Millennials like Desk Phones, More Than You Think

[La Toya Hodge (Polycom_LaToyaH)]

Millennials are an interesting bunch.  Marketers are studying, analyzing and, in some cases over-analyzing their purchasing decisions. At the same time, companies are working to identify the business communication needs for their workforce, of which millennials play a big role.  Conventional wisdom says millennials want the latest and greatest collaboration tools, and this includes the desktop phone.

Not convinced? 

No Jitter recently published a proactive article about millennials and desktop phones which got me thinking and ultimately wondering whether millennials like their desktop phones more than we think. And here’s why. More and more companies see the value and ROI of building a visual and more collaborative corporate culture. Gone are the days of device doldrums where business communication tools were accessed in silos.  Further compounding this thought process; desktop phones offer a budget friendly and a reliable entry point for video. Keep in mind content sharing, instant message and real time collaboration are available at a workers finger tips. In other words: this is not your old school phone. 

The workplace of the future is HERE and collaboration is different for the enterprise, mid-sized and small business.     Yet business communication tools must be similar to or have the ability to be seamlessly integrated into the applications workers use when they are in or outside of the office. 

Now before you go from 0 to 100 on this, ask yourself: does the wave of device democracy support the point of view that millennials like desktop phones because they’ve moved beyond being just a phone?

If they’re business communication tools that are a part of a millennial’s workflow, which means the tool is easy to use AND helps them get their job done, is it a stretch to think they might actually like it? 

What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Related Content

Why the desktop phone isn't going away

Enabling Collaborative Experiences

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Reference Source:
Red Tree Leadership and Development 

[Peter Huboi (poly_peterh)]

Most of us have several devices we can choose from to communicate. It makes sense that you choose the most suitable device for where you are. For example, at your desktop, a Polycom VVX phone with Polycom HD Voice is probably going to sound better than the smartphone you also have. I took a  call on cellphone one day and ... because my battery was at 5%, I said "let me call you back, my battery is about gone".  When I called back on my VVX phone, my friend said "Wow. What are you calling from? It sounds so much better".

In some cases, you could be using more than one device (using the best characteristics of each).  For example, if I use a Skype for Business client to make a video call from my laptop, with Polycom's Better Together over Ethernet feature, I can use the awsome audio of my VVX phone for the call instead of the not-as-good audio mic and speakers on my laptop.

 

One final thought. Maybe it's not really about the our "age" or being a Millenial at all. It's more about our relationship to and confort level with technology. R Ray Wang (Constellation Research) describes "The Five Generation Of Digital Workers And Customers" in this blog post. You can be nearly any age in any of these 5 segments.

[La Toya Hodge (Polycom_LaToyaH)]

I think we're in full agreement. This post was inspired by the article in No Jitter initially.  I think the underlying  point i was trying to make is that contrary to popular belief millienials are likely to use a number of devices which could include a deskphone...

By the way, thanks for sharing the piece from R Ray Wang (Constellation Research). This is great stuff.