With an increase in traffic and commute times across the United States, as well as the desire by many people to work from their own home offices, business technology is trending toward allowing those who work remotely to do their job more efficiently.
When people start working remotely, they face many challenges, from finding a quiet space for meetings to integrating the software programs they used in the office into their personal computers. Here are some ways that working from home has helped business technologies to change and grow.
Fosters Better Phone Communication
Another way to ensure good communication is to provide a secure and fast way for coworkers to talk with each other over the phone, regardless of how far one party might live from a cell tower or whether or not they have a landline phone. This is where voice-over-internet protocol comes into play. Since many people do not answer unknown phone numbers due to spam calls, you might be wondering how to know if a phone number is VoIP. Fortunately, there are many ways to tell if the strange number calling you might just be your colleague using VoIP. If you still have concerns, ask your coworkers and managers for their phone numbers directly and put them in an address book on your device.
Increases the Importance of Video Software
When an employee works remotely, they can no longer walk down the hallway to have a chat with their manager or ask their colleague a quick question in the lunch room. Due to this, it is even more important that employees be able to quickly and reliably communicate with one another over a virtual platform. One way to do this is by implementing software for coworkers to chat with each other via video conferencing. Some people believe that technology has come so far that virtual meetings are just as effective as face-to-face meetings and could be well on their way to replacing them entirely.
Changes How People Use Documents
Using a collaborative software program to edit documents is often more efficient than emailing changes back and forth, and can be very useful for those who work remotely. Often, these programs show who else is editing the document at the same time, so that users can reach out to them via video or phone chat if they have any questions.
If you work remotely, consider the ways that new technology trends enable you to work more efficiently from home.