It’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind of your workday; you get so busy you neglect to take the time to communicate with your colleagues, forgetting how important collaboration is to your company. In today’s modern world, with employees working at such disparate locations as their homes, multiple branch offices and overseas sites, staying connected with one’s co-workers can be a challenge. But it doesn’t have to be.

Here are three simple steps you can take to keep your business connected:

Stay connected

Two heads are better than one. Nowhere is this proverb more true than in the workplace, where the ability to pool co-workers’ skills is an incredible business advantage. For this reason, leveraging mobility in the workplace has never been more important. Deploying an IP PBX or VoIP system will provide your business with the most effective tools available to stay competitive in today’s marketplace.

With an IP-enabled system, you can take your office extension with you wherever you go. The softphone feature, for example, allows users to access desktop phone functions from the convenience of their smartphones, tablets and laptops. Accordingly, if one employee is working remotely and another is en route to a client meeting, you can still obtain input from them on a project you’re drafting in the office.

Say “yes” to new technologies

Co-worker collaboration should be an easy process; otherwise, your employees might not make the effort, potentially costing your company a lot of valuable brainstorming. For employees to collaborate successfully, communication roadblocks should be identified and then eliminated, something that can easily be achieved with unified communication (UC).

IP telephony offers many UC features that allow you and your employees to effortlessly stay connected regardless of location. For instance, an IP’s presence feature enables you to view the status of your employees, so you can identify whether someone working remotely is available to take a call. This will eliminate expensive voicemail tags, and help you avoid unnecessary call transfers that could annoy your clients.

Also, if you need to get documents to an employee remotely, fax server software is no longer required because, with UC technology, your inbound faxes are converted to PDF and forwarded to users via email. Your IP-enabled phone can even convert your phone messages to sound files that you can retrieve from your email inbox.

Don’t underestimate the power of face-to-face interactions

Emails, phone calls, texts: They’re all efficient methods for keeping connected, but sometimes a more personal touch is required, meaning you need to talk face-to-face. That’s not always convenient or even possible without a transatlantic flight, but it is the best approach to fostering a more trusting and long-term relationship—a must in today’s competitive business climate. A cost-saving alternative is Web conferencing, which is easily launched through an IP-enabled phone system.

WebRTC technology permits browser-to-browser audio, video and data communication between web browsers, so participants can seamlessly join meetings without first having to download additional software or plug-ins. Web conferencing can reduce travel costs, increase productivity and improve relationships among employees; it especially helps remote workers feel more connected.

Collaboration not only leads to a more connected workforce but a more productive one as well. Applying these tools can help any organization save time and money and, ultimately, achieve greater success.