For a lot of businesses, offering flexible working is no longer optional. It’s something the workforce is rapidly coming to expect as standard. According to research by Powwownow, three quarters of employees now favour flexible working in some form. While for 70% of people, it makes a job opportunity look more attractive. This is why mobile has become one of the most crucial elements in an organisation’s communications infrastructure.
It’s also becoming something that workers value over other job perks: 40% of those surveyed said they would take flexible working over a pay rise if given the choice. The message to employers is loud and clear – workforces want flexible working and are increasingly prepared to go for jobs that offer it over jobs that do not.
It makes good business sense, too. The geographical limitations of traditional working practices can restrict access to truly great talent. When looking for employees, why limit yourself to just the people who live within commuting distance of your office? Especially when implementing flexible working practices could give you access to potentially anyone in the country, or even the world.
But it’s not as simple as just giving everyone a mobile phone and calling it a day – the entire IT infrastructure of an organisation must be geared towards making mobility possible. For channel resellers, this is a huge opportunity to help customers revolutionise the way that they work, make them more attractive to employees, and ultimately help them become more efficient as businesses.
The foundations of a mobile infrastructure
The first thing you can offer your customers is an overarching telephony solution that spans both fixed and mobile devices. Ideally, there should be no distinction between the two, with a single number that automatically redirects to mobile if no one picks up the landline. Employees should be easily contactable wherever they are.
In the modern workplace, mobile working practices go beyond just voice. Employees must be able to seamlessly access all essential applications on any device. They should be able to do their timesheets on their journeys home, securely access the company CRM from their home laptop, or dial into a conference call from a hotel. Cloud services configured to operate on numerous devices will be a key offering to customers.
Perhaps even more importantly, customers want a robust data offering. Connectivity is the engine that drives mobility, as it lets employees access key cloud applications even if they don’t have WiFi. Mobile plans that offer large amounts of data will become hugely important for customers, especially in relation to workers who are constantly on the move or otherwise without access to good WiFi connections. If you haven’t already partnered with providers that can offer these solutions, it’s worth investigating your options sooner rather than later.
Enabling flexible working for your customers
Flexible working is now seen as an employee right. Which means that a mobile infrastructure which supports new ways of working is a necessity. Being able to offer robust mobility solutions to your customers will put you head and shoulders above the competition. Don’t let yourself – or the people you sell to – get left behind.
