Studies show that Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) services represent a fast-growing segment in the broader cloud communications market. That’s not a surprise considering the increasing number of companies who expand their activities far from their traditional borders. But are their employees, especially Millennials, playing any role in this change? I’m a firm believer that this digital-native generation is fueling the change. And scientific facts seem to support this idea.
Millennials are here to stay
According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, there are over 80 million Millennials in the world today, forming the largest cohort size in history. It’s expected that by 2020, they will form 50% of the global workforce. So, whether they are prepared to or not, businesses everywhere will be mostly fueled by Millennials in the very near future.
For the ones who believe that Millennials are entitled, lazy and apathetic, this sounds like bad news. But for those willing to lend an ear to scientifically proven facts, there is a lot of opportunity in hiring Millennials; they embrace new technologies faster, they are eager to succeed and they are more open for business travel than any other generation.
In fact, I believe that these exact traits facilitate a transformation in the way we communicate at work, in particular, the rise of the UCC solutions.
For Millennials, UCC is just another fancy acronym for “communication”
Millennials are open to new technologies. In fact, they are 2.5 times more likely to be early adopters of technology than previous generations.
How does that affect you, as an organization? Well, the more Millennials you have on board, the easier it is for you to introduce them to a new, better, and more cost-effective technology. Unlike previous generations, Millennials embrace the change. Actually, no. I stand corrected. They demand it.
Did you know that 80% of Millennials sleep with their phone next to their head? I surely didn’t realize that I was doing such a study-worthy thing before I read about it. I thought everyone sleeps with their phone next to their head. Because to me, that’s just normal. And that’s how every other Millennial probably feels.
Millennials expect to find the same normality at work. In fact, they will not stay for too long with companies that are not up-to-date with the latest, instant communication technologies — if they ever enter such organizations in the first place. So why not adopt new UCC technology?
Work is no longer defined by location or office-hours
I strongly believe that two other converging factors will accelerate the adoption of UCC. One of them is the continuous expansion of companies into new regions. Their challenge is to build an autonomous, productive workforce in a short amount of time. Lucky for them, Millennials are more than eager to travel for work and even relocate to a new city or country. This is the second (and catalyst) factor.
UCC comes to complete the puzzle. With a cloud-based Unified Communications platform in place, companies can give their mobile-workforce access to a wide range of collaborative solutions. Moreover, these are available at any given time, from any location. Employees can communicate from different locations a/or on the go, feeling as connected and supported as if they were in the same office.
Of course, there are many other factors that make it possible for more and more companies to opt for UCC solutions. A positive attitude towards change and new technology is definitely one of them, and no other generation than the Millennials has ever shown more openness towards it.
Recommended reading: Interesting Stats About Millennials Every Manager Should Know
This post was written by Irina Nica and was originally posed on 4PSA.
