I’ve primarily worked from home since 2007, well before Plantronics rolled-out a unified communications platform. There is no question in my mind – the before and after are dramatic. There’s no going back once you’ve gotten “Lync-ed.”
1. It is a better than my other phones. – I must live in the black hole of cellular technology right in the middle of San Francisco. But with a Verizon AND AT&T mobile phone I still can’t make a reliable mobile call and the quality is usually awful. And while I hung unto an analog line longer than most, the inability to just click on the number or meeting link was too limiting.
2. I never lose my laptop. – I’m a wanderer when I work from home and I have misplaced every mobile or cordless phone I have ever had. Of course the battery goes dead and I can’t find them by calling it. So Lync running on my laptop has been the most reliable phone I’ve had since the one installed on the wall in my mom’s kitchen oh so many years ago (and now sold on eBay as vintage).
3. Mobile when I need it. – When I do have my phone charged and ready to go, I can just transfer from Lync to the mobile without having to hang up and dial back in.
4. “Seeing” who is in the meeting. – The Lync desktop client looks simple and easy to use, and it is. But for those of us who rely on it daily, there is lots of information right there to help navigate conferences calls…like the name of all the people on the call, indicates who is actually speaking, who is on mute, etc.
5. Just show me now. – Cut to the chase and show them what you mean. Desktop share has saved me from countless circular conversations and made creative reviews much, much easier.
6. Meetings start faster. – When enough people in your company get really familiar with Lync, meetings start faster. Less fussing with dial-ins and passcodes, but it does take a while for the habit to move around the organization.
7. Call the room. – And when I do attend a meeting in person, I can book the room as a participant and Lync just calls the room.
8. Tag you’re it. – If you have a particularly busy colleague or even a new boss, you can tag them for presence status change. If you have an urgent question, you can pounce the minute they are free. Or just observe their online comings and goings so you can figure out when is the best time to engage.
9. Much more than a phone. – It’s not all about the conference calls I participate in day in and day out. Lync has made me feel much more connected to the team I lead remotely and the organization as a whole. I can communicate in an instant via when you can sense a tense moment or give instant congratulations when you hear good news.
10. Where are you today? – The daily activity feeds helps me feel totally transparent about my dedication to working from home. I know there are still many doubters, but I really do get more done at home and feel everyone has the right to check up on me if they want to. I’ve got nothing to hide.