Business Phones in Your Home Office

It’s getting close to decision time. Do you keep your office space that’s been sitting empty for the last year? Do you embrace running an entirely remote business, or create a hybrid option? 

There are contradicting studies floating around advocating for each one. Yet, for employees, the choice is obvious. In a recent survey from Pew Research Center, more than half of respondents said they would continue working from home after the pandemic. 

Working from Home?

If you won’t be renewing your office lease, does your teleworking team have everything it needs to succeed? While each person’s at-home work environment is different, you can provide tools that help maintain consistency and improve efficiency. 

Let’s use your Lafayette business phone system as an example. How will the team answer incoming calls, transfer to other departments, access voicemail, etc.?

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

Asking employees to use their cell phones for work purposes typically surfaces as the easiest choice. You can offer a usage reimbursement plan and set up call-forwarding on your existing phone lines. However, this bring-your-own-device (BYOD) approach has significant drawbacks for you and your team. 

BYOD doesn’t offer any separation between work and personal life. Customers and prospects can access your employees around the clock. They will save the employee’s personal number that appears on their caller ID as your business number. When the team member leaves your company, they will have all of those contacts stored as well. What happens if they go to work for your competitor? They would never poach your customers, right?

Company-Owned Cell Phones

The major cell phone providers have made it easy to establish business accounts and manage individual employees’ devices. If you’re thinking about going this route, you’ll want to consider cost, device management, and outbound caller ID. 

Depending on your company’s size, this can become costly and cumbersome, especially if you have high employee turnover. It requires the staff person to carry two cell phones, but it does also allow them to turn the work phone off at the end of the day, improving work-life balance. 

You’ll face a similar caller ID challenge as the BYOD model. The outbound caller ID will display the number associated with the device, not your main business number. 

Internet-Based Business Phone Systems

Voice over IP (VoIP) phone systems are a more flexible option. They offer features and functionality, like auto-attendants and transfer, that allow you to connect externally with customers—and also internally across your team.  

If employees require corded desk phones, they can use the same phone at home and in the office. Or, they can install a softphone on their cell phone or computer. Either way, they can work at home just as if they were at your business office. WARNING: Both of these rely on the quality and speed of your home Internet. Unreliable Internet service equals call-quality issues regardless of your location.

With an internet-based phone system, your business number will always be the outbound caller ID. And, the system can change as your business does. Perhaps you decide a remote team isn’t working, and you ask everyone to come back to the office. A hosted VoIP system makes that transition easier.

Your VoIP Provider in Lafayette, IN

Your employees need the tools to succeed wherever they fire up their computers, and your business phone system doesn’t have to be a deterrent to working from home. 

The experts at UpLync Communications, a VoIP provider in Lafayette, Indiana, can help you compare different internet-based phone systems and make the selection that’s right for you. Save yourself time and headaches. Contact them for a free consultation.