Investing in unified communications comes with high expectations of reduced costs and improved efficiency. While it’s exciting to see immediate payoff with your transition, it’s easy to be blinded by metrics that are not capturing the full picture.
For instance, a company may measure the reduced travel costs resulting from the introduction of web conferencing for their sales team. What’s easy to overlook, however, is that after six months, there are two resignations from the sales team as a result of team members feeling less connected than they did when monthly on-site sales team meetings were the norm. What the company saved on travel costs, they more than spent on hiring costs.
In another example, a company might introduce video conferencing for its financial planning meeting with clients in an effort to augment phone conversations and reduce travel costs. However, the company may overlook the impact when video conferencing appointments are not user-friendly for clients, who might grow frustrated with technical difficulties. The company may reduce other costs, but when they lose clients, the cost is too high.
The problem is that companies often measure activity-based metrics rather than outcome-based metrics. What a company thinks indicates a successful implementation of a unified communications system isn’t always the right way to measure success.
There are some questions that are universally valuable for evaluating the effectiveness of your transition:
- How does the implementation of the unified communications add value for the customer? There are a variety of industry-specific ways to measure this, but you want to ensure your investment has a direct, positive impact on your customer.
- Are you experiencing results that demonstrate measurable growth each quarter? Whether it’s sales dollars or volume, you need to see that your transition is positively affecting the bottom line.
- What’s the ROI of the implementation of your unified communication? Remember to measure both activity-based and outcome-based metrics.
An effective implementation includes some basic components, making it easy to assess whether the transition was successful:
- First, determine your needs. Don’t get dazzled by the features of a unified communications system before you complete this step. If you have a clear idea of your needs and the ways you use the communications tools you currently have, you’ll more objectively identify the system you need.
- Second, create benchmarks. What would it look like if you were using your unified communications at its full capability and capacity?
- Finally, set up performance indexes. Identify where you have performance gaps and opportunities for improvement, and make any necessary adjustments.
When it’s time to invest in unified communications, partner with Infinium Communications. We can help you identify the metrics to gain a clear picture of the effectiveness of your implementation and get the best possible return on your telecom solutions.