How are Younger People Adapting to VoIP?

It seems like just a few years ago that millennials started entering the workforce. Millennial employees differ from their older colleagues in a number of crucial aspects. Now many of them are moving up in their career and assuming management level responsibilities. As more millennials transition into higher ranking positions within the company, they’re no longer the youngest members of an office. Every business needs to ensure that they cater to the millennial manager’s technology requirements.

The Changing Concept of the Office

The very idea of a desk, chair and office with a 9 to 5 schedule looks alien to a millennial. Indeed experts predict that regular offices as we know it are likely to become extinct by 2030. What does that mean for 2018? It means a lot of things for your staff and how they use technology.

Millennials don’t dislike remote working, unlike their predecessors. In fact, they demand flexible hours and telecommuting facilities. Working out of a coffee shop, airport or even their home is the norm for millennial workers. Why should I stop working because I’m not at the office? That flexibility can help your business respond more effectively to consumer demand and improve collaboration between teams.

For remote working to actually work though, mobility is a high priority. You cannot have remote working without mobile computers. And every millennial has one already – their smartphone. Millennials are never without their phones and for good reasons. With sundry business apps on their phones, they can work from anywhere. Millennials have grown up around technology that the rest of the workforce had to learn. They possess a level of familiarity with VoIP, mobile OSes as well as cloud services that is a boon for enterprises everywhere. No more training sessions for technology!

Millennials and VoIP

If your office doesn’t have a phone system that can support smart phones, then you better start looking for an upgrade. Millennials don’t like using traditional desk phones and will likely demand VoIP apps for their smartphones instead. You cannot have a collaborative environment that allows for flexible hours, remote working and mobility without supporting smartphones. With a mobile VoIP app on their phone, your younger workers are never more than a phone call away from the office. Whether it is forwarding calls to the nearest available device, answering voicemails via their inbox or participating in group video conferences, millennials want it all.

Audio/Video Group Calls

Many older employees may not be comfortable with substituting video calls for in person meetings but millennials prefer it. The millennial manager doesn’t mind managing a diverse team spread out across continents but you need to give them the tools to handle it. Video phones with high quality screens, top notch audio hardware and easy to use interfaces are a must in the office. Whether part of the team is remote or on-site, managers will be happier with video conferencing facilities near to hand. Fortunately for you, VoIP can support group audio and video conference calls out of the box!

For the most part, you don’t have to worry about younger workers adapting to VoIP. Many of them have not known a world without it! They have no concept of international calls – distance truly does not matter to them. While the previous generation might have struggled with the transition to IP based phone calls, millennials are at their ease in such an environment. Instead of arranging training sessions for your workers, you will have them coming to you with ideas for new integrations and solutions.

What Do Millennials Look for in VoIP Phones?

IP phones aren’t going anywhere but that doesn’t mean millennials like the traditional handsets in the office. Millennial workers have their preferences when it comes to VoIP technology just like everyone else.

Your younger employees love to stay connected and they do this with their smartphones. Any desk phones should mirror the ease of use they expect from their daily drivers. Phones without a responsive touch screen or intuitive interface won’t stand a chance in the office. Millennials are not interested in spending hours setting up their desk phones to be just so. They expect everything to work the instant it is plugged in. So phone models that support auto provisioning are a must.

Millennials like to collaborate with team members, regardless of distance and time zones. So make it easy for them with IP phones that can support third party apps and integrations. Phones with built in browsers, support for project management apps or business calendars will be a huge hit.  So there you have it. Millennials – and those younger than them – demand the very latest technology because that’s what they grew up with. But don’t forget that the older members in the office may need some training sessions to get them up to speed with their tech savvy counterparts!