Does your business phone system allow employees to work from home?

The new flexible working laws, which came into force on the 30th June 2014, allow workers (who’ve completed 6 months’ service) to request more freedom in their working arrangements.

There are many ways that employees can be flexible, including: job sharing, working from home, part time or compressed hours, flexitime, annualised hours and staggered hours. All of these arrangements allow employees to find the best solution for them to achieve a work/life balance.

However, some businesses may not be able to provide the option of working from home, the main issue often being what to do about their phone calls. Traditional systems generally require employees to all be in the same fixed location, such as an office. This causes problems for people who have requested that they work from home, as they will be unable to receive calls, meaning they can’t fulfil their role to a satisfactory level.

How can businesses allow employees to work from home and take calls?

For businesses wanting to become more flexible and not be restricted by location, there is a solution: a business VoIP phone system.

An internet phone service allows users to make and receive calls regardless of location, as the system is based online. This means that users can plug in their business VoIP phones at home and receive calls, just as they would in the office. Alternatively, users can also download ‘softphones’ to their computers, or as an application on their smart phone, in order to receive calls.

What will calls between employees cost?

Calls between users of the same system are free, so businesses don’t need to worry about increases in call costs. Business VoIP systems are also cheaper to implement, as there is no need for expensive hardware or maintenance fees.

What if your business already has a phone number with a different provider?

If your business already has a phone number that you don’t wish to lose, you can ask the ‘gaining’ provider to port the number across. The number will then become online-based, and calls can be routed easily to multiple destinations.

VoIP has really benefited employees who work across different locations. There are also many other benefits to adopting a hosted VoIP service over a traditional service. If you wish to find out more, check out our blog: hosted VoIP vs traditional phone system.

To find more information on the new flexible working laws visit the government website.