There’s no doubt that the workplace and workforce are rapidly changing. The needs of a multi-generational, distributed workforce cannot be ignored. Equipping your workforce to be successful, considering their needs and preferences, truly matters. The employee experience is an ever-greater differentiator for high-performing organizations. Accenture has found that companies with great employee experience outperform the S&P 500 by a significant 122%.

Characteristics of the modern labor force:

  • 72% of GenZ want to communicate face-to-face at work (Source: Inc.com)
  • 89% of GenY/Millennials prefer to choose when and where they work (Source: Forbes)
  • 76% of GenX leaders are effective in “hyper collaboration” (Source: DDI, The Conference Board and EY).

We’re also witnessing a vast rise in fast-evolving teams comprised of full-time employees, contractors, partners and freelancers. Per well-known and respected workforce solutions provider ManpowerGroup Solutions, 45% of employers struggle to fill open jobs and highly credible Accenture says that 79% of executives agree the future of work will be based more on specific projects than roles. Subject-matter experts may join teams for a short time, as needed, before spinning off to yet another team.

Empower Your Workforce

Given these points and many others, it becomes ever more critical to empower your workforce with tools that are rich, engaging and provide consistent access to functionality no matter where users are located. At the same time, IT and other tech-support teams are looking for solutions that enable them to address user needs without increasing the workload on their already over-taxed resources. These requirements are all among the top reasons why organizations of all sizes and industries are adopting cloud communications services.

Frost & Sullivan research finds that 82% of businesses have moved part or all of their telephony solutions to the cloud. However, today’s business communications solutions include a much greater breadth of applications beyond call control to also encompass mobility, team messaging, IM/chat and presence, rich analytics and multi-media conferencing. In particular, video conferencing is proving its merits beyond the benefits of travel reduction.

Frost & Sullivan surveys of IT decision-makers find:

  • 68% say video conferencing accelerates decision-making
  • 83% say video conferencing improves productivity
  • 79% say video conferencing boosts innovation
  • 79% say video conferencing improves customer experience

Avoid the Dangers of a Distributed Workforce

Rising awareness of Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) is compelling many providers and solutions to enter the market. However, there are many differences across offerings and providers. Is a best-of-breed or a single-source solution right for your needs? Does your organization require the efficiencies and insights enabled by centralized management, administration, reporting and analytics across all locations and users? Yes, these capabilities matter. If such solutions are available then why not take advantage of the benefits?

Business decision-makers must perform due diligence to narrow their list of prospective solutions and providers without compromise. To learn more about narrowing your options and selecting the right UCaaS stack to avoid the dangers of a distributed workforce, check out Frost & Sullivan’s data-rich e-book, Building the Digital Workplace, or our in-depth webinar discussion with 8x8.