When the office starts feeling more like a greenhouse and weather warnings are in force, working from home suddenly seems like a very good idea.
Summer can be a tricky time for small businesses. Some employees are working remotely to escape the heat, others are taking annual leave, and customers still expect to get through to you as usual. It can be difficult to keep everyone connected when your team isn’t sitting in the same place.
This is where an AI VoIP phone system can help. With the right setup, your business phone doesn’t have to stay behind when your team heads home.
Take your business calls with you
One of the useful things about VoIP is that you aren’t tied to a traditional desk phone.
Your team can make and receive business calls from a laptop or mobile, so working from home doesn’t mean being cut off from customers. Someone could be answering calls from their kitchen table in the morning and from the office the next day, while still using the same business phone system.
For small businesses, that flexibility is particularly handy during hot weather. If the office, salon or shop becomes uncomfortable, there’s no need to choose between keeping people productive and keeping the phones running.
Keep one business number
Remote working can quickly become confusing if everyone starts using their personal mobile number.
With VoIP, your business can keep one main number that customers already know. Calls can then be directed to the right person, wherever they’re working.
From a customer’s point of view, nothing has changed. They call your usual number and get through to your business. They don’t need to know whether the person answering is sitting in the office, at home or somewhere considerably cooler.
It also means your team doesn’t have to give out personal numbers just to stay reachable.
Weather warning = beach? Forward calls when people aren’t available
Summer holidays can leave small teams stretched. If two people are away and another is working from home, a call that would normally be answered straight away could easily be missed.
Call forwarding gives you another option.
You can arrange for calls to be sent to another member of the team or another device when someone isn’t available. That can be useful for planned holidays, unexpected absences or simply those days when everyone is working slightly different hours.
For a small business, avoiding missed calls matters. A missed call could be a new enquiry, a customer looking for an update or someone ready to make a purchase.
Let AI handle the routine stuff
AI can also take some of the pressure off your team.
Depending on the features included in your VoIP system, AI can help with tasks such as transcribing and summarising calls, making it easier to catch up on conversations when you’re working remotely. Call data can also help you see things such as missed calls and your busiest periods.
That doesn’t mean replacing your team with a robot. It’s about giving people a hand with some of the more repetitive parts of managing a busy phone line.
If someone is working remotely and already juggling several tasks, having the right AI tools in place can make their day a little easier.
A phone system that fits flexible working
Remote working isn’t just a response to hot weather. For many small businesses, it’s now part of everyday working life. Your phone system needs to work in the same way.
VoIP gives your team the freedom to answer business calls from different locations, while features such as call forwarding, mobile and desktop apps and AI-assisted call management help keep things moving.
So, if the next weather warning has your team reaching for the fan, the last thing you need to worry about is your business phone.
Try bOnline VoIP free for 7 days
Not sure whether VoIP is right for your business? Why not try it for yourself?
bOnline offers a free 7-day VoIP trial, so you can test out the features and see how they work for your team without committing. There are no payment details required and no obligation to continue after the trial.
Setup is done online in two minutes with no engineer visits.
Ready to make remote working a little easier?
Start your free 7-day bOnline VoIP trial and see how it works for your business.
