I was thinking the other day about whether wireless headsets actually gives me better productivity at work. I spend a lot of my time in front of the computer and then dashing around the office to do things. I even sometimes make a cup of coffee whilst on the phone. However am I more productive.
I think it is a given that I am more productive with a headset whilst sitting at my computer, I have two hands free and I can conduct meetings and show software live via networking tools whilst on the phone or on skype. I cannot really see an alternative to this as when I use the computer speakers to play a skype call I get feedback. Also people on the other end of the line complain that they can hear themselves and me typing away frantically. So a headset is a definite must for my type of work. But do I need to be wireless.
I do like to get up from my desk whilst on the phone and have free movement of my hands to move about whilst I talk. I tend to be one of those people who can speak more freely if I can wave my hands around. I know there is no one there to see the hands, but I feel more natural and this is the way I communicate. I also work from home a lot and never find time to go out into the garden in the sun. However since I have been using wireless I have been able to take those long conference calls in the garden and look at the river whilst some boring manager is going on about sales projections. This means that my experience is enhanced with a wireless headset but am I more productive.
I cannot really say I am more productive at the desk as I could be using a wired headset here. So what about the work I can do now away from my desk? Well I can pull folders from my filing cabinet which is a way from my desk, I can talk and be accessing information without having to get back to people. I think this is important as if people need to ask me something then I can do it there and then. Imagine if I had to ring them back and they were on the phone.
I think that’s key wireless headsets makes it more probable that you can complete a conversation with someone in one call. Not sure how to quantify it but thats got to be worth the investment.
