How Business Communications is changed by DIGITALIZATION

in #blog7 years ago (edited)

Buzz or more?

We hear it again and again. Buzzword like NewWork, smarter working or the never-ending Buzz around Digitalization of the work and the workplace.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS IS CHANGED BY DIGITALIZATION 3- Text by detlev artelt.png
(C) by pixabay and modified by @detlev


The actual working trend have spawned tools and concepts like Unified Communications & Collaboration (UCC) and they enable the new ways of working and communicating with each other, our co-workers and our customers.

@detlev from the aixvox consulting team out of Germany explains the benefits of UCC and what to look out for.


Durchstarten-am-Arbeitsplatz-768x511.jpg

The latest developments in information and communication technologies have made it possible for organizations to provide their work force with new ways of working together. The Digitalization and concepts like smarter working spawned several tools and concepts like Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC), which can optimize the way we work and communicate with each other, with our co-workers and customers. Employees can decide for themselves where and when they want to work. Ideally, companies should focus on the results employees produce, not the time they spend working. UCC will increase efficiency in internal business communications as well as customer support in any sector.


New concepts: Unified Communications…

In its broadest sense, Unified Communications (UC) is the idea of integrating communication processes in order to optimize business processes and increase user productivity. In practice, this can take many forms: users can simply adjust their habits, communication can be integrated into off-the-shelf tools like Outlook or Salesforce, or various communication channels can be integrated into one global UC solution.

unified communications.jpg
(C) by pixabay

The goal of Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC), which also includes collaboration tools, is to combine real-time and near-real-time communication and interactive systems. Most UCC solutions give users access to a variety of communication applications like email, chat, SMS, video, voice and desktop sharing on a single user interface. UCC also provides access for multiple devices, so users can access the service via tablet, mobile phone and desktop computer.

…and smarter working

At its core, smarter working is a new approach that puts people first by recognizing, accommodating, and nurturing their different work styles – no matter where or when they work.


works smarter not harder.jpg
(C) by Project Better Self

The other big topic everybody is talking about, alongside UC, is smarter working. But what exactly is smarter working? Can we call it smarter working when someone is working part-time from home? Or is it smart to write emails while sitting in a park? At its core, smarter working is a new approach that puts people first by recognizing, accommodating, and nurturing their different work styles – no matter where or when they work. Working closely with a team to finish a project requires a different environment than compiling an offer, making sales calls, or designing a website. The key is to design workspaces and models that suit these work styles. This can improve performance, boost creativity, and allow technologies like UCC to be adapted seamlessly to people’s needs. And finally, it means establishing a culture that fosters trust, loyalty, collaboration, and of course productivity. Organizations who adopt this approach can unlock their employees’ full potential while also improving business processes.


How to optimize business communications with UCC

In order to maintain their position in the market, companies have no other choice but to adopt new concepts and new technologies.

Implementing a smarter working approach is a big step which many companies are afraid to take. Oftentimes, the corporate culture is dominated by the old belief that you should “never change a running system”. However, digitalization will continue to change the business world dramatically. In order to maintain their position in the market, companies have no other choice but to adopt new concepts and new technologies. This should be enough of an incentive for managers to consider overcoming their old way of thinking.

smarter working.jpg
(C) by pixabay

As communication processes run like a connecting thread through almost every sector, many companies first start by optimizing communication processes. From there, they can take small further steps to make the entire organization more efficient. Most of them implement UC or UCC tools in their communication in order to optimize processes and to give more flexibility to their employees.

With UCC, employees simply have more options. Along with telephone and email, most UCC solutions offer instant messaging, chat and desktop sharing as well as conference and video functions. The presence function instantly shows everyone whether the person they want to talk to is available, on the phone, or does not want to be interrupted right now. Not only does this allow users to choose whether they want to be contacted via phone, chat, or email at any given moment: It enables them to structure their work in an entirely new way. As most UCC solutions are available on mobile devices, UCC, and the presence function especially, is an important first step on the road to smarter working.

For teams who work from various locations, UCC offers several functions, such as video and desktop sharing or virtual whiteboards, which help team members accomplish their project goals. This can increase productivity, minimize travel expenses, and allow teams to work together flexibly, even when continents apart.


UCC for contact centers

Internal communication processes are not the only area where companies can benefit from UCC. Using it in order to optimize a company’s support and customer journey can be highly profitable as well. Organizations are starting to realize that customer satisfaction is the best way to elevate their reputation and find new customers. In fact, personalized service provides the chance to improve profits. Advanced contact center software, such as UCC, allows organizations to fully utilize resources, boost response times, route calls efficiently, and easily access account information, improving customer loyalty.


headphones-1935971_1280.png
(C) by pixabay

Unified Communications and Collaboration solutions are instrumental in order to elevate the modern contact center to become a strategic asset ready to provide the best service possible. Functions and processes to look out for include:

  • Intelligent Multichannel Routing ─ UCC multichannel contact routing between voice, chat, email, SMS, and social media provides customers with lots of options so they can contact businesses the way they want to.

  • Unified Agent Workstation ─ UCC can offer contact center representatives an integrated agent desktop that provides a single view of customer profiles and details of interactions.

  • Monitoring and Reporting ─ Contact center performance can be managed across all channels using a real-time dashboard as well as historical reporting.

  • Integration with CRM ─ If agents are able to get customer information immediately via screen pop when a call comes in, customers can be served more quickly and effectively.

  • Self-Service Applications ─ In conjunction with CRM, a caller can be routed to a specific department or person, who then has the customer’s information on his or her screen immediately and can provide the support needed.


Communicating in a digital world

Many companies have hardly changed the way they communicate since the introduction of emails. At the same time, a variety of new technologies and channels of communication have entered the everyday lives of millions of people. In order to maintain customer satisfaction, employees in customer support need to be flexible.

Today, UCC solutions and the concept of smarter working give them the opportunity to do just that. It does not matter whether a customer seeks support via email, social media, or chat. Companies can provide optimal services if all the information is available in one place.

Employees can work more efficiently and be more creative if they are allowed to perform different tasks in different environments. And the right communication tools make teamwork a lot easier. With these new solutions already available, companies who want to benefit from digitalization need to reconsider the way they communicate and work together – even if this requires a new way of thinking.


The Author & Speaker

Autor spricht in Berlin.PNG

Detlev Artelt is CEO of aixvox GmbH, a manufacturer-independent consulting company in Aachen. He heads the competence group Unified Communications at the eco e.V. and competence group Business Communications at EuroCloud and is speaker and presenter at many international congresses and fairs.

He is the publisher, key note speaker and author of the "voice compass" book series, the German book about NewWork "Einfach Anders Arbeiten" the standard book for business communication and smart working.


I wrote this article in October 2017 for the dotmagazine and did this sligtly modified version exclusiv for Steemit. Hope you enjoy this information and please engage in any way.


 " "detlev steemit klein.gif""

Detlev love steemit

More from @Detlev
Get / shop my book by steem


Enjoy & Engage Follow & Resteem


Sort:  

When you know what it means in English to "berate" someone, the post of "Senior Berater" has amusing connotations.

heehee, didn't know that, but in real life this is not so far away from what a senior consultant is doing for many clients - and getting paid for. ;-)

I totally agree with one statement you made "work smarter not harder". Nice article

Thanks for this.

We see that many companies have their issues with this. As this means change!

The integration of chat in my entity has truly changed the way we communicate with each other intraoffice wise. Great post.

Did you use only chat or maybe a solution where chat is the start and where you go from chat to other channels like video, desktop sharing or voice calls in one UCC solution?

yeh i agree with your point of view

That is great to hear @everything-4you. Do you use all the new channels already for your work?

Great post. I have seen a lot of changes in the way we communicate. Emails at times are actually ancient technology. You have to wait for someone to read and respond.

Yes, we move the communication more and more into real-time BUT does people accept this and really use it?

Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by Detlev from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows. Please find us at the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.

If you would like to delegate to the Minnow Support Project you can do so by clicking on the following links: 50SP, 100SP, 250SP, 500SP, 1000SP, 5000SP.
Be sure to leave at least 50SP undelegated on your account.

This post was upvoted and resteemed by @resteemr!
Thank you for using @resteemr.


@resteemr is a low price resteem service.
Check what @resteemr can do for you. Introduction of resteemr.

Congratulations ! Your post was shared in the facebook page Best Resteemed Steemit Posts , thanks for the amazing quality post you provide. Keep doing it, it's really professional. ☺

This gem of a post was discovered by the OCD Team!

Reply to this comment if you accept, and are willing to let us share your gem of a post! By accepting this, you have a chance to receive extra rewards and one of your photos in this article may be used in our compilation post!

You can follow @ocd – learn more about the project and see other Gems! We strive for transparency.

If you would like to be resteemed by @ocd and reach a bigger audience, use the tag ocd-resteem. Three posts using this tag will be chosen each day by our curators to be RS. Good Luck!

@Ocd now has a witness, please vote for @ocd-witness to help support other undervalued authors!

Hi @jeanpi1908 - I accept this and I love the @ocd support for quality.

Congratulations! This post has been chosen as one of the daily Whistle Stops for The STEEM Engine!

You can see your post's place along the track here: The Daily Whistle Stops, Issue #`25 (1/23/18)

The STEEM Engine is an initiative dedicated to promoting meaningful engagement across Steemit. Find out more about us and join us today!