Is some of your small business team complaining about too much noise in the workplace, but no one can hear them? Let’s face it, workplaces, small and large, have gotten a lot noisier these days and the trend toward open office environments is just one of the reasons. In a survey of Plantronics customers conducted by TechValidate respondents cited a number of factors contributing to today’s noisier workplace. They include:

  • Increasing number of people per square footage of office space – 72%
  • Fewer private office and more open spaces for collaboration – 68%
  • More employees working in public spaces outside the office (airport, café, client offices, etc.) – 41%
  • Home workers with noisy environments (other people in the home, dogs barking, house phone ringing) – 37%
  • Building modifications using materials that do not absorb sound well (glass and concrete, etc.) – 27%

Regardless of the reason, additional research by TechValidate of Plantronics customers found that the top two consequences of a noisy workplace are the inability to focus and sounding unprofessional.

Headsets help control the environment

Wherever you’re working, managing noise therefore is essential to staying focused to effectively collaborate, and communicate. Here’s where a headset can help. The use of headset can cancel out background noise to help you concentrate and also assure audio clarity for you and your listeners. Headsets give you even more control over your environment in a number of other ways.

Hands-free capabilities: Headsets provide hands-free capabilities while you are on a call to input something on your computer or locate a document on your desk or in a drawer or to engage in chat while you are conferencing.

Manage multiple communication devices: Headsets can help manage multiple modes of communications – office phone, smartphone and softphone service, such as Skype or Google Voice.

Move around freely: Wireless headsets enable you to get up from your desk and move freely throughout the office and remain on a call when you need to locate a file, pick up something from the printer, confer with a colleague, find a more private location or even grab a cup of coffee. During a training session, you can stand up and stretch and never miss a training beat.

Mission critical technology: Headsets can be the mission critical component of a service offering, as in the case of online tutoring where clear audio between students and their teachers is essential for learning.

Driving: Using a Bluetooth headset, you can move from the office to their car and stay on a smartphone call or safely answer a call while you are driving from one meeting to another.

New Plantronics headsets

Among its many audio devices are two just announced Plantronics UC headsets designed to reduce noise distractions and help your small business team focus on work. The new offerings, featuring both a corded and Bluetooth headsets, include:

Blackwire 725: Plantronics first UC product with Active Noise Canceling technology (ANC) provides a corded option at a very affordable price for office workers who need to hear and be heard. The Blackwire 725 is ideal for managing PC calls and enjoying music and multimedia with dynamic hi-fi sound. Also, with the combination of wideband audio, Digital Signal Processing and a noise canceling microphone, incoming calls and your voice are both crystal clear.

Voyager Edge UC: New wearing style for mobile UC users who need to be heard and want to use their Bluetooth® enabled communications devices (laptop, smartphone or tablet) together. The solution includes a small Bluetooth USB dongle that provides seamless wideband audio to your laptop.  The latest addition to the Voyager line features a slim, sophisticated design that fits quickly and comfortably in your ear and comes with its own portable charging case. It boasts signature Plantronics audio technology that eliminates disruptive background noise and includes intuitive, responsive features that keep you moving by automatically answering calls as you place it on your ear.

Review all of Plantronics solutions to find the perfect headset fit for office, mobile or virtual small business workers at: http://www.plantronics.com/us/solutions/small-medium-business/.