The importance of the right business telephone systems

In business it is essential to have the very latest systems in order to stay at the cutting edge and to compete with other businesses in the same field. Communications systems are particularly important in order to speak with clients, customers, colleagues and suppliers. Without adequate systems a company would lose potential profits and could even put off clients if they can’t get in contact easily and without hassle.

Thankfully there are plenty of communications and telephone systems that make business easier and consequently hep companies to develop.

Telephone systems are designed to suit different kinds of enterprise, from small single office buildings to large corporations. Well known names like Panasonic , Oak Telecom and Nortel carefully plan systems and various solutions are available on the Microcare systems website.

If your business is in need of communications systems they are out there to be found, so don’t settle for anything less than the perfect business comms.

Unified Communications – A Positive Impact on Contact Centres

According to a recent study, Unified Communications is perceived as a huge benefit to the contact centre industry.

A huge, international study into the impact of Unified Communications reveals that the majority of those surveyed felt the role of Unified Communications has a beneficial place in customer facing operations and the contact centre industry.

Unified Communications and Customer Satisfaction

The research was conducted by Strateco to uncover how the contact industry across Europe felt about the role and potential benefits of Unified Communications. The survey was particularly focused on finding out whether Unified Communication systems could help contact centres across Europe achieve key objectives and goals. The study was far-reaching with almost 300 contact centres, both public and private, across Europe questioned, including those in Spain, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and France. The research revealed:

l  A huge 85% of those questioned agreed that Unified Communications improved service levels thus impacting positively on customer satisfaction, boosting first call resolution levels

l  The majority believed Unified Communications helped improve real time communications - 82% said UC facilitated broader team work, offered a more focused, streamlined process and as a result meant fewer delays with improved team productivity in the contact centre

l  82% felt that United Communications was an important function that will provide a 'competitive differentiator' in the future

l  79% said having Unified Communications in their call centres would improve the perceived value of those contact centres within their organisations

l  67% said they felt Unified Communications would in the medium term (three to five years) deliver a cost advantage

Unified Communications – Work Together to Benefit All

But the path for Unified Communications wasn't so clear cut – although the majority of European contact centres surveyed agreed that UC strategies would have a positive impact on their operations, respondants were divided about how UC should be introduced into their organisations: 50% felt the IT department should introduce Unified Communications to the contact centres, whereas the other 50% said the customer service department should drive UC forward.

The marketing manager of Aspect in Europe and Africa, Anita Marsh, commented on the findings. She said the survey revealed how important it was IT and customer service departments worked together to ensure 'information silos are broken down' to maximise the benefits of United Communications: “The survey shows that when UC touches the end customer, the return on UC investments really begin to accelerate.”

Workforce Management & Optimisation Key Trends

Technology can ensure effective  workforce management and optimisation in these challenging economic times.

The contact centre sector, like all industries, is under increased pressure to deliver demonstrable Return on Investment. With this in mind Sabio, a leading contact services and solutions company, has highlighted some key trends in workforce management and optimisation by identifying some key technology and process optimisation trends. As the credit crunch forces more organisations to be increasingly accountable of their ROI, these technology solutions can help the contact centre industry deliver consistent value in a cost effective way to its users and clients. Mediation courses for business could be the answer, some say.

Workforce Management and Optimisation: Tapping into Technology

Delivering continued value is one of the biggest challenges for the contact centre sector as finance is tight. Sabio has highlighted technology solutions that offer a sub 12-month ROI, as well as pointing out areas where organisations can reduce the negative effect of the economy on their customer contact operations. The money saving tips centre on improving workforce management and optimisation.

Budget Saving for the Contact Centre Industry

Sabio report that the increased pressures on demonstrating ROI has put increased attention on proven technology that offers workforce management and optimisation solutions. Existing systems such as Workforce Management (WFM), Integrated Desktop projects and speech applications that offer crucial savings for call centres are at the forefront, offering improved optimisation with higher levels of automation. Sabio also say that contact centres are currently paying around 30% too much on yearly support contracts too.

Optimisation for Improved Customer Experience

Adam Faulkner, the director of Sabio, said their report was about finding technological solutions to improve Workforce Management and find optimisation solutions that can save contact centres money. “Today’s market conditions mean that contact centre operators need to successfully balance making necessary investments to improve their customer service while managing an inevitable pressure on their revenues and costs,” Mr Faulkner said. By identifying the areas in their organisations that can be made more cost-effective or reigning in those areas where there's routine over spending, the contact centre industry can release that budget and invest in technology and initiatives the offer improved customer experience and generate positive outcomes.

As Mr Faulkner added: “That’s why the focus for 2009 has to be on implementing technology solutions that lead directly to better optimised resources, improved systems usage, reduced agent overstaffing and improved attrition, higher levels of automation and enhanced self-service, improved sales conversion rates, and improvements in fraud rates.”

Sabio said that Workforce Management technologies, SIP innovations such as Biometrics, Desktop Integration systems and Voice Selfservice can all offer bottom line benefits by optimising delivered services and delivering more for less.

Modelling: Public Speaking

Public speaking is something you will have to do from the start of your modelling career.

Although it may not be to hundreds of people, you will need to be able to sell yourself to the agencies and to clients and photographers at go-sees. You may also choose to supplement your modelling career by giving talks about your profession to schools or night classes. If you become very successful, you may be required to speak on behalf of a product or in conjunction with a designer or photographer. You will need to be comfortable giving interviews and talking at charity events.

Confidence

Whatever you are saying, you must say it with confidence and belief. Speak clearly and not too quickly, and don’t try to use ten words where two will do. The essence of good public speaking is to hold the audience’s attention and communicate your message as clearly as possible. If you are confident about what you are saying and why you are saying it, you will get a good reception.

Presentation and Preparation

It’s important that you show that you have prepared for the occasion. If it is an interview with an agency, dress appropriately, and make sure you have done some research on the agency and some of the models it represents.  Be prepared to answer questions concisely and know when to stop talking. For a job interview, be ready to ask questions of your own. If you are being interviewed by a journalist, make sure you’ve laid out ground rules so that you know what subjects are allowed and which to avoid.

Learn and practise relaxation techniques. Nervousness shows in the voice and in the hands, so it’s important that you can control your nerves whilst you are speaking. Drink plenty of water before your interview or before you speak, so that your voice doesn’t dry up.

Make Eye Contact

Whether you’re talking one-on-one or to a roomful of people, it’s important to establish eye contact. This engages your audience, shows that you are confident and allows you to relax and communicate more effectively.

Remember your Audience

The audience is there to listen to what you are saying. Think of yourself as a successful speaker, make yourself very familiar with the subject you’re speaking on, and remember that the audience doesn’t want you to make a mess of it. They want you to be confident and informative. If that’s the expectation you place upon yourself, you’re much more likely to succeed.

A modelling career involves a large amount of performance. If you have gained confidence in front of the camera, it shouldn’t take too much for you to turn into a confident public speaker. http://www.uncommon-knowledge.co.uk/public_speaking/tips.html

House Signs: House Sign Display Advice

If you are ordering a house sign from us you will definitely benefit from reading our house sign display advice, outlined below.

If you are ordering a new house sign it is definitely worthwhile spending a little time thinking about where the sign should be displayed so that the postman, and more importantly the emergency services, will be able to locate your house with speed and ease. Believe it or not many people get so carried away with how beautiful their new house sign is that they put it up a little too hastily. Why not have a look at our top five display tips to ensure that you don’t make the same mistakes?

1)      Consider the best location for your house sign. If it winter, think about any foliage which might grow and cover your house sign during the spring and summer months. Aluminium exhibition stands UK could be the answer. You need the sign to be on the front of your house if the house is visible from the road and if not then at the edge of your property or end of the drive.

2)      Do not cover the house sign with any Christmas decorations which may get in the way of the legibility.

3)      Try to avoid any type of fancy typeface that may be difficult to read. The clearer the lettering the more likely you will get your own letters and the emergency services will be able to track you down.

4)      Avoid a house sign in brass or bronze as they become invisible at night if a light is shone on them and they tend to blend to easily with their backgrounds.

5)      Think carefully about the colours which you choose for your house sign. If the sign in the same colour as the house it will be extremely difficult to read. A light colour on a dark background is always advisable. 

Document management for business process management

Document management is an important part of your BPM plans.

The processes that drive your business are a key to its success, and the more attention you pay to streamlining those processes and making them more efficient, the better off your business will be. Business Process Management (BPM) is an ongoing study of everything that happens in your business, assuring quality of service and product whilst keeping costs as reasonable as possible. Document management plays a key role in BPM, as most processes are documented in some form. To find out more visit http://www.documents-management.com/

Document management for quality assurance

At every step of every business process, there needs to be scope for a quality assessment. Well managed quality procedures can make the difference between an average company and a really successful one. The quality process itself has to be documented and if you run a very process-driven business, you will accumulate a mountain of paperwork as you develop and hone your BPM systems. The obvious answer is to invest in a document management solution, which can bring you a range of benefits, including:

• Flexibility – document management systems are logical and easy to use. This means that anyone in your group or team can scan and file documents quickly and efficiently. The system can be adapted to your company’s needs, rather than you having to adapt your processes to fit in with the software.

• Accessibility – once networked, your integrated document management system can be accessed by anyone across the company, reducing the need for paper moving around your office, or even between offices. You can control who can access which documents, giving your system the security it needs whilst allowing those who need access to get it whenever they need to.

• Time-efficiency – increasing efficiency and productivity is an important BPM goal. Electronic document management makes your business far more time-efficient. There’s no need for time-consuming filing, no lost papers, no hours spent collating and stapling documents. It’s all done for you in a fraction of the time.

BPM is a continuous process and effective document management is just part of that process. With careful planning, however, and the right software, you can use document management to make a real difference to the effectiveness of your business.

Document Management: Get the Competitive Edge

When you are finding it hard to get ahead of the competition with traditional business practices, it can be difficult to see a way to beat your contemporaries without great cost or upheaval.

A good company should believe in better business practice. That is why many offer one simple yet bespoke solution to a variety of common business needs; including increased efficiency, reduced admin costs and improved security. With uniquely bespoke document management systems, your business can benefit from flexible document indexing and retrieval that puts you head and shoulders above the rest.

With proper document management and confidential shredding by lombardrecycling.co.uk your business could utilise a cutting edge digital archiving solution that makes document management a simple task. Whether you want instant access to information for your clients or to protect yourself with disaster recovery; our document management solution could improve your internal operations as well as improve your customer service and satisfaction.

To find out more about how you could stand out from your contemporaries, find a solution that works for you.