Once viewed as a privilege that only freelancers and entrepreneurs could get to experience, working from home is becoming more and more common for employees in many different industries, from customer service to IT. And it’s not the fairy tale workday everyone was envisioning it to be just a couple of months ago. Working from home is still work and tasks need to get done before a deadline. Plus, besides the usual challenges, employees need to handle a more distracting environment packed with countless entertainment options, family members and household chores.

However, working from home does not have to be a disconcerting experience, and, with the right strategy and guidance, anyone can adjust and thrive.

Fake it till you make it

Working from home offers you more freedom in terms of managing your schedule, but this can turn out to be either a blessing or a curse, depending on how you choose to play your cards. It’s all too easy to slip into a bad routine that severely impacts your performance. So, the best strategy, especially for a beginner, is to fake it till you make it.

1. Setup your home office or desk

This means creating a daily routine that emulates your regular workday habits. Start by making your home office as distraction-free as possible. Just include the gadgets and everyday items you would keep on your desk at your company’s HQ. To avoid distracting yourself during the day with frequent trips to the kitchen, keep water, coffee and healthy snacks nearby.

2. The small things matter

Create morning rituals and routines to help you shift into work mode. Simple things like wearing work clothes and taking the time to write down your main tasks on a piece of paper can really help you stay focused and productive.

3. Be on time every day

Start working at a regular time every day and don’t be late. Having strict working hours will help you prioritize what you want to get done and separate work time from leisure time, which can be one of the most challenging aspects of working from home. However, working from home does give you a chance to customize your schedule so that you can do your most meaningful work when you are at your most productive. So, do take into account the time of day when you are at the peak of your intellectual abilities and make the most of these precious hours.

Master your time and increase your productivity

Once you’ve created some healthy work from home habits, you can focus on increasing your productivity. When you work from home, you save precious time by not commuting every single day and you don’t want to waste it. Here are a couple of tips for managing your time like every second matters.

1. Curb your Social Media exposure

Endless browsing through Social Media feeds can take up precious hours without much of an ROI, so, start by limiting your access to these platforms while you work. You can set up app limits, remove shortcuts, log out, or simply create separate browser windows for your work research and your leisure time. Better yet, use different browsers.

2. Push yourself to stay focused

Learn to be your own boss. In other words, prioritize your tasks and learn how to incentivize yourself in order to tackle the important tasks that you don’t find particularly enjoyable. You can offer yourself a small reward, like a ten-minute walk outside the house, if you make progress on a difficult project. A good way to motivate yourself to get started is to set a timer and commit to focusing on the given task for 25 minutes. Afterwards, you’re free to take a break and decide whether you want to continue. If you need an extra push, try using a Pomodoro inspired app like Forest, and plant a virtual tree every time you reach your goal.

3. Find the right PM tool

Managing your own tasks is one thing, but managing an entire team is a different type of challenge. Look into project management apps to stay on top of what everyone is working on. Depending on your workflow and field, you might want to stick to some basic planning and in-app collaboration with Trello, or opt for Asana, if you need to monitor budgets and resources for multiple projects. Email integration is also an important feature to look for in a PM tool. Basecamp, Asana, Jira, Liquid Planner, Podio or Wrike can notify users via email, and there are plenty more options available, just take your time and compare features and costs before deciding. 

Stay connected with your work and your team

Having a good routine and a clear set of priorities are essential strategies for staying focused when you are just beginning to work from home but make sure that you are still engaged with your work and not just going through the motions. Work is not all about completing tasks, it’s also about collaborating with your coworkers in order to get the best results. If the entire company is working remotely, there are a few strategies you can implement as a team in order to improve communication.

1. Weekly meetings

Participating in weekly scheduled meetings ensures that everyone is up to date with the progress you all are making towards your common goals. This provides accountability and helps the entire team focus on the big picture, instead of everyone concentrating solely on their individual tasks. Brainstorming new solutions or just jumping in to help someone who is struggling with a particular project can help strengthen the team and keep employees engaged with their work.

2. One-on-one conversations

Encourage one-on-one collaboration and teamwork. One of the advantages of sharing an office with coworkers is the fact that it is easier to ask for help when you need it and just get things done. When working remotely, asking for help does take some practice. It can be difficult to call someone on their personal number for a variety of reasons: either you do not want to bother them while they are at home, or you simply don’t have their number.

3. Use technology for a unified communication flow

This brings us to our third recommendation: choose the right technology to enable your team to stay connected. There are lots of options for companies looking to keep communication as smooth and as unified as possible, while everyone is working from home. If you are part of your company’s management team, choosing the right unified communication solution can seem daunting at first, so pay attention to what your business needs truly are: group video calls, one-on-one meetings, voicemail, centralized contact records? What security requirements does your company have? Do you need your communication platform to be available just for desktop use, or do the company’s employees need more mobility? These are just a few aspects to consider when looking at the different options available.

Jitsi

Jitsi is a completely free, open-source, video conferencing platform that can meet basic corporate needs. Plus, its code is available, so, with the needed know-how, any company can create a custom solution. One thing that makes Jitsi great is the fact that users don’t need to create accounts in order to use Jitsi Meet and any information provided is not retained by Jitsi after the meeting. People just need the password and the name of the meeting in order to join. However, this also means that your team will be using some sort of external messaging system. Jitsi is a safe tool due to the ephemeral nature of meetings created using it, but there are some security issues you should look into before deciding to use it for professional purposes. For instance, Jitsi offers end-to-end encryption only for one-on-one meetings, where a pear to pear protocol can be employed, while for larger, multiparty meetings, encryption is limited, and information is decoded when going through the Jitsi Video bridge. Learn more about Jitsi technology and features here.

Sangoma

If your company does not have the expertise, nor the time to start crafting a customized solution based on Jitsi, you can choose a one-stop-shop supplier of unified communication services like Sangoma. The company provides everything from on-site business communications systems to cloud-based services and video conferencing tools. Sangoma Meet enables teams of up to 50 people to share their ideas through high-definition video, audio, and chat. It offers support for any device that has access to a cellular or WiFi network and allows users to schedule meetings in their calendar using Office 365 or Google Calendar. Like with Jitsi, in order to enter a meeting users need the name and the password. You can start your free video conference with a single click on meet.sangoma.com.

Zulu

Zulu UC is both a collaboration and a productivity tool that provides desktop and mobile integration for businesses that already use PBXact and FreePBX phone systems. It unifies, through a single application, the most popular communication features employees need in order to thrive while working remotely. Using Zulu UC, you can make and receive phone calls directly from your computer, communicate through one to one messaging and group chat, share information with coworkers via file transfers and screen sharing. You can click to call any number in your browser and you can even use your work extension to make calls using your smartphone if you install the Zulu app. This technology also enables people to access a corporate integrated contacts record, set their own availability for chatting with coworkers and visualize voice messages for more effective communication. The application can be installed locally, or it can be accessed via a web browser. Request a quote from us and start using Zulu UC for your daily business communication.

Working from home does not have to negatively impact employee performance and productivity. With a healthy amount of self-discipline, the right tools for project management and communication, it’s really no different than working in a shared office space with coworkers.

In today’s hyper-connected world, Unified Communications systems are fast becoming an important part of the business strategy of both medium-sized companies and large corporations. So, in this article, we will explore the advantages of using a UC system for your business.

A platform to rule them all

But first, let’s make sure we are all familiar with what the phrase Unified Communications actually means. The term refers to a platform that integrates a number of communication technologies, from phone systems to video conferencing and desktop sharing.

The obvious advantage of using a UC system is that employees don’t need to log in and out of different apps to send messages, emails or voicemail, wasting precious time. A Unified Communications solution is usually customized to suit specific business needs and to include all the communication services users require. It generally offers support for a significant number of features like: Voice, Unified Messaging, Desktop Sharing, Presence, Voicemail, Chat, Fax, Conferencing, Video Conferencing and Interactive voice response. Moreover, it can integrate with some of your business’s essential platforms such as email, web applications, CRM systems, customer support software and everything in between.

Making an impact

The goal of any Unified Communications system is to encourage business growth by promoting better internal and external communication, and by ensuring quick access to resources available through other integrated applications. And the best thing about this type of system is that it can be optimized to make each interaction more comfortable, leading to more collaboration and a more productive work environment. For instance, when an employee wants to contact a coworker, he or she can initiate a call or start chatting with a single click in the browser window. Effectiveness can be further amplified through integration with other systems. In fact, a great way to keep a record of calls, even when you don’t want them forwarded, is to instruct the system to send a notification email.

Unified Communications can also help employees communicate more effectively with customers, sales prospects or business partners

However, the business world is a competitive place where results matter as much as the resources allocated for achieving them. In fact, a recent study by CompTIA concluded that 61% of companies prioritize cost reduction in their communications systems, while also wanting to improve consumer engagement and employee productivity. So, it’s reassuring to know that a Unified Communications system actually helps companies reduce costs. Businesses can implement a UC solution at a fraction of the cost of a traditional phone system and this type of system is also easier to manage for IT Teams, freeing up time for more important tasks.

Why choose Unified Communications?

UC systems are essential tools for companies who want to harness the full potential of their employees. Let’s look more closely at how improved communication can actually help support business growth. There are countless benefits, but we will only pinpoint the most important five.

1. Improved productivity

When employees are able to communicate using a single all-encompassing tool, the time that would have been wasted going from the video conferencing app to the email app will be used for more important work. Integration of different systems and business apps frees up even more time, and by automating certain processes within the system, everyone can communicate and operate effectively, leading to more productive workdays.

2. Lower Administrative Costs

As remote work becomes more and more common, providing the right support for remote employees and collaborators becomes crucial. According to a study by Bentley University (The Millennial Mind Goes to Work), 39% of millennials say that the ability to work remotely would help increase their productivity. So, implementing an UC system can have an even greater impact in the near future, by encouraging mobility and granting remote workers access to the same communication features and system resources as their in-house colleagues.

Moreover, a UC system enables employees to stay connected to clients from any location, even when travelling for business. Firms can choose to allow employees to use their own mobile devices for accessing their work communication system so that companies are no longer required to purchase devices for the entire workforce, and workers are not compelled to carry around and monitor more than one device.

3. Reduced Operational Costs

UC systems are based on VoIP technology. This technology merges voice, video, and data into a single connection, using up fewer resources than an analog or digital connection. With a Unified Communications system, you can forget about certain expenses, such as long-distance fees. Plus, your company does not need to contract the services of a technician every time a modification needs to be implemented in the system, thanks to the permissions granted to system admins.

In fact, system administrators benefit immensely from the upgrade to UC solutions. Unified Communication systems offer features that enable admins to work more effectively. Even when working with a tight budget, administrators don’t have to worry about making the transition to UC, because most systems support interconnectivity with older equipment, so, hardware can be updated as the needed budget becomes available. Moreover, UC systems can be configured using APIs, which makes it easier to integrate with a variety of business tools. Consequently, the switch would definitely be beneficial for administrators looking for more flexibility.

4. Enhance Collaboration

Employees are much more likely to interact with their coworkers and ask for their support or opinion when they have all the contact information they need in one place. It’s easier to start a conversation when you can send them an Instant Message directly from the UC interface or click to call. Plus, you know that person is available thanks to the status availability feature. The UC system also enables collaboration on shared resources. For instance, when the Unified Communications system integrates a CRM system, different employees can update the same contact records as needed.

5. Secure your Communications

Like any other Internet-based technology, VoIP can be vulnerable to threats from other networks. That said, Unified Communications systems are well-equipped for keeping them in check. They usually include build-in security features or provide session border controllers.

The future of business communication is here

Unified Communications systems offer more features and more flexibility than traditional phone systems. They integrate into a single, intuitive, platform all the needed communication channels that employees might need in order to collaborate more effectively, and even include powerful integrations that help automate tasks, so everyone can be more productive. With features that enable remote workers to be at their best and make everyone feel like part of the team, Unified Communications systems are more than a tech trend, they’re a glimpse into the future of business communication. So, take your first step towards a more connected future.