Business phones remain as vital to companies today as they were in the past. Having a phone number dedicated for business purposes projects professionalism, plus employees have access to valuable features like call forwarding, auto-attendant, and voicemail.
Besides phones enabling employees to communicate and collaborate with colleagues and partners, almost 80% of consumers prefer to speak on the phone when interacting with customer service. It isn’t that consumers don’t like digital forms of communication like live chat or messaging; It’s just that 48 percent of consumers would rather deal with complex issues over the phone, while 75 percent feel they can get answers faster over the phone.
Unlike traditional business communication, which relied heavily on landlines and desktop phones, chaining employees to their desks, the new era of business phone systems includes a collection of must-have technologies such as smartphones and softphones that cater to every employee—remote workers, dispersed teams, and deskless workers.
The need for mobility, spurred by the pandemic and other factors like business phone service, has driven the adoption of business mobile phones and cloud-based solutions. These enable employees to stay connected to their work phones wherever they are—down the hall from their office, in a home office, or in a café.
In the United States, 64 percent of adults use their smartphones for work, transforming their mobile devices into a business phone to perform work-related activities. The global average was also considerably high at 54%. Overall, having access to a phone anywhere has had positive effects for companies.
What Are the Benefits of an Office With Business Phone Mobility?
The incorporation of mobile technology in the workplace offers numerous benefits that extend beyond essential communication.
- Increased Flexibility and Productivity: Access to a work phone via mobile technology allows employees to work from anywhere and results in higher productivity levels. A study involving 16,000 call center employees found that employees’ performance increased by 13 percent when they worked from home. Factors attributed to the performance increase included a quieter work environment and fewer breaks.
- Fewer Missed Work Calls: On average, 26 percent of business calls go unanswered. However, this number differs significantly by industry. For instance, in the professional services industry, unanswered calls account for over 60 percent of calls. Unfortunately, missed calls tend to have a domino effect.
- When calls go unanswered, customers feel ignored or unvalued.
- Long-term relationships can be lost, taking those customers’ lifetime value.
- Lost leads mean wasted marketing dollars.
- When calls go unanswered, customers feel ignored or unvalued.
With a business phone that goes anywhere employees go, fewer calls are missed when employees are away from their desks. Calls on desk phones can be forwarded to an employee’s mobile device, ensuring the employee’s phone number is never compromised. Similarly, many companies have business productivity apps for work-related calls . The mobile app rings simultaneously when an employee’s desk phone rings, plus employees have access to caller ID and call history.
- Organizational Cohesion: For service technicians, construction workers, and sales teams, business phone mobility is an opportunity to bridge the gap between deskless workers and the rest of the employees in a company. Giving all staff members a phone that operates on a mobile platform ensures deskless workers feel connected, have access to information, and can communicate and collaborate effortlessly with other employees in their company.
Many companies embrace Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), recognizing the numerous advantages to both the company and its employees.
- For companies with a business productivity app, employees can download it to their devices and immediately start making and receiving work calls.
- BYOD provides significant cost savings to companies. When employees use their personal devices for work, companies can reduce or even eliminate the expense of purchasing and maintaining a fleet of mobile phones. This cost-efficiency can be particularly beneficial for startups and small businesses operating on tight budgets.
- Employees tend to embrace BYOD because they are more comfortable and proficient with their own devices, which can lead to smoother workflows and faster work completion.
- Familiarity with one’s own personal devices reduces the learning curve associated with using a new technology.
Why Do Companies Provide Company Phones?
Many companies provide their workers with company-issued mobile phones instead of adopting a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy. This decision primarily stems from the need to ensure security, control, and productivity. By supplying employees with standardized mobile devices, companies can enforce strict security protocols, manage software updates, and protect sensitive information more effectively, reducing the risk of data breaches and ensuring compliance with industry regulations. Moreover, company-issued phones can be pre-loaded with the necessary apps and tools, streamlining workflows and minimizing distractions, thereby boosting overall productivity.
Whether companies allow employees to use their personal devices for work or provide company-owned devices, a robust BYOD policy must be created to safeguard everyone—the company, employees, customers, and partners.
The importance of business phone mobility in the workplace cannot be overstated. As the workplace evolves, adopting mobile technologies ensures that employees remain connected, productive, and flexible, whether at their desks or on the go. With almost 80% of consumers preferring phone interactions for customer service and a significant portion of employees using their smartphones for work, it’s clear that mobile business communication is not just a trend but a necessity.
Invest in a comprehensive mobility strategy for your business phones today. Whether you choose a BYOD policy or provide company-issued devices, the key is to ensure seamless communication and robust security. Plus, enhance your organizational efficiency, keep your team connected, and offer the exceptional customer service that your customers expect.
Contact Deltapath, a unified communications (UC) company with over 20 years of experience improving productivity and cohesion through communication and collaboration. Start transforming your business communication now.
