According to a Gallup survey, 43 percent of respondents stated they worked from home (part- or full-time) during the year. In industries that are considered more conducive to working remotely, such as marketing and IT services, the figure exceeded the 60 percent mark.

With more and more people working remotely, companies have to find new solutions to ensure these individuals have the best support possible to maintain productivity. The right communication tools are a crucial component for any remote workers, and companies have to invest in the integration of unified communications support tools to provide the solutions remote workers require.

Here are some of the ways that a unified communications platform can support your remote workers.

Voice and Video Calls
Since your remote workers are going to be isolated from other employees, video and voice calling features are an essential tool to help these workers feel as though they are still part of the team. Being able to see other’s faces during meetings reinforces the bonds and helps to create a better atmosphere for collaboration.

Additionally, quite a bit of human communication is nonverbal. As a result, being able to see someone in person is a huge benefit for everyone involved. Video and voice calling features help to facilitate great communication between your workers.

Instant Messaging
It’s no longer possible to just shout over to the next cubicle or walk down to a coworker’s office to find something out. This is especially the case with remote workers. Today’s workers need an environment that leverages modern tools to facilitate the flow of ideas among all employees.

One of the best ways to do this is with instant messaging. This allows workers — regardless of location — to quickly and easily share ideas. This messaging also promotes more frequent and better communication between workers. There have even been studies that have shown instant messaging offers countless benefits to a workplace and can help to measurably increase productivity.

Virtually all unified communications platforms offer some type of instant and/or group messaging feature. By using this feature with your remote workers, you will find higher levels of productivity and collaboration.

Remote Desktop IP
There are several benefits offered by giving your remote workers hardware to take home. The first benefit is that employees will have dedicated hardware for their work, which helps them keep their personal lives completely separate. Second, it will allow your remote workers to be part of your hosted PBX that will be connected externally and internally to the remainder of your team.

The good news is that setting up desktop IP phones is simple and only requires an internet connection. However, keep in mind that not all your remote workers will want hardware from work in their homes. If this is the case, then consider an alternative, such as BYOD (bring your own device), which is an option growing in popularity due to the use of mobile apps.

Unified Communications: Tech You Can’t Afford to Ignore

If you have decided it is time to implement unified communications, you can see from the information above that it is a smart move. The fact is, this technology will not only benefit your remote workers but your in-house team as well. Be sure to find the right provider when you decide to make this move to ensure you have a successful experience.

To learn more about these services, reach out to our professional team at Monster VoIP today.