The COVID-19 pandemic forced companies to adapt to a remote work environment whether they were ready or not. Now, more than a year later, companies have successfully adapted to working from home and it appears the remote workforce — whether fully remote or a hybrid environment — will remain the new norm. With this transition comes the challenge of supporting the various workstyles of the remote worker.
This article takes a look at the four common types of remote workers and the tools and technology available to support them.
The Four Types of Remote Workers
The Night Owl
This remote worker is most productive in the evenings and after office hours. They get most of their best work done during a long stretch of uninterrupted time. The challenge for this worker is gaining access to the information they need while the rest of their coworkers are offline.
To get their work done, night owls require access. Tools such as Microsoft Teams can help the night owl communicate with co-workers during office hours, while Microsoft OneDrive and SharePoint can help them access the data and files they need at any time of the day or night.
The Commuter
The remote commuter works divides their time between remote and in-office work, spending some days in the office and other days working from home. This worker needs a seamless interface for communicating and collaborating with coworkers, no matter where they are working.
Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) offers the ideal work environment for the commuting employee. UCaaS solutions such as RingCentral offer a single interface for communications, presence management, plus voice and video conferencing. For the commuter, they are able to communicate and collaborate with coworkers from home as easily as the office. For the rest of the employees, the location of the commuting employee is completely transparent.
The Jet setter
This remote worker relies on any device with mobile access and security. This type of remote worker spends a lot of time on the road, in airports, or in the air. As a result, the jet setter requires tools that offer them security and accessibility, despite their location and device.
For this worker, a communications platform with a robust mobile interface is key. A UCaaS platform such as RingCentral offers a mobile app for a seamless experience no matter where the jet setter is located, while tools such as Google Docs allow workers to access documents anywhere at any time, from any device. Using their phone or tablet, jet setters can easily access documents, make edits in real time, and collaborate with coworkers by seeing the edits and comments made by others.
Similarly, Microsoft OneDrive allows jet setters to work on company files offline, while Microsoft Teams enables them to view conversation tags and notifications from their mobile devices.
The Migrator
Remote working eliminated geographic barriers and made instant collaboration and communication possible. The migrator is an employee who lives in a different country and is a vital part of the company.
The needs of the migrator are similar to that of the night owl, in that much of their working hours may be after hours for the home office. For this reason, they need tools that provide seamless access to data and documents, even when their coworkers are offline. They also benefit from presence management — knowing when a co-worker is online and available helps the migrator stay connected to their coworkers in other parts of the world. In fact, some of the best work happens when the migrator and the night owl are able to see each other’s availability online, and communicate and collaborate in real-time. UCaaS platforms are critical for this purpose.
Thankfully, companies such as Microsoft, Google, RingCentral and others have created tools and platforms that provide seamless communication and collaboration across the organization, whether employees are remote or in the office. But with so many options available, how do you know which solution is right for your organization? As a leading cloud communication and UCaaS consultant, we help our clients ensure remote workers have the same support tools that their in-office colleagues have, and we can help you determine which solution is right for you.
Instant InfoSystems can help your remote workers work from anywhere, any time, securely and productively, no matter what type of remote worker they are. Our broad portfolio of solutions, highly specialized expertise, and world-class support ensure that all your employees can focus on every aspect of your business despite their location. For more information, visit our website: https://instantinfosystems.com/solutions/ucaas/
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