Managing Communications to Address Operating Challenges in 2023Managing Communications to Address Operating Challenges in 2023

As businesses face a weak economy in 2023, they will be constrained by limited financial resources, not just for managing a highly decentralized workforce, but in many cases, the cost of carrying a lot of empty office space. For businesses of all sizes, here are three challenges they’ll face in 2023, along with steps they can take to address them.

Challenge 1 – Keep costs under control

All businesses need to do this, but it’s even more difficult in the current climate. One area to consider would be your spend on communications technology. Until recently, telephony was likely your biggest expense for communications, often built around a capitalized investment in a phone system such as a PBX. In terms of keeping costs down, there are two factors to consider with cloud-based telephony as an alternative. 

First, VoIP-based telephony is software-based, and doesn’t require another capitalized investment. Aside from eliminating that spend, the service itself costs less than PSTN-based service. Secondly, these services are cloud-based, and this has emerged as a more cost-effective way to manage your spend on network infrastructure. Cloud-based communications is also the best way to support hybrid work, as it provides the same capabilities whether at home or in the office.

Challenge 2 – Stay competitive

There are many ways to be competitive, and this is another area where communications technology provides great value. One way is to maintain a culture of professionalism, where customers see a well-run organization that values its customers. This is where advanced features from a VoIP telephony system can help, such as showing the name of your business on caller ID, or having smart self-service options for easy navigation.

Internally, VoIP telephony plays another role by making it easier for employees to communicate and to address customer needs. The key difference from legacy telephony is how VoIP natively integrates with other communications channels and applications, such as email, chat, mobility, directory, calendars, etc. All of this can be managed in a singular interface, making your operations more streamlined. The net result is to be more agile, allowing you to be more responsive to customer needs, and that’s a great way to build a competitive edge.

Challenge 3 – Keep a strong team

Top management must also consider their most important asset – the team. In terms of communications, many businesses still operate on a siloed basis, with standalone applications such as the PBX, which runs on a dedicated voice network that doesn’t integrate with anything else. 

Today’s workers are more tech-savvy, where multichannel communication is the norm, and for them, that legacy model becomes a drag on productivity. Teamwork is difficult to do when everything is in separate silos, and employees need seamless communications to get things done and to keep customers happy. Technology is just one factor to make teams strong, but with today’s cloud-based offerings, it’s one that you can effectively address, both for keeping costs under control, and properly supporting your employees.

For more extensive analysis on the topic above, check out the full length article at this link, 2023 Outlook for the Business Market – Taking Care of Business.