencing, desktop sharing and voicemail. The result is a consistent user experience across multiple devices in and out of the office."
Unified communications optimises collaboration, simplifies information sharing, increases learning and builds a 'connected' team.
"Look at it this way, if knowledge is power, then cross-departmental collaboration is not only a necessity, it's a competitive advantage," says Tunnicliffe.
The freedom to work your way
He says businesses must adopt a 'future mindset' now: "UC creates a workplace culture your employees can understand and embrace."
In fact, 71 per cent of employees say flexible working helps improve their productivity*. That's hard to ignore. But here's another incentive: mobility is crucial for attracting the next generation of employees.
Whether people are fed up with gridlocked traffic or seeking work/life balance, working how and when you want is a sign of the times, with 43 per cent of employees already working flexibly from another site to some extent, according to Vodafone's Working in the UK report.
Come together, right now
UC facilitates faster decision making and action taking, by giving all stakeholders the tools to communicate in real time from a desktop or a mobile device. Consider how a simple UC tool, that can allow a single voicemail to work across multiple phone numbers, could save hours of valuable time each week.
Time saving is just the start. For Vodafone client Pamu (formerly Landcorp Farming Ltd) – which has 125 farms across New Zealand – UC has transformed even the most rural farm into a digital workspace.
"The fact that some of our farmers drove for hours to attend a meeting didn't align with our vision of agribusiness innovation," says Chris Gracie, Pamu Project Manager. Thanks to Vodafone's connectivity, Pamu farmers are using cloud-based UC systems to communicate as well as manage their work flow and reports.
"It's transformational. Farmers now watch video footage of our weekly business meeting and share valuable ideas, processes and farming techniques over video conferencing," he says.
'One moment please, caller'
UC is critical to the customer experience too. "Deliver prompt responses across multiple channels or lose your customers," warns Tunnicliffe. "Studies show,61 per cent of customers stopped doing business with at least one company last year because of poor customer experience**. Every dropped call or misdirected enquiry damages your reputation."
When first call response is the goal, UC is the answer. With features such as call transfer, auto attendant and hunt group, the system handles every call with care so customers aren't left hanging.
One thing is clear: cooperation, communication and collaboration create stronger organisations, happier employees and more satisfied customers. With tools like voice, video conferencing, screen sharing and instant messaging, Vodafone One Business lets your people work together more efficiently and productively from almost anywhere.
To find out how Vodafone One Business can help unify your communications, call 0800 888 371 or visit vodafone.co.nz/cloud-communications.
*UK Employee Productivity Survey, 2017. Bryter for Vodafone.
**Accenture Strategy Global Consumer Pulse Research, 2017.