Microsoft Teams and VoIP: Modern communication
The modern age is completely different to the world of a mere two decades ago – whole generations rely on technology and wouldn’t be able to function if they weren’t connected to the outside world constantly. In unison with this, our workplaces have undergone a period of change too, the pace of the modern workday has forced us to search for new ways of utilizing our time, and the best way to do that is to place more trust on the shoulders of technology – if used correctly it can speed up, perfect, and refine the processes that make up your workday.
Tech has made our workplaces better with all of the various changes that it has made to all departments in all industries, but there is one part of your business that – at its foundation – has remained relatively unchanged for quite some time, that is communication. An organisation with effective forms of communication has every chance of being successful – your colleagues, suppliers, and customers need to be reachable from the touch of a button, the modern world of work demands it, any less and success is unlikely.
The ways in which we communicate have begun to change over recent years. Microsoft offer many different ways to communicate that far exceed the abilities of traditional telephony, but first, let’s take a look at our own organisation and look at the various forms of communication that we already use. We will explain why some are becoming dated, and why it may be time to approach communication with a more modern approach.
The Outmoded Forms of Business Communications
The telephone
The most revolutionary – and arguably most important – form of communication, is the telephone. No matter how advanced technology gets, it’d hard to see a workplace without the telephone. Using your voice to convey your message in the way you want it to can make the difference between your communication being a successful one or a failure.
There are also alternatives to your traditional telephone, like Zoom or Microsoft Teams, but don’t get rid of your traditional phone systems for these, simply give it a modern makeover and make your experience much better.
You may be thinking ‘why would I change something that isn’t broken’, and you would be making a good point. It isn’t broken, but it is doing the bare minimum to continue working. The modern methods offer all of what your old system is, with added extras that will make your experience more enjoyable and practically seamless.
Traditional landline technology has had its time – it no longer offers what is needed to not only thrive – but even survive in the modern age of work, you must be contactable at all times, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, and traditional phone lines just don’t offer this. Clients in the modern age are even more fickle than they always have been, they must be able to contact you or else you risk projecting a poor image of the company to your clients.
The phone is the lifeline between you and your client base, your suppliers, and – in turn – the success or failure of your business as a whole. You can’t allow that connection to be hindered in any way, a power cut, flood, or anything of the sort, will not be regarded as a valid excuse to your clients, they want connectivity – not excuses.
There are alternatives to traditional phones systems that we will explore further in the following article.
Email has helped businesses stay connected for many years – it was once a very important tool in every business arsenal. Since the 70’s it has been essential to businesses all over the world to maintain a level of contact sufficient with their team, clients, and suppliers alike.
So, if it’s so good, why is it considered dated?
Because of Spam! Spam has the power to ruin someone’s workday, it has gradually made people hate using Emails. They are constantly flooding in from companies that you have stumbled across when scrolling, or even worse – in the form of weekly newsletters from that article you signed up for to be able to read. This is bad enough when looking at personal emails in your own time – let alone when you are trying to complete your daily tasks.
Emails aren’t capable of keeping up anymore, the two and throw of email is simply to slow and labored, modern – and often remote – work, needs a far better, more seamless approach.
Meetings
Meetings have traditionally been events that are avoided, even by upper management. They are a practice designed for the boss to be constructive and discuss triumphs and the occasional problem, but they have rapidly become slap dash. This is partially due to their location – usually meetings will be performed in a room that is unfit, and half of the team ‘unable to make it’.
Finding a time that suits your whole team is often an impossibility, and heaven forbid you ask them to come in on their day off. The modern world of work is remote, this has forced businesses – thankfully – to search for an alternative. We will explore this more in the following article.
In the following article, we will explore some modern alternatives that can replace – and improve – on your current work processes, if they are used and maintained correctly they can revolutionize your workplace and improve your chances of prolonged growth.
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