Managing Remote and Hybrid Teams? Here's Why You Need Unified Communications

The new world of work

A PwC survey found 83% of employers considered remote work a success, and many have incorporated it into their strategy moving forward. This new hybrid approach to work is now much more commonplace, and Unified Communications or Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) delivers a cloud-based platform with all elements required for effective communications and collaboration, including:

• Instant messaging
• Team collaboration tools
• Telephony via VoIP
• Video conferencing

The Accenture Future of Work Study 2021 found that 83% of people prefer a hybrid work model, and many top organizations worldwide have already made the change.

Succeeding in this new world of work requires the right technology and tools. Let’s explore how UCaaS is the answer to your management and engagement challenges when managing mixed model teams.

1. Work from anywhere

The first step in effectively enabling and supporting hybrid working models is making it possible to work from anywhere effectively. This is straightforward with UCaaS communications solutions, which are 100% location-neutral and not reliant upon premise-based hardware. Whether at home, in a local café, or hotdesking in a coworking space, employees can log in securely and easily and have exactly the same work experience.

For example, RingCentral gives employees access to team messaging, video conferencing, and cloud phone—all from any device and in one platform. As long as workers have an internet connection, they can work from anywhere.

From a technical perspective, UCaaS solutions are fully cloud-based, ensuring a more consistent and reliable amount of uptime compared to legacy solutions. In addition, they usually run from high-level data centers in geographically redundant locations. This ensures near-universal accessibility.

2. Enhanced employee engagement

Many organizations experienced video conferencing for the first time during the pandemic, and most have realized just how valuable this particular tool can be. Platforms like Teams and Zoom have become integral to providing a sense of belonging and helping to engage employees who may work remotely full-time and those working on more flexible terms. Real-time participation is crucial for hybrid work to be a success. It ensures remote employees don’t feel disengaged or left out from on-site meetings or other important events.

UCaaS offers effective video conferencing but has many further engagement applications beyond this. For example, you can easily call, chat, and collaborate with other team members, all within the single application. It’s also a reliable platform for all employee communications and collaboration, from group channel announcements about events or special occasions to file and calendar sharing for more effective workflows.

Remote workers should feel as engaged and connected to your organization as those in the office every day, and the right UCaaS platform facilitates this.

3. Break down silos

Unified Communications makes silos a thing of the past. McKinsey notes there’s a growing divide between leaders and their employees, and warn that this will only widen with physical distance also becoming a factor. Managers simply can’t afford to separate and disengage from the workforce, or vice versa, as a siloed approach to working never delivers great results.

Where there are silos, you’ll soon see communication breakdown, lost information, and an impact on service delivery. UCaaS consolidates communications and provides a combined environment for everyone to connect and work towards the combined purpose of service delivery.

4. Cost-effective and simplified IT

Legal systems and hardware are expensive to maintain. Updates can be long and drawn out, and you may find significant downtime when an important update is required. UCaaS provides all end-users with instant access to the whole platform, with all updates and features universally available as they’re launched. As a result, downtime is always kept to an absolute minimum. Cloud-based technology ensures there’s usually a solution to allow work to continue, even when maintenance is scheduled. Remote employees should never feel isolated or unable to access the system simply because they don’t work on-site.

UCaaS is also scalable, so your organization can grow organically without investing in new hardware. The platform grows with your business, and in the event of a technical issue, the highly experienced professionals from the platform provider act quickly to resume services.

5. Advanced access to innovation

Microsoft describes hybrid work as “the next great disruption”, and we’re living in a time of great change and innovation. Driven by the COVID-19 pandemic that catalyzed significant digital transformation, companies are digitizing and innovating rapidly. A reliable and robust UCaaS platform provides the perfect environment for communication, collaboration, and innovative new ideas and developments. As a result, your team can evolve organically at a speed that suits your organization.

Lead the way with Unified Communications

The workplace is evolving to embrace flexibility, and the move towards hybrid working models is exciting for all involved. Of course, this shift doesn’t come without its challenges, but a commitment to supporting and engaging employees, wherever they work from, is vital to moving forward successfully.

It may take some time to get used to, but with the right UCaaS platform, your business can embrace and support remote and hybrid workers while also keeping those in the office fully satisfied.

Further reading

• How Good is Your Communications System?
• What Your Employees Need to Keep Your Customers Happy
• What Your Business Needs for a Hybrid and Remote-First Workplace