Today’s millennial workers communicate differently, preferring instant communication tools. This is resulting in a complete change to how work gets done.
The millennials are soon to be biggest generation represented in the global workforce, so what they want will become increasingly important in running a business. Millennials are the business leaders of the future, and their way of working is going to become the de-facto way of working. Collaboration is the future.
Millennials don’t want to wait for answers, they want instant communication. The question is, should organisations adapt to better engage with these individuals? The answer must be yes, and businesses need to ask themselves whether instant, more collaborative technologies might not be more effective.
However, the day to day technologies currently being used to enable this style of working do not always translate well into the business environment. The casual and instant format of messaging solutions may suit the millennials’ objectives, but they might not be suitable for all types of business interactions.
Unified communication (UC), which is the integration of voice, video and data into a single solution, allows users to communicate with anyone, wherever they are, and in real time. Features such as IM, video conferencing and presence are enabling users to use their time better, and focus on areas that will make positive changes to the business, such as innovation.
In today’s mobile workforce, UC has been a game changer. The rise of the remote worker, and the number of businesses that have staff on the road, means that workers must be able to answer calls from a variety of devices and from anywhere they are. UC facilitates far greater mobility, particularly in light of the bring your own device (BYOD) phenomenon.
Boosting collaboration is a further way that UC can increase productivity by allowing staff to interact more easily with each other, third-party partners and customers, and across a variety of platforms. In fact, companies that have adopted the latest UC technologies are already benefiting from increased productivity and boosted efficiency by communicating more effectively internally and externally with fellow staff members and clients. Businesses who are not adopting these game changing technologies risk being left behind.
This is the future. Millennials will not be forced to use what they consider outdated technologies like email. Instead, they are using the tools they want to, regardless of IT policies. Organisations which ignore this fact will suffer as millennials increasingly make their mark on the business world.
