Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has been talked about, balked about and begged for in succession over the past five years. Most business professionals recognize that VoIP yields savings on long-distance phone bills, but that merely is the tip of the iceberg. VoIP uses the Internet and private data networks to connect and transmit phone calls. Beneath the surface, it revolutionizes business communication. VoIP impacts every aspect of a company, yielding savings through increased productivity, management control, and reporting. Below are some benefits of using VoIP in the workplace.
Installation and Administration
VoIP telephone sets generally share cabling infrastructure with computers, eliminating separate voice cabling and reducing installation time. Systems-administrator interfaces enable customers to make basic moves and changes, reducing support costs up to 50 percent.
Creating a Local Presence
Companies turn to VoIP to reduce the cost of establishing a local presence elsewhere. A Raleigh-based company conducting business in Los Angeles might want a local presence in both places. Traditionally, the company would purchase toll-free or remote call-forwarding numbers. With VoIP, users can port numbers with remote area codes, outbound caller ID and local call billing.
VoIP provides virtual private lines that can be distributed to repeat customers via business cards, outbound caller ID, and e-mail signatures. Customers are connected to the correct person with fewer transfers, reduced phone-line costs and up to 60 percent fewer calls to a receptionist.
Increasing Opportunities
Presence management ensures that a missed call won’t be a missed opportunity, making it easier for callers to reach you wherever you are without dialing multiple numbers. Employees control where incoming calls land by designating their status. Employee presence also can be displayed via a desktop computer so co-workers know how to reach each other.
Call Routing
Traditional phone systems allow calls to be forwarded to remote phone numbers. However, once forwarding is complete, the user loses all PBX functionality. With VoIP call routing, users maintain PBX functionality, so when calls are routed to a cell phone, the user can transfer back to the office. For unanswered calls, their voicemails remain on the PBX, not on a cell phone. VoIP PBXs also provide greater storage capacity and faster, more reliable message delivery.
Unified Messaging
The average worker checks office voicemail six times per day, spending five minutes each time. That totals almost three weeks per person per year spent checking voicemail. Add time spent checking voicemail on cell phones, in shared mailboxes or while filling in for co-workers, and wasted time explodes. Unified messaging lets users view e-mail, voicemail and faxes via the same e-mail reader. Messages can be stored or forwarded, and notifications can be e-mailed to cell phones when messages are received, reducing routine message checking.
Management Reporting
Verbal communications are a critical lifeline to connect employees, customers and suppliers. VoIP PBX systems have online call logs that identify date, time stamps and phone numbers for each call. Call logs can be exported to Microsoft Excel, where reports show how customers and employees are using the phone system. Reports indicate call volumes, frequent callers and number of calls answered, abandoned, or directed to voicemail. These reports help set objective goals to measure and manage customer service levels and employee productivity.
Call Recording
Call recording advises customers that a company is serious about quality control. Recording of calls protects both parties against misunderstandings and inaccurate fact gathering. Most VoIP systems provide integrated call recording that can record on demand, by user, through a sampling of calls to a certain set of users. VoIP offers a strategic competitive advantage and compelling return on investment. Each business owner should investigate this technology to understand its potential impact on their business.