Most companies have mobile employees, or team members on the go. We do, too. We have channel managers, sales installation technicians and marketers who work out in “the field.”
We’ve found it’s not easy keeping track of contacts and messages while staying available on the road. At least not without technology that connects us and helps us stay mobile.
Since our company is expanding rapidly, we’ve put our best minds to work on exploring how to keep our mobile workforce successful. Through this growth and learning process, we’ve learned a thing or two about how to navigate the lifestyle and have found there are several ways to both empower and protect the privacy our mobile workforce, and yours.
We’ve highlighted some of our winning strategies so you can also embrace the modern-day employee who is no longer solely found behind a desk.
Invest in a cloud-based business phone system
Cloud-based business phone systems are doing wonders for mobile workforce support. Here are two reasons why:
The mobile app — connects your business line to mobile phones.
This is a very common question from our customers: how do you connect your business line to your smart phone? With b-hive, it’s as easy as downloading an app.
What is the b-hive mobile app?
b-hive is an affordable cloud-based business phone system for small and medium businesses. The mobile app comes free with the platform and allows users to place and accept calls from their cell phones and appear as though they’re using their business lines
When downloaded, the b-hive mobile app automatically connects an employee’s smartphone to our business line, allowing mobility without sacrificing the customer experience. Using a professional business line, our mobile employees talk with clients using their business number and have the option to use traditional business phone features such as mute, hold, and call transfer.
Protects your business. While providing mobility is important, it also comes with potential security risks. For example, it’s very common for people out in the field to accidentally lose their devices. If a device such as a cell phone or laptop is lost or stolen, vital company data can be compromised.
But with the b-hive app, administrators can change passwords from the portal and cut off access to company information. The same is true if an employee accidentally downloads a malicious app and compromises company information. In this case, your company data on the app is safe because security updates happen automatically on a regular basis. And if data is still compromised, administrators can cut off access by changing the password and user login information to prevent further vulnerability.
3 things we do for a successful mobile engagement
Along with using a mobile app and keeping our business information safe, we incorporate a few best practices to enhance mobility at our company:
1. Customize ringtones with the mobile app.
It’s wonderful to have your business line connected to your cell phone, but it’s still important to separate personal from business. With the feature to customize ringtones in b-hive, our employees can easily tell the difference between a personal and work call or text message. Trust us, this small change makes a big difference in maintaining the work life balance.
2. Teams pick a primary way to communicate.
You’d think that with today’s technology and the ability to call, chat, text, video and virtual fax, that it would be easy to get a hold of someone. But the reality is that one person’s main mode of communication might not be the go-to for someone else, and sometimes it’s still difficult to get a hold of someone on the go.
To avoid this, there are a few things we do at Broadvoice that keeps everyone on the same page. First, our mobile employees let us know the best way to reach them. This means not only their main channel of communication but also the times they are available throughout the day. Knowing their schedules keeps them accountable and available. Next, teams pick a single way to stay connected (email, Communicator, phone, SMS. Etc.) and in contact throughout the day.
3. Schedule daily touch bases for non-immediate topics.
There are many times when employees or managers need an answer right away. Staying in contact all day long with chat and text doesn’t mean the job’s getting done.. Having a daily team meeting, can save hundreds of emails, move projects forward and keep everyone connected. Our daily team meetings are scheduled for 15 minutes but never last more than 30 minutes.
Technology that embraces mobility in the workplace
It’s a wonderful age in history when people can work without being tied to a desk. Supporting a mobile workforce means giving your members the technology they need to be productive and your business safe while working on the go.
If you employ mobile employees today or plan to in the future, we’d be happy to send you more information about Broadvoice b-hive. Reach out to your Broadvoice representative or call us at 1-866-707-3902.
