When the pandemic hit, it left a lot of business panicking. Plans that we had for the future were put on hold indefinitely as we struggled to quickly adapt to our new working conditions. On top of that, budgets were cut due to the revenue loss resulting from businesses having to close.
As well as adapting your company’s whole model, you might have had to rethink your communications strategy. It has been critical to advance our communications tools for the better during this time. As things around us have been changing daily, we have needed to communicate all the more often. Therefore, along with our communications practices, our mindsets have shifted, too.
The world post-pandemic will likely look very different to the one we left coming into this scenario. However, no-one’s guess can accurately say what we will see. In other words, we have to be prepared for all possible outcomes.
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What are communications?
The communications industry can be broadly defined as the conveyance of information. This sector can include public relations, social media, telecommunication and customer services, among many others.
People who work in communications would usually have to operate multiple different pieces of software and/or a physical office communications device. This can be very time-consuming and leave these people somewhat struggling to find the correct information. This is especially the case during the pandemic, when most workers are working from home while that “correct” information could change daily.
Unified communications
Unified communications is something that has been implemented in businesses to solve a lot of problems that have been caused by the pandemic. For example, products like Horizon Collaborate can allow employees to work remotely with almost no disruption to their normal schedule. This kind of product also combines multiple communications packages into one streamlined product.
Many people are terrified at the prospect of having to return to work once the pandemic is over or once restrictions have been eased. Therefore, many businesses will face the issue of how to get scared people to actually come back to work.
The first thing to do is to stop thinking of work as a physical place. With unified communications, your employees can work remotely or from the office with no differences. Horizon Collaborate, for example, uses cloud-based telephony to make it appear that your calls are being made and received in the location of your physical office. Through one product, you can access everything you need to work on the go, at home, at the office or even in your local coffee shop.
In a world post-pandemic, it is most likely that things will remain online for quite some time until our world heals from the disaster and anxieties it has faced. In order to hit the ground running when it comes to reopening your business, it is important for you to really embrace the idea of virtual working. Something like unified communications often needs little to no new physical infrastructure. You don’t even need an office! This is why unified communications will have been important during this pandemic – and will remain so long afterwards.
