Remote & Hybrid Working Research shows that, in 2024, 80% of senior risk professionals
believed that the burnout effect of the permacrisis would significantly impact business operations over the coming year. Meanwhile, only 41% thought their organisation could handle it. Tis resulted in the burnout effect of the permacrisis being listed as one of the top five risks to businesses in 2024. As one piece of a puzzle, UCaaS can help organisations to
partially address burnout by facilitating the connections people need to boost morale. UCaaS can bridge divides and maintain cohesion within teams, giving people easy ways to connect and collaborate. As those connections are encouraged, through a combination of effort and technology, morale is boosted, and any adverse effects are prevented. People who feel like they’re a part of an organisation that’s working together do better work. Te upliſting effects of human connection can be significant. So too are the effects of working remotely, oſten from home. Tis
has become the preferred work location for many as it gives them a calmer, more comfortable space that can help offset burnout. As we’ve seen, remote working wouldn’t be productive or viable without the right UCaaS setup in place.
What’s adding fuel to the fire Try as they might, legacy systems are not up to the job of addressing the operational disruptions caused by several crises, let alone dealing with the permacrisis. On-premises communications solutions were designed and built for a time when stability was the norm, not the exception. Tey are inflexible and slow to adapt during times of rapid change; they’re designed for people to work in specific locations, which heightens regional risks, and many lack sophisticated redundancy and failover. On top of this, legacy on-premises systems oſten separate
voice, messaging, video, productivity tools and file sharing into disconnected channels. In a crisis, swapping between systems or channels is time-consuming and increases the risk of information loss, all of which causes delays, confusion, and friction within an organisation. Te transition to hybrid and remote work over the last half-
decade is a prime example of a change caused by a crisis that legacy systems cannot keep up with, and one where communication gaps grow wider than ever. It is little surprise, therefore, that the second biggest driver for UCaaS adoption, according to Metrigy research, has been supporting remote work. Te pile-up of crises, the communications gaps and the
inflexibility of legacy systems are widely seen as affecting productivity and revenue, but their direct impact on people is less frequently highlighted. And yet, crisis fatigue affects people across the business, including IT, customer-facing and back-office teams.
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Never let a good crisis go to waste What started as a need to support remote work, however, has evolved, delivering a clear strategic advantage for those organisations willing to wholeheartedly embrace the flexible approach that the right communications tools allow. For example, the ability to quickly form teams or taskforces across different locations, without panic, is crucial for successfully responding to new crises, challenges and even shiſts in the market. You can pull in experts from their many locations, geographies and time zones, and quickly address issues that would otherwise take weeks to effectively respond to. However, the data that lies beneath the surface may be more
powerful, and what that can do when combined with machine learning and AI. Every customer interaction and internal communication can provide business intelligence that helps organisations be ready for the next challenge. When thoughtfully and thoroughly analysed, such data can reveal new insights and possibilities for responding to challenges that would have otherwise remained hidden. Organisations that are attentive to these signals can respond better in many ways. Tey have a better understanding of developing customer needs and changes to their behaviour. And they can identify early warning signs of potential disruptions and formulate plans to make small but meaningful changes before issues grow too large. Judging by recent events, we know we should be best prepared for
another crisis. Because of that, UCaaS isn’t merely a technological solution, fiddling at the edges of your organisation – it should be the foundation of your organisation’s resilience and readiness for the future. By enabling hybrid teams, bridging communication gaps, and countering burnout through human connection, UCaaS enables things that legacy systems simply can’t. It provides the flexibility to quickly respond to emerging challenges, and the data and analytics that provide useful foresight. As turbulent times continue, the organisations that thrive won’t be the biggest or have the deepest pockets, but those most responsive to change.
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