Today, there are many ways to contact employees and other workers, resulting in communications overload and the vast array of channels and devices needed in the workplace can be a distraction from the day job. Kendrick Struthers Watson
We are rapidly becoming a two phone per person nation according to the Daily Telegraph[i] , as there are more mobile phones than people in the UK with the average user having 1.8 handsets. The Mintel report mentioned in the article went on to say the increase in mobile ownership was as a result of employers providing the workforce with an additional business phone to keep in touch out of hours. The Blackberry device for email applications was one of the main reasons given in the survey that covered 1,000 people. However, there are more business uses available on a mobile, as it is no longer just a voice-centric tool.
Convergence
The latest evolution in mobile communications is determined as ‘convergence’. This is a result of the digitisation across the three fields of broadcast:
- Television and radio
- Telecommunications (fixed and mobile telephony)
- Computing
The mobile phone is rapidly becoming a digital device capable of deploying and using all three of these facilities.
Additionally, the advent of internet access via broadband can now offer the potential for VoIP telephony (Voice over Internet Protocol), giving the user very low-cost international telephone calls from any fixed phone connected to the broadband line in a residential situation.
What are the business benefits?
In the commercial world, VoIP is available through the on-site or hosted Microsoft server that controls and manages the office internal email system when an appropriate VoIP-enabled telephone system is attached.
With a VoIP application in place, there are many packages available to an enterprise that can improve employee efficiency, keep more accurate records and help to reduce the overall carbon footprint.
Leslie Ferry, vp of marketing at BroadSoft, a VoIP solutions firm, told The People Bulletin: ‘We have supplied software applications where VoIP can integrate with specified called telephone numbers and it will log the time spent on each individual number. This is very useful for accurate billing purposes. This is particularly useful in accounting firms or legal practices where they deal with a great number of clients who need to be billed for services rendered.’
When the mobile device (a mobile phone or laptop with voice communications) is introduced, the possibilities for greater efficiency are increased. There are software applications available that will generate reports on the hours worked through a ‘time card’ system and tallied up via the mobile device.
One of the dominant applications of the new convergent technologies using VoIP is described as ‘unified communications’ (UC). ‘I only ever give out one telephone number,’ says Ferry. ‘I have control of my direct business telephone number as I can divert it to my mobile, the soft-phone in my laptop or my home office number. This makes my business desk phone geographically independent as any calls to that number can be diverted to any other device or location.’ In this way, enterprises can have personnel working from a home office or a mobile desk telephone number.
In a recent survey, Sage Research[ii] found employees at organisations using this technology saved 32 minutes a day by being able to consult the best method for reaching a colleague before attempting contact. Mobile employees benefited even more with the average employee saving 43 minutes per day by managing voicemail, email and faxes from one inbox, while mobile employees saved 55 minutes.
Today, there are so many ways to contact company personnel, resulting in communication overload which is slowly choking even the most agile enterprises. Employees and organisations are finding it increasingly difficult to manage the vast array of communications and devices needed to perform their jobs. One person trying to reach another sends a voicemail, an email and an instant message, when the person they are trying to contact had a mobile with them all along. Unfortunately, each communication channel is totally unaware of the others.
There is a need to simplify communication by cutting through the complexity of multiple platforms and streamlining business processes to reduce time to decision, increase productivity, enhance customer service and provide a consistent user experience across all communications.
A variety of methods can be deployed as part of an overall communications strategy to enable organisations to work more intelligently and efficiently. The UC technology empowers staff by freeing them from a myriad of difference pieces of kit and allows them to concentrate on the purpose of their communication, thus improving customer service, speeding up the decision-making process and the ability to locate relevant resources quickly and efficiently.
Simplification
It is when all business communication applications, across a range of interfaces including PC, telephone, web or mobile, are converged, that these efficiencies can be maximised. Once set up, users can access and respond to any communication message, (voicemail, text and email) and react to real-time communication (phone calls, instant messaging, video conferencing etc) from one interface. A seamless switch between communication applications while a communication application is in progress becomes possible. For example a user can switch from a mobile phone to desk phone or click to call the sender of an email. The technology works irrespective of device or location while providing access to the same directories and application of each application.
The facility for interaction between agent and customer - users of unified communication can manage all their voice and messaging applications from one interface and customers can contact individuals through single number access improves accessibility to contacts without the complexity of numerous contact numbers and addresses.
Summary converged technology advantages
- Simplified interactions for customers through single number access to people and resources.
- Increased accessibility of associates using features such as find-me/follow-me or simultaneous ringing of desk and mobile phones.
- Greater responsiveness with real-time and non real-time communications.
- Increased effectiveness and efficiency from expanded communications capabilities.
- Enhanced work flow resulting from the frequency (volume) and intensity (quality, richness) of communications.
- Streamlined decision making capabilities through improved collaboration and information access.
- Higher value networking from increased ability and propensity to collaborate.
- Lower collaboration and mobile access expenses.
- Decreased opportunity cost of missed communications.
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[i] www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/technologynews/3949050/Average-person-will-soon-have-two-mobile-phones.html
[ii] Sage Research, Unified Communications Application: Uses and Benefits, Jan 2006