Now we’re much more mobile and working patterns have a tendency to vary as we gain new tools to work more flexibly.
The problem is, once you step away from your desk, you are off the system. If your office phone rings, the call either eventually goes to voicemail or a well-meaning colleague answers on your behalf only to inform them you are in fact not there.
If you are a busy person, often out of the office at appointments or running errands, you have two options:
1) Rely on people hunting you down on your mobile number between appointments then catch up with the backlog later on. Productivity is likely to plummet and there will be little chance of leaving the office on time.
2) Enable calls to follow you on any of your devices. This means you can take calls anywhere you are connected to the Internet, ensuring work can continue without the downtime. Even when tied up, your calls can be set to automatically forward to available colleagues of your choice. Now if you need to work late, you can do so in the comfort of your own home.
The modern world of work is all about ensuring tools fit around the way you work. Isn’t it time your communications system caught up?
Originally published Oct 26, 2015, updated Aug 12, 2020
