According to statistics from Emergence, somewhere close to 80% of the global workforce are “deskless”, ie, mobile workers or employees who are not permanently at their desk. The challenge lies in being able to communicate with them even while they are not at the desk, particularly when a potential communications failure might have disastrous consequences, for example, in the healthcare sector, such communication might be the difference between life and death. The inability to communicate could also negatively affect revenue, efficiency, profitability and more.
A growing number of organisations are investing more in deskless worker technology, for the purposes of improving productivity as well as employee experience, increasing cost savings and improving the customer experience, explains Quentin Daffarn, CEO and MD at UC Wireless.
“What is needed is a communications platform that can use the organisation’s WiFi network to roam reliably, but which can also integrate and operate directly with Microsoft Teams, which has become one of the de facto collaboration platforms, which now, through this technology, becomes accessible for remote workers. We recommend a solution that has a big screen and utilises the Android platform to run applications – Teams now has an app for Android – but which still has an affordable price point,” he says.
“At present, digital enhanced cordless telecoms (DECT) phones are widely used in industries where a rugged handset is required, but these require a dedicated network and come with the added pressure of maintaining the integration with other platforms, like Teams. This, again, is why we recommend a device that has Teams integration built into it.”
The right device must be rugged, reliable and suitable for mobile communications across businesses of all sizes. In this way, you can provide a solution that empowers mobile workers to deliver a seamless customer experience, while offering them a device that is as simple to use as their cellphone, notes Daffarn.
“It is vital to choose the right device to suit the environment in which it is being used. So, for example, if used in a factory, it must be hardened and dust-proof; in healthcare, it should be robust enough to be regularly cleaned and sanitised; and in retail, it needs to be durable.
“Regardless of whether your business lies in manufacturing, mining, healthcare, construction, hospitality, education or any number of other industries, your staff and personnel can only be efficient 100% of the time if they are always contactable. With access to a rugged device that also enables MS Teams for calls or meetings, both productivity and efficiency should improve significantly.”
He adds that choosing the right mobility solution will also ensure access to safety features that will give employees the confidence to work anywhere, anytime. This includes added security for lone workers and the ability to alert the relevant people if a lone worker may have been injured.
“There can be little doubt that the modern enterprise has a need for communications devices that are fit for purpose – both in terms of ruggedness and reliability and in their ability to collaborate through platforms such as Teams.
“In the end, the ruggedness of the device is key: the tougher these are, the less the likelihood of having to constantly replace damaged devices, which plays an important role in the device’s total cost of ownership. This factor, in combination with having access to a tool like MS Teams, means workers are able to remain connected to the organisation at all times, no matter how much they are on the move and away from their desk, and no matter if a business needs dedicated DECT or WiFi for the communication; the latest mobility handset devices released by Spectralink cater for almost any requirement, especially the need for direct Microsoft Teams integration without the need for session border controllers or other interoperability solutions that don’t work as well as fully featured direct Microsoft Teams integrations,” Daffarn concludes.
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