Each generation communicates differently — technology can make it seamless
Advancements like cloud and AI will continue to make voice communications more reliable and intelligent.
From the Greatest Generation — born in the first few decades of the 1900s — to today’s youngest citizens, Gen Alpha, there are currently seven generations living in the U.S. today. Each has notably different needs and communications preferences, from digital natives that want chat and text technologies to older workers that may more commonly turn to phone calls, voice and even fax.
Regardless of preference, to meet customer experience (CX) goals, the federal government needs to enable seamless communications through all routes of interaction, from fax to chatbots. Innovation is happening across all communications forms: current, legacy and emerging.
Today’s technology
While Baby Boomers and Gen X traditionally prefer phone calls, voice communications are critical for mission-based work. All generations require voice connectivity for virtual meetings or conversations with remote employees.
As agencies look to improve CX, the ability to effectively communicate with citizens is key. Government employees often interact with citizens during their most vulnerable moments — from seeking assistance during a natural disaster to applying for essential benefits.
Modern, resilient voice communications are essential. Specifically, cloud-based communications are essential to maintaining connections regardless of factors like system failures, power outages, weather conditions or location.
Trusted technology
Generational differences aside, individual workplaces may prefer established technologies that have enabled secure, reliable communications for years. Sometimes, it is a matter of comfort with a particular technology and the efficiencies that result.
This is the case for many agencies that use fax to transfer secure documents between field offices, the biggest users having many district or field offices and sensitive forms that need to be exchanged between locations. This could range from medical information to registration forms that contain personally identifiable information (PII).
Moving to cloud-based, electronic fax offers a huge cost benefit for these dispersed agencies, which often experience increasing costs as legacy technology becomes harder to maintain. Agencies with many field offices may have more than one fax machine in each location, making the ability to eliminate aging copper phone lines significant.
Modernized fax lines require less physical hardware and improve flexibility and security with encrypted TLS connection and password protection. Fax can be accessed via computer, tablet or smartphone using a unified number that serves other functions like voice calls.
Emerging technology
Moving into the future, artificial intelligence will play a role in improving communications across the board, from powering chatbots to refining communications.
AI can enhance interactions based on insights from unstructured data sources like conversational data and interagency calls. These actionable insights can enable personalized coaching to improve employee productivity and ultimately enhance CX.
At the same time, AI can use conversation intelligence to improve efficiency, automate mundane tasks or derive insights from citizen conversations to better align with preferences or needs. When it comes to AI, industry leaders are just beginning to explore applications and discover ways it can enhance how we work. Younger generations that will be brought up with AI will continue to find new uses for the technology.
Even with the technology changing behind how people communicate, the desire to converse without delay or interruption remains constant. Advancements like cloud and AI will continue to make voice communications more reliable and intelligent, allowing all generations to effectively interact in the workplace and serve citizens however and wherever they prefer.
Doug Buffkin is regional vice president of business development public sector at RingCentral.
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