Telephony has been a crucial part of manufacturing for decades. Even as more and more processes become digitised and automated, the need for consistent, reliable voice calling has never gone away. Whether it's internal communication in a factory, or coordination between different sites and offices, telephony has a key role to play in the effective functioning of many manufacturing companies.
An often overlooked, but key aspect of telephony is how it can be used in a way which scales and adapts to the demands of a business. In this blog post, we'll explore how telephony can help manufacturing companies adapt to changes brought about by company growth, seasonality and developing work behaviours.
The benefits of telephony for manufacturing companies
Telephony has numerous benefits for manufacturing companies. One of the most significant advantages is improved communication and collaboration. Telephony provides a reliable channel for employees to communicate with each other, whether they're on the factory floor or in a different office. It also allows for quick and easy access to decision-makers, which can be critical in a fast-moving production environment. Collaboration is also enhanced as employees can easily communicate with each other to coordinate tasks and ensure everyone is on the same page.
Another benefit of telephony is increased productivity. With reliable communication channels, employees can quickly resolve issues and get answers to their questions, reducing downtime and ensuring processes run smoothly.
By providing a unified communication platform, telephony can also simplify the process of getting in touch with different departments and stakeholders. It can also facilitate the sharing of information and data, reducing the need for manual data entry and ensuring that everyone is working from the same information.
Overall, telephony is an essential tool for manufacturing companies looking to improve communication, increase productivity, and streamline processes.
Read more: 4 easy steps for successful business telephony
The challenges of workforce changes in manufacturing
Finding skilled workers is one of the biggest challenges faced by manufacturing companies, as the demand for specialised skills continues to rise. This is particularly a challenge during periods of high growth, as demand for skilled employees often exceeds the pace at which they can be recruited.
In addition, managing seasonal employees can be a headache, as the number of employees fluctuates with changes in demand. This requires careful planning to ensure that the right number of employees are hired and trained in a timely manner.
By addressing these challenges head-on and implementing effective telephony solutions, manufacturing companies can ensure that their workforce remains agile, productive, and engaged.
How telephony can help with a changing workforce
With the right telephony solutions, manufacturing companies can overcome the challenges of workforce changes and take advantage of the benefits telephony has to offer.
Licences instead of fixed contracts
One of the challenges manufacturing companies may face when setting up their telephony is the fact that many solutions are fixed, rather than being flexible to the needs of the business in question. In contrast, Telavox uses licences instead of fixed contracts. This approach allows companies to easily add or remove users as needed and only pay for what they use.
This means that if a manufacturing company experiences a period of high growth and needs to add more employees to their solution, they can do so quickly and without incurring unnecessary costs.
On the other hand, if an employee leaves, licences can be cancelled or reassigned to other users. This flexible approach is particularly beneficial for manufacturing companies that experience fluctuations in demand or have a seasonal workforce.
Easy onboarding
A deciding factor when evaluating solutions for businesses which are regularly recruiting is simple: "How long does it take new employees to learn how to use this effectively?"
There are a great many systems which look great on paper, and offer powerful functionalities that promise to utterly transform your workday. That’s all well and good, but how long does it actually take to learn how to do that?
Manufacturing companies work on tight deadlines and need to get employees up and running quickly. It's key therefore that the solutions they use are easy to grasp, and deliver the promised results right away.
Telavox is designed specifically to be easy to learn for first-time-users. Additionally, the extensive eLearning platform Telavox Academy guides users every step of the way. This frees up management to focus on other tasks, and enables every employee to go from a beginner to an expert in record time.
Read more: The secret to successful digital onboarding of hundreds of employees
Landline vs mobile vs softphone telephony
When considering business telephony, many peoples' thoughts will initially turn to fixed landline systems. These certainly warrant considering, even in today's highly mobile workplaces. But effectively combining landline hardware with mobile and softphone devices can introduce a higher degree of flexibility. For example, a receptionist might answer a call via softphone and reroute it to a landline in the factory. Or a sales representative might begin a call on their computer, but transfer it to their mobile device when they need to leave the office.
Having solutions which combine different types of telephony can create a more resilient set-up, which more easily adapts to changes in the work environment or employee turnover.
Read more: Streamlining Production: The Top 5 Benefits of UCaaS for Manufacturing
A single platform for everyone, on every device
Having a combination of devices available sounds great, but can easily become a logistical headache. A benefit of solutions like Telavox is that the same platform can be used on every device. That means that landline, softphone and mobile technology are all used in the same way and interact with one another seamlessly.
Calls can be handled on any combination of devices. Consistent ways of working and responsive tools make platforms easier to learn and faster to to use. An absolute must-have when you regularly have new employees and tight deadlines.
Summary
Telephony is an essential tool for manufacturing companies, facilitating communication, collaboration, and productivity. However, workforce changes can pose challenges that require proactive solutions.
The use of flexible telephony solutions, such as those offered by Telavox, can help companies adapt to changes in demand and employee turnover. By implementing a single platform that is easy to learn and works on every device, manufacturing companies can ensure consistent ways of working and faster delivery.
