In 2018, my family relocated to a large city and I was not excited about the idea of a daily commute. One interview required a 50-minute drive each way. The thought of losing at least 2 hours out of my day was not appealing. When living in a rural area I had a similar commute and was not eager to repeat it. Fortunately, I knew there were jobs that allowed some flexibility and I began purposefully looking for those types of opportunities in my search. I knew as I went down this path that a fast and, perhaps even more important, reliable Internet solution would be critical.
Service providers tell me they’re hearing this request from businesses and subscribers more frequently (even more so lately with increasing fears of COVID-19 potentially impacting work and school). Often, this is an indication of a local company looking at hybrid employment options to provide flexibility and attract new talent. Other times, it is response to an existing employee who needs to adapt their work schedule. Whatever the reasons, the trend for businesses to allow, and in many cases encourage, employees to work from home continues to grow. For you as a service provider, it is important to proactively address this need. But first, you must be able to identify which subscribers might be in this category.
Did you know?
According to Owl Labs:
- 54 percent of U.S. workers work remotely at least one per month
- 48 percent work remotely at least one per week
- 30 percent work remotely full-time
What is the opportunity?
- Create a plan tailored to Work from Home subscribers. High bandwidth for both download and upload is critical as they’ll likely be using video conferencing services and a VPN. Be sure to include a managed Wi-Fi solution to give them peace of mind that if something isn’t working, you’ll be there to take care of it.
- Promote your plan. Reach out to your local businesses to let them know that you have great Work from Home plans available for their employees.
- Identify your Work from Home subscribers with a target segment/list. To ensure they are having a great Internet and Wi-Fi experience, a right sized Internet plan has never been more important. Particularly if they have others at home using the service, studying, surfing, and/or streaming, at the same time they are trying to work.
- Keep monitoring. Keep an eye on these highly valuable subscribers. As their bandwidth needs continue to grow, be responsive to their needs. You don’t want them to experience the “can you hear me, are you still there, you’re frozen” phenomenon.
Where should you start?
The great news is that Calix can help you with a turnkey approach. To get you started, we have marketing collateral you can personalize and use to address this need. But more importantly, you can get the data and insights to identify any subscribers who are currently working from home by using Calix Marketing Cloud. Then, ensure a great experience for these subscribers with Calix Support Cloud.
Join us for a webinar on March 25: “Does the data validate or defy your assumptions about subscribers working from home?” to hear a great story of how one service provider is addressing this growing need. And, watch for part 2 of this blog series to hear more about supporting your Work from Home subscribers.