In the well-known Dolly Parton song, the drudgery of working nine to five was emphasised, but these days it would be a dream to only work these hours. How often do you get to walk out of the door at 5pm?

Consumer demand is certainly a driving force behind the extended working hours. As consumers we want the convenience of being able to shop at any time of the night and day. With the rise of online businesses, it has become possible to buy, even when the shops are shut. We also expect goods to be delivered promptly, no more waiting 28 days to receive our goods.

In a bid to remain competitive many retailer stores and other businesses have extended their working hours. An increasing number of companies welcome shoppers before 9am and remain open later in the evenings. We also expect to shop and carry out essential tasks on a Sunday, so many companies are now open on every day of the week.

An increasing number of companies such as supermarkets are now employing shift workers in order to operate through the night. In order to fulfil orders, warehousing and distribution centres, delivery drivers, manufacturers and suppliers can’t afford to down tools at 5pm.

Technology to Help Meet Customer Needs

Technology has allowed many businesses to continue to operate even when there is no one physically present. As an example many banks have stuck to the traditional opening hours, yet money can be withdrawn or deposited and balances checked through machines that can be accessed throughout the day or night.

In addition, online banking has revolutionised how we manage our finances, with around 60% of banking actions now being carried out remotely via laptops, tablets and mobile phones. The busiest time for bank transactions is 6.55am, when many workers are commuting, but over two hours before the banks open their doors. Has your business invested in technology that allows your company to continue operating out of hours?

Manning the Phones

Even with longer working hours, there will be times when no one is in the office. When the staff do go home, the receptionist deals with a visiting customer or the boss is on the other line, who is there to answer the incoming calls? If the phone simply rings and no one picks up, there is a risk that the customer could go elsewhere to make their purchase, or get frustrated with your lack of customer service.

With state of the art business telephone systems, this simply isn’t so much of an issue. One of the most valuable functions is automatic call forwarding. This function allows the call to be redirected to another department or a mobile phone if the receiver isn’t picked up after a set number of rings. This can be a particularly useful feature in companies where flexible working is encouraged and employees may be at home or working from a remote hot desk.

Automatic call forwarding can be especially useful for account managers or small business owners who embrace the value of providing a personalised service to customers, but can’t always be sat at a desk to undertake their work. It also makes it straight forward for a colleague to pick up the phone and answer your call when you can’t.

If it’s important that you reduce the chances of missing important calls and if you want to be at the end of the line, even when the office is shut business telephone systems could provide the solution. If you want the facility to respond to calls, even when you are working remotely and you want to keep up to speed with changing customer demands find out more from Opus Telecoms.