Wherever They Are COVID-19 Has Permanently Changed Our Workplaces and Enterprise Company’s Must Adapt their Telecommunications if They Want to Keep Up

How we work, where we work, and maintaining operations continue to evolve at breakneck speed in order to evolve with these unprecedented times that have resulted from the COVID-19 crisis. Many employees are still working from home, and a large portion of those employees want to keep it that way, having adapted to the benefits. Others are beginning to return to the office, although office life is potentially permanently altered, and then of course, there are the necessary steps, tools, and operations that must bridge the gap between headquarters and home.

While the coronavirus probably accelerated some of the inevitabilities of where the global workforce was headed, it also brought to light many of the telecommunications challenges enterprise-level companies were facing, and now must address out of necessity in order to keep employees connected and data secure. In this white paper, we explore three scenarios, some of the challenges involved with each, and telecom solutions that all enterprise-level companies should be considering as we look to a new horizon in the workplace.

The benefits of working from home and why many employees don’t want to return to the office

In a world of extreme uncertainty, one thing has become clear for many employers and employees alike: working from home is actually pretty great. Sure, it comes with some challenges, but for the most part, studies—and now a huge global experiment—show that working from home affords a multitude of benefits.

For employers, those benefits include happier employees, but also an expanded recruiting pool, allowing organizations to cast a wider net in search of ideal candidates. Additionally, working from home obviously significantly reduces company overhead.

At home, employees tend to be more creative, productive, and enjoy a greater sense of wellbeing. There’s also the plus of flexible hours, allowing your work force to maximize productivity when it is most convenient. Families with special needs also enjoy increased flexibility, and with less exposure to large groups of people, sick leave decreases. And of course, there’s the bonus of being able to squeeze in a workout during your lunch hour. However, it is worth noting that working from home does present challenges for enterprise-level entities. From an IT standpoint, security is an issue, and your IT department might be plagued with support headaches.

While employees are getting into the work-from-home groove, enterprise-level employers need to ensure telecommunications are as seamless and secure as possible. Bundling products and services, delivering directly to your employees’ homes, and offering a tech support extension of your organization to free up your IT talent are essential to success. It’s also worth considering streamlining your billing center to make sure that, even when your employees are located throughout the country, or even the world, your telecom invoicing, billing, and data management are all in one easily accessible location.

Bridging the gap between headquarters and the home office

As the country slowly begins to re-open, enterprise- level companies are needing to consider a transformed workforce and modified workplaces. While working from home might continue for many, it presents its own challenges. Additionally, many employees aren’t able to work from home, and must return to the office. The result is a complex telecom and networking challenge.

In No Jitter’s recent article, Adapting to the IT Challenges of Remote Work, author J.R. Simmons makes an important point. “Since the COVID-19 outbreak, we’ve seen hundreds of articles giving employees guidance on how to adapt to working from home, and every company with a cloud solution is touting its tools are the proper enablers. For the prototypical knowledge worker, this is fine. However, these wonderful work-from-home tools will do nothing for the myriad of jobs that are linked to on-site support.”

The article goes on to point out, “Some workers are difficult to send home because of the systems they’re using. People whose occupations are highly regulated or require tight security can’t always work remotely. Some government, healthcare, insurance, and educational organizations, for example, use proprietary legacy software systems. The software is rarely optimized for remote workers, and often, it isn’t properly patched. Not only does this create a security concern, but it can also make working remotely unproductive and a negative experience for the employee.

Even when workers can be productive remotely, they may have requirements that don’t align with working from home. That can include using special tools such as plotters or high-volume copier/scanners, having access to paper files or records, processing checks and invoices (not everyone has switched to fully electronic), and conducting on-site inspections. In many situations, a face-to-face meeting with a team just can’t be duplicated by using video cameras.”

Given that most models suggest the work-from-home experiment isn’t going anywhere anytime soon at the same time many employees who can’t do their jobs properly from a home office will need to go back to a larger support system.

Challenges

The challenge many companies will now face is providing solutions that address both the office employee and the work-from-home employee. It is important to consider both cross-over solutions as well as in-office telecom security, ease, and management, including:

• Custom online platforms to manage your entire wireless device ecosystem that can support both in-office and work-from-home employees
• Telecom expense management that can be accessed securely from anywhere
• Online product ordering solutions that offer built-in spend management functionality
• Free technical support for those working from home and in an office setting
• Shipping to both business and work-from-home employee addresses
• Device buyback programs that support both in-office and work-from-home home employees
• Device kitting options that free up employee time, company money, and reduce the need for employees to venture into crowded
  store settings
• Accessories from home

Looking to the future, and adjusting accordingly

As we begin to return to more of a routine, many organizations are faced with new challenges. Some companies are still operating with an entirely at-home workforce. Others are welcoming teams back, but with a new set of rules and safety standards. And then there are hybrid models, with some working from home while others work on-site. Staggered workdays. Half days in the office. Reminders to stay six feet apart at all times.

It is now very clear that one size does not fit all. Your organization is unique in how it operates within this new landscape. Providing your employees with the tools to get things done effectively—and often without being in the same building, or even the same state—is paramount to success. At Trinitas, we’ve been specializing in leading-edge telecom solutions for nearly two decades. We quickly recognized that each company’s needs and structure are different, and therefore deserve a customized approach. Now, that tenet is more paramount than ever before. We are equipped to address each enterprise-level company’s unique set of circumstances. We work with you to address the challenges that come with “going back to work” in the face of COVID-19. Each approach is customized, and all of our products and services aim to save time, money, and increase workplace data security and employee safety by reducing exposure to shipping and distribution channels.

Learn more about Trinitas Enterprise Anywhere services and how they can bring efficiencies and cost savings to your business.

Related Blog Posts