Staying connected in and out of the office
♫ Wednesday, March 31st, 2010One of Manchester’s most successful business development mangers writes for the blog on why his job requires 24/7 connection – and how he stays in the loop.
In my line of work, making yourself accessible is vital. My role dictates that being ‘hard to reach’ is a cardinal sin – if a lead wants to get in touch with me, no matter what time it is or where I am, I need to be able to respond as a matter of urgency.
Out of the office
This is where the bulk of my work takes place – on the road a lot of the time, heading to meetings with prospective clients, networking, pitching for new business. Of course, people still need to be able to contact me while I’m out and about.
I use a HTC HD2 as my out of office phone, it’s a fantastic handset and in many ways superior to the iPhone. The screen is huge, making it great for emails and because it runs Windows Mobile I can file reports or browse documents with ease while on the go.
It’s not only illegal but also foolish and disrespectful to use your phone at the wheel, so when I’m driving (which, again, my job requires a lot of) I hook up a Bluetooth headset to continue conversations. Again, this increases my accessibility – I’m immensely proud that 99.9% of the time, my contacts never hit my voicemail. I use a very comfortable clip-on headset with noise-cancelling features (vital for taking a call in busy traffic).
In the office
When I’m at base filing reports or liaising with my company directors, there’s even less of an excuse for people not being able to get through to me. Of course, we have a receptionist at our building but when she patches through to my extension I like to be able to take the call wherever I am – not just at my desk.
Again, I use a headset to stay available. In this case I clip on the Plantronics CS60, a superb piece of kit, with a discreet ear loop that is so comfortable I often forget it’s there. The Plantronics CS60 enables me to hold phone calls when I’m doing other things – heading to meetings, briefing my colleagues, etc – which is important as it means I’m not tethered to my desk.
My HTC stays on when I’m in the office and if anything it rings more when I am. Because I’ve got it synced with my laptop, I can pass files easily between the two and never lose track of an important document.
I think I’m probably one of the most connected people in the UK. I can’t remember the last time I had to ring someone back having missed their call. It’s a track record I’m very proud of, but one which would not be possible without the wonderful technology around me.
