A 10-Question Evaluation for Your Phone System
Today’s business environment is fast-paced and competitive. Technology makes it possible for you to know your customers and your customers to know your business within moments. A customer can give feedback about your business then let others know about their own experience within a few easy clicks.
Most likely, you’re investing in ways to make sure you’re harnessing the power of all of your technological business resources. But what about your phone system? If you’re not already considering how to get full value from your phone system, you should be.
Savvy business owners or their IT staff know that an upgraded phone system can multiply business success by integrating mobility, applications and collaboration under one valuable umbrella. Can your current phone system do these things?
We’ve created an easy 10-question test to evaluate if your current phone provider is delivering the full potential of a modern phone system. Any items you can’t check off suggest you may not be harnessing the full power of a world-class phone system.
1. Do you have a clear, secure connection without any voice delays, lag, or call quality issues?
2. Does your system provide business intelligence based on call data and elegant integration with other important business applications (CRM, ERP, applicant tracking systems, etc.)?
3. Do users have direct access to a live person who can answer their questions and quickly solve their problems — without engaging you?
4. Are you confident that your phone system is secure and completely protected against hackers — both via the handset and the data center?
5. Do you have access to intuitive, easy-to-use tools for phone routing and find-me/follow-me rules?
6. Does your provider leverage redundancy and failover to prevent against catastrophic phone system failure for your business?
7. Does your phone system offer on-demand training for new users or refreshers for current staff, and enable employees to be as self-sufficient as possible?
8. Can you view the status of your provider’s system at all times to assess issues and average wait times?
9. Has your provider been in business long enough to build out robust data center infrastructure and understand every point in your system?
10. Is your phone system so intuitive and easy-to-use (no 2-week lead times to add a new employee, headaches managing changes, etc.) that it frees you up to focus on more important priorities?
How did you do? If you have more than 3 unchecked boxes, you should think about what your current phone system is doing to drive value for your business. Your phone system holds a significant opportunity to empower your business and employees with the right kind of tools and technology to drive integration, security and performance.
