Enabling flexible work with unified communications

How did TELUS increase employee engagement by 34 points over the last few years while saving millions of dollars? TELUS recognized that Digital Transformation (DX) could facilitate major changes across its organization. Taking a bold, forward-thinking approach, we created TELUS Work Styles, a program that lets employees choose how they want to work and empowers them with the most innovative collaboration tools.

In today’s global climate, Canadian businesses have begun embracing digital transformation, to enhance and better support the continuity of their operations by harnessing the latest in collaboration technology. As published in Canadian Business magazine, an estimated 71% of Canadian businesses have implemented at least one element of Unified Communications (i.e. voice, video, messaging and presence) as part of their digital transformation. However, many businesses have not yet realized the technology’s full potential.

With that in mind, we’re proud to share one key element of TELUS’ very own digital transformation journey; one that started more than 10 years ago and is still evolving today. TELUS Work Styles powered by Unified Communications, has been the cornerstone upon which our internal teams have built significant gains in engagement, productivity and ultimately – profitability.

What is TELUS Work Styles?

Work Styles is what we call our flexible work program. It enables our team members to work when and where they will be most effective, so they can focus on supporting an exceptional customer experience.

The philosophy behind the program is simple: give employees the flexibility to work in a hybrid office and remote setting, and they’ll exhibit stronger accountability, increased ownership, better balance and a stronger sense of control - which ultimately leads to increased engagement.

With 73% of employees spending some portion of time working remotely, whether they are in-office workers, mobile employees or customer facing agents – UC&C changes the way we interact. Businesses of all sizes can ensure that their teams find and communicate with the right people, share data seamlessly and securely, work more efficiently together.

The tangible benefits of virtual work are real

Tangible cost savings

• Roughly $50 million per year in real estate savings through consolidation

• $63.5 million reduction in travel expenses over 13 years

Employee and customer benefits

• Emergency preparedness to work virtually when required

• 32 point increase in employee engagement (53% to 85%)

Environmental benefits

• 16% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions since 2010

• Over 1.3 million hours of commuting time saved

Providing the ability to work remotely not only ensures business continuity but it also widens the talent pool your business has access to. Flexible work also provides employees with a greater feeling of trust and empowerment, resulting in higher employee engagement and retention. Simply put: empower your employees wherever they work best, and reap the rewards.

What made TELUS Work Styles possible?

Two words: Unified Communications. Based on our experience adopting and benefiting from Unified Communications technology, as well as outfitting thousands of businesses with their own solution, here are 4 main benefits of adopting a cloud phone system.

Seamless and agile access to the phone system

Elevating your business with Unified Communications enables you to easily and efficiently give employees full-featured business desk phones and other devices, while providing them with next-generation communication services like audio and video web meetings. Employees can use any device that’s convenient and Internet-enabled, providing them with a seamless connection wherever they are, whenever they need it. The ability to quickly set up audio conferences or web meetings means your employees can collaborate with the right teammates at the right time.

Cost optimization and simplified billing management

A cloud phone system can help significantly reduce long distance and landline calling costs, while fostering teamwork through advanced data communication mediums like voice, video and screen sharing. Adopting Unified Communications also means a single, consolidated invoice for your company that is easy to understand and integrate into your billing management process.

Enhanced control and line-of-sight

A cloud-based solution gives your business greater control over security and could help you meet auditing or other compliance requirements, which is especially important to businesses in Finance. Easy to use reporting gives you the control and the line-of-sight you need to manage your operations effectively.

Embrace the concept of flexible work

You’ve seen the statistics about the return on investment enabled by a transition to flexible work. With a cloud phone system, you can easily set up locations and add on-site and remote employees. Empower your employees to work where they perform best, and ensure they never miss a call using features like call forwarding, which routes calls to any device an employee prefers to use while mobile.

As an industry leader in remote Work Styles; TELUS has the expertise, the solutions and the network to enable your organization to keep business running smoothly in any circumstance.

Learn more about Cloud Phone Systems

Learn more about Collaboration and Productivity tools