Work/life balance is becoming an increasingly pivotal issue for global businesses. The global remote working revolution was accelerated, while many businesses have now returned to the office part or full-time, and many of the working habits from the pandemic have remained. This includes a renewed focus on mental health and the balance between work and life. It’s crucial that the modern business can address these employee needs.
In addition, the US and other markets are still experiencing ‘The Great Resignation’. 47 million US workers quit their jobs in 2021 alone. To support staff retention and wellbeing, businesses need to be able to meet their work/life balance demands. This need is only set to increase in the future too, with trends such as co-parenting meaning that staff will seek even more flexibility.
The benefits of supporting a positive work/life balance
Businesses need to adapt to these changing work habits, rather than fighting against them. There are demonstrable benefits to implementing a hybrid or remote working policy in your business. The first and most immediately noticeable will be improved staff morale and productivity. A new study found that staff that have the opportunity to work remotely at least monthly are 24% more likely to feel happy and productive in their roles.
Cutting out the commute to work is a huge part of where this productivity boost comes from. The average American commutes 16 miles each way to the office, while 61% of Europeans spend over 60 minutes per day commuting. Being able to spend this time productively can benefit any worker. We have even seen teams adapt sales roles that traditionally featured long travel times, converted to a remote model centered around video calls.
Being able to offer a flexible working plan provides your business with a far wider talent pool when recruiting. Many of the best candidates for your vacancies may need a role that offers them more flexibility, and being able to offer remote working allows you to fulfil this. You can also hire from a far greater geographic range, ensuring you find the right person for the role.
Finally, employee retention has also been shown to increase dramatically when more flexible arrangements are supported. One study has shown that talent is 10% more likely to stay with a business who supports their work/life balance.
How iPECS Cloud supports remote working
At Ericsson-LG Enterprise, we recognise that remote and hybrid working are redefining the business world. We have worked alongside our range of global partners to ensure that our iPECS portfolio of services can continue to meet the standards of businesses everywhere. Due to this work, our iPECS Cloud UCaaS solution is now the perfect platform to support flexible businesses anywhere.
iPECS Cloud has been supporting business for years. However, we greatly accelerated its rollout to businesses around the world in 2020 and 2021 to support their switch to remote working.
The flexibility of iPECS Cloud is powered by its namesake, the cloud. Hosting iPECS Cloud systems in a secure, remote data center means that you need to host far less equipment in the office. An endpoint and a reliable internet connection are all that is required in most cases. This means that businesses can easily implement hot-desking practices for added flexibility, or simply take their device home. The uptake and feedback around this service has been incredibly positive. This led to the development of iPECS ONE in 2021.
iPECS ONE – the next step
iPECS ONE is designed around the needs of the modern business, that is to promote productivity, work/life balance and great customer experience.
iPECS ONE is a unified communication application that can be added on to an existing iPECS Cloud platform. It is hosted on a web browser, meaning it is completely portable and accessible from any location. The benefit that will be immediately noticeable for businesses is just how many features they can access remotely. This includes video, voice and instant messaging services, with one user or a group. This allows all users to communicate with the same high level of quality.
One of the concerns that businesses have with implementing a remote policy is that customer experience might suffer. With fewer resources from the office, your service can become less personalized to each customer. iPECS ONE prevents standards from slipping by integrating with a business’s CRM. This ensures that teams will always be able to access the contact details and customer data they need to provide a great service.
Finally, iPECS ONE supports the balance between work and free time. When staff are away, iPECS ONE’s presence system displays this to the rest of their colleagues through a status icon. This means there is no confusion, productivity is maintained and colleagues that are away can enjoy themselves.
iPECS ONE is the perfect hybrid working tool. To find out more about iPECS ONE, speak to your nearest Ericsson-LG Enterprise Global Partner.
