Highlights:
- Esther Yoon brings her product marketing expertise to RingCentral, where she sees a long runway for growth.
- Plans to apply the mindset of“change for the better” or “continuous improvement” because the world we live in is constantly shifting, moving, changing.
We sat down with incoming AVP of Product Marketing Esther Yoon to talk about why she joined us, and the opportunities she sees at RingCentral.
A new world of work
In a market where meteoric growth is the norm, Yoon saw great potential for RingCentral to change what work looks like as people calibrate to new challenges, wants, and expectations in the new world of work.
“I came to RingCentral because the way we work has changed. It’s no longer just about features—it’s about experiences, and human connections, and how we’re going to enrich those in this new world of work. Our platform is at a point where we can really put our energy into delivering better, more human experiences – I just think that’s a market opportunity RingCentral is absolutely primed to address. I saw opportunities to bridge employee experiences and customer experiences…and I said, “There’s something magical happening there.””
Unifying the “unified” experience
How does a company move beyond executing on features and start executing on better experience? For Yoon, it’s all about making the vague concept of “unified communications” truly, well, unified.
“To me, “Unified communications” has never really been very unified. It takes more than being consolidated onto one app. To me, the term “unified” should refer to a truly harmonious blending of the products that enrich each experience, because they all work so well together natively. In this post-pandemic world, I think that’s more important than ever. From casual watercooler chats that spark a company’s next great product, to an idea shared in passing that snowballs into the next big initiative – it’s the collective effect of these little moments that help foster the “buzz” of a thriving workplace. It’s these types of spontaneous, human interactions that I feel people miss most about being in the office.Take our “Team Huddle” feature, for example. It allows you to have these ad hoc “pop in, pop out,” meetings embedded into your messaging channels. Collectively in these seemingly mundane moments are really where the magic happens. That’s a small but powerful example – using a combination of video and messaging to let people express themselves in exactly the ways people need to do that—simple comments can be a text, while something that requires more clarification or nuance can be a video chat. Or imagine taking a phone call, elevating it to a video meeting…there’s just so much that can be done once you have it all working in harmony, on a single platform.”
Workflows that actually flow
Everyone in our space loves to talk about “making it easy to work from anywhere.” According to Yoon, it’s not actually that easy.
“I never thought it was super easy to work from anywhere. You had multiple apps, you had bandwidth issues, you had a lot of things going against you. (RingCentral) is developing workflows that are starting to actually make it easy. Make it easy to adapt to every device. Every location. But we’re really looking past the technical aspect and bringing the focus back to the human. To the point where we’re truly blurring the lines between virtual and in-person communication. That’s a truly unified experience – which is what we’re going to need in the post-pandemic world where hybrid is normal.”
The power of choice
The pandemic has radically changed the ways we live and work. Yoon thinks that’s an area where RingCentral is radically ahead of the game.
“The way we work now is, obviously, completely different than it was pre-pandemic. People are coming out the other side of this saying, “I had some amazing moments with my kids. I don’t want to give that up.” Well, why should they? We are literally here, now, with technology that gives employees the power of choice. We’re allowing people to work from anywhere, effectively. If people are working remotely, it shouldn’t compromise their clout at work or their influence within a meeting. With RingCentral, it doesn’t. That’s powerful.”
The business of happiness
RingCentral combines advanced technology with a humanistic philosophy, which naturally makes a strong case for recruiting top talent. What brought it all home for Yoon? The freedom to be successful in the way she defines success.
“The most important aspect of my decision to join RingCentral was on a personal level. Not bottom line business, but, as a human, what matters to me? That’s what matters to people today, and employers who win, understand that. When people look for opportunities, they’re now looking beyond stock prices and technology features. They’re asking themselves, “does this move help me be who I want to be, and stand up for the things I find important?” and they want to make an impact. We have a duty as a large public organization that affects thousands of people’s lives too, of course, give back, but also build an internal culture that’s empowering, diverse, and thoughtful. We can update the language we use to be more inclusive, and we can incorporate features into our products that take real-world problems into account. When I joined the organization, the person I now report to said, “I want to give you the autonomy to be successful, whatever that looks like.” That’s the main reason I joined RingCentral. Because I felt like I was given an opportunity to bring my idea of success to life. It’s amazing that RingCentral, a company that’s disrupted our understanding of what’s possible with a phone, is yet again pushing the boundaries of business communications. We’re in the business of enabling human connection. Another way to say it is—we’re in the business of happiness. That’s exciting to me, and I think it will be to our customers, partners, and employees. To the whole world, really.”
#HelloToRingCentral
Originally published Jul 28, 2021, updated Dec 30, 2022
