Workers still turn first to voice, Mitel survey finds

Mitel has published research showing that 79% of workers turn first to voice communication when an issue needs rapid action. The findings suggest voice remains the preferred option across age groups.

Workers said they use voice first to align quickly in urgent situations, then switch to messaging or video if needed. When asked which method they prefer in time-critical situations, voice led across generations, from 43% of Gen Z workers to 54% of Baby Boomers.

Conducted by Vanson Bourne for Mitel, the study drew responses from 2,000 people in the US, Canada, Germany, the UK and France. It covered IT decision-makers, desk workers and frontline workers at organisations with 500 or more employees across sectors including healthcare, manufacturing, financial services and the public sector.

The findings point to a gap between the spread of workplace communication tools and how staff behave when speed matters. Desk and frontline workers use an average of seven communication channels, creating a fragmented flow of information that can make it harder to find the right person or respond quickly.

Among frontline workers, 65% said they waste time switching between tools, while 64% said messages are missed because they are spread across different channels. Another 70% reported that complex or unreliable communication tools make it harder to provide the best support to customers, patients or clients.

More than one-third of frontline workers said communication problems create safety risks for customers, patients or staff. Those concerns are especially acute in sectors where delays or errors have direct operational consequences, the report said.

Frontline strain

The research presents this as a frontline issue as much as a technology one. According to Mitel, eight in ten workers globally operate in frontline roles across healthcare, retail, hospitality, manufacturing, financial services and public services, often in mobile and time-sensitive conditions.

In those settings, communication systems are often not designed around field-based work. As a result, staff may need to check multiple applications and channels for updates, increasing the risk that key messages are missed.

Healthcare stood out in the report as one of the clearest examples of the operational impact. In clinical environments, staff must coordinate across care teams, sites and devices, and communication breakdowns can slow admissions or discharges while reducing capacity for the next patient.

Healthcare was also among the sectors where communication issues were most likely to create safety risks, according to Mitel. Frontline healthcare workers reported some of the sharpest gaps in whether their needs are considered when communications technology and infrastructure decisions are made.

Voice role

The report arrives as companies continue to introduce AI tools into day-to-day work. Mitel argues that these investments should be judged in part on whether they make communication easier in real working environments and suit different workforce groups.

Martin Bitzinger, Senior Vice President of Product Management at Mitel, said the persistence of voice in urgent situations should shape those decisions.

"The future of workforce communication is not voice-only, but it must be voice-first in the moments where real-time coordination matters most," said Martin Bitzinger, Senior Vice President of Product Management at Mitel.

"For frontline and critical industry workers, voice is often the fastest, clearest and most trusted way to coordinate when work cannot wait. As organisations modernise and adopt AI, they cannot lose sight of creating a flexible communication infrastructure that supports employees, regardless of role or function, to complete tasks and drive outcomes."

Zeus Kerravala, Founder and Principal Analyst at ZK Research, echoed that view, linking the value of voice to situations where workers are under pressure and have little time to navigate screens or menus.

"In a crisis, the interface has to disappear. Voice does that," said Zeus Kerravala, Founder and Principal Analyst at ZK Research.

"You don't train a nurse or a dispatcher to navigate a UI under pressure - you give them a channel that works the moment they need it. That's why voice remains the only modality that holds up when the stakes are real."

AI interface

Mitel also said voice may become a more prominent way for workers to interact with AI systems, particularly for frontline staff moving between tasks and locations. It argued that spoken interaction can reduce time spent navigating menus, switching applications or typing messages.

Luiz Domingos, Chief Technology Officer at Mitel, said AI tools should be designed around the working conditions of staff who have seen less benefit from earlier rounds of digital change.

"AI has the potential to dramatically impact those workers who have been most underserved by digital transformation, but we must meet them where they are," said Luiz Domingos, Chief Technology Officer at Mitel.

"Whether it is an emergency room nurse or a technician in the field, voice-first AI closes the gap in a way no previous technology has. We believe the app of the future, especially for frontline workers, isn't a chat window or a dashboard - it's a conversation."