Smart Working Will Continue

Smart working arrived with a bang this year. The number of US employees working remotely shot up from 31% to 62% when lockdown began and in Europe, this figure was even larger.

Whilst opinion over the ‘future’ of the office is divided, one thing is for sure: employees that have had a taste of remote working might be reluctant to head back for a full 9-5:

• 53% of US workers now want to work remotely as much as possible
• 75% of US workers now want to work remotely at least some of the time
• 60% of US workers are confident they’ll remain productive if they work from home indefinitely.

In light of this, people management needs to be a core part of your 2021 plan. If your team is continuing to work from home, do you have a communications system in place that can support them? Or, if you’re recalling employees to the office, how are you going to manage their expectations?

Planning and communicating your approach in advance will ensure that your employees are equipped to take on the new year and for any changes that may come their way. The same is true for your clients, who will rely on smart working tools to remain productive in 2021.

Employee Absences Will Remain High

The world rejoiced when the first vaccines were approved in November. All of a sudden the end of the pandemic seemed insight. But that doesn’t mean it is going to be plain sailing from here on.

Employee absences are expected to remain high in 2021. Contracting the virus, coming into contact with a carrier, or having to self-isolate after a trip abroad will continue to affect our ability to get into the office and as a business owner, it’s important to prepare accordingly.

Consider how key responsibilities will be carried out if members of staff take extended leave. If only one colleague can complete certain tasks, can you train another team member to support them during an absence? For instance, if you only have one 3CX advanced certified engineer, you might consider having another colleague certified, so that your customers aren’t disrupted by an absence.

Prospects Budgets Could Change

In the communications sector, we’ve been shielded from the worst of the economic fallout caused by COVID. In fact, our services are in more demand than ever before. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for everyone and you could well discover that both existing and prospective client’s budgets change in the New Year.

This means two things. Firstly, you need to make sure your sales team is clearly able to communicate the value of a communications system and how it actually lowers costs in the long term. For 3CX, attending a sales webinar is the best way to understand our value proposition and learn how we stack up with the competition.

Secondly, you’ll need to adjust your marketing funnels. Your customer’s needs have changed in the past year and new prospects are entering the marketing to find affordable alternatives to their existing systems. Emphasize the cost-effectiveness of 3CX in your top of funnel activity to draw them in and they’ll grow with you in the years to come!

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