Business Phone Systems as Remote Workforce Solutions
In December 2019, life in America and, indeed, the world changed as a result of an outbreak that took place a world away in China. With the emergence of COVID-19, hundreds of millions of people, if not billions of people and many industries across the economic spectrum, would be dramatically altered. While remote workers only represented a small minority of the total workforce, the Pandemic would quickly change that. Since then, many of our customers have been asking about business phone systems that double as remote workforce solutions.
The transition to working remotely was out of necessity. However, it is a trend that appears to have staying power since most employees embrace it and many employers are realizing several tangible benefits. Some of these benefits include:
- Increased productivity
- Increased job satisfaction
- Access to a larger talent pool
- Lower equipment and capital costs
- Lower real estate costs
- Health benefits for employees, and much more
For many established businesses, especially those dependent on their phone systems to deliver value, their phone system determines whether they succeed or fail at using a remote workforce. This is especially the case for those businesses that rely on their call or contact centers to make sales or handle customer service issues.
Traditional business phone systems
Many businesses are still using legacy or traditional business phone systems. These are great when you have employees that can are physically present at the office every day. However, they can be difficult, if not impossible, to configure in a way that supports working remotely.
Traditional business phone systems are "fixed" in that they only work with specific "hardware." In this case, the telephone. The phone lines making up a business phone system often consist of multiple lines with each phone requiring a dedicated line. These lines are connected and managed with hardware located onsite called a local PBX system. The onsite network that is a traditional business phone system is usually installed and maintained by an outside contractor.
A traditional business phone system can grow with the needs of the business. However, growth is limited because it entails the addition of new lines every time the network grows with a new node or connection. Since each new line also calls for specialized hardware, enhancements to traditional phone systems come at a high price.
Employees can also use cell phones independent of the company's phone system to work remotely. However, in most cases, they can't access the tools and capabilities of the company's phone system. Additionally, the employee's phone activity is not included in the company's call center and employee phone system reporting and analytics, making their productivity very difficult to monitor.
Phone systems that support working remotely
Many newer cloud phone systems, such as the one that we provide, operate entirely online. As a result, employees, whether salespeople or customer service reps, can communicate with prospects or customers as they would from the office, from anywhere in the world, as long as they have an Internet connection. A cloud phone system enables the employee to access their employer's phone system through their cell phones. In other words, access to the phone system is independent of the handset.
While there are several benefits to cloud phone systems, those that pertain to working remotely, include:
- The employee can access the phone-related tools needed to their jobs
- Employers can ensure that phone-related work is being completed
Since traditional business phone systems don't offer these benefits, businesses using these phone systems are at a disadvantage when supporting a remote workforce.
Transitioning your business phone system to support employees working remotely
If you want to offer a phone system that supports your employees working remotely, you can upgrade to our cloud phone service. Upgrading to a cloud phone system is often much cheaper than you might think. Find out how much it would cost to upgrade to a Telesupply cloud phone system here.
To start the transition to supporting a remote workforce, contact us or call (562) 333-1444 to discuss your business phone needs.
Why Telesupply?
We are based in Los Alamitos, in Orange County, and service a broad range of clients throughout Southern California and the State. With 28+ years in business, we are experts in cloud phone systems and business phone systems in general.
We view every client as a long-term relationship. We are available to help 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with most programming for cloud phone service completed remotely. For many services required "onsite," they are done quickly and often included within your subscription.
HOW TELESUPPLY CAN HELP YOU WORK REMOTELY WITH OUR VOIP PHONES
CALL or Email us Before Working Remotely
TELESUPPLY’S SOLUTION TO WORKING REMOTELY:
You have three available options to receive business calls remotely.
- (Recommended) Bring the physical device home and continue business. We recommend a POE Injector for basic ease of use at your home with a router with high speed internet reserved (10Mbps Down/ 10Mbps up) for good call quality. A wired connection directly to the router is highly recommended.
- Use the Android or iOS Zultys Mobile Communicator app. Sign in and you will be able to use your personal cellular device with basic functionality.
- Or use MXIE Windows or MACOS desktop applications. Usage may be subject to licensing. For further details please call us.
We urge you to test these options and consult with your IT personnel or our technical support.
Please note: Due to environment of remote or home networks, it is the responsibility of the user to ensure a capable, secure and preferably hardwired internet connection is working properly before using the options above.
To order POE Injectors please email phonesupport@telesupply.com or call us during normal business hours at 562-333-3144 Option 2.
E911 from the physical Telesupply provided phone. E911 is not available with remote devices although additional services are available. Please call for more info.
Frequently asked questions.
Yes, there is a significant savings. Back a while ago when technology wasn't as advanced, you would have to pay a significant amount of money to have phone numbers from a different area code forwarded to your current phone number. Voip technology changed all of that. Oftentimes, we can bring over essentially any area code phone number you want for $0.99 a month and no usage. This is ideal for service companies who are advertising or want to advertise in different area codes of their local service range. For instance if you are in the 562 area code and you want to do advertising in the 714, 949, 424 area codes, you can check your bill at the end of the month and see how much call traffic you get from each area code. The VoIP telephone system will allow you to dial from any area code you want as well.
