Productivity Tip #57: Cut out the Voicemail Garbage

How many messages by noon?

You get into the office on Monday, check your voicemail one by one to find out what's important and what's not.  By noon you have 23 more messages to check.  What a waste of time listening to vendors sell to you over voicemail.  (Author excluded of course… :-) )

There has got to be a better way

The ability to check only the important messages narrows that 23 down to 3.  I'm not talking about the simple urgent flag or high priority the person leaving the message can set.  The average message is 1 minute long.  Congratulations, you just got back 20 minutes of your lunch break because you viewed all your messages and who they were from before wasting time listening to all of them.

The Payoff...

Implementing a messaging system that allows you to prioritize  voicemails will save you time.  Most people already have e-mail up during the day and can listen to messages from your computer, forward them to co-workers, etc.  You just shut down you're pc for the day, no problem.  Your voicemail system allows you to scroll through a graphical interface, see who's call and if you need to listen to their message.  Now go to lunch…Don't spend it in the office listening to sales messages.

Summary

An enormous amount of productivity is lost listening to messages in sequential order.  Get your lunch hour back, leave on time and cut out the voicemail garbage.

NonStop Networks, LLC

Cisco Unified Communications Solutions

http://www.nonstopnetworks.net | http://forum.nonstopnetworks.net

Focused on solving problems for small and medium sized businesses who are frustrated that their communication systems are letting them down, worried about security and concerned with rising technology cost.  Helping businesses communicate in real-time with customers and staff - anytime, anywhere.

Time Clocking Money Saver

Inaccurate Time Reporting Impacts Your Bottom Line

Small business have many methods to track time from an old punch clock to spreadsheets to the honor system.  Time cards get lost, hours misreported, not to mention break and lunch times.  Inaccurate time reporting lead to lost revenue to both the employee and employer and dissatisfaction on both sides.

Determine the Impact

How much time on a weekly basis to you spend calculating employee hours?  As a business owner, your time is money.  Multiple the number of hours recording hours into your payroll system by your hourly rate.  Lets not mention how many extra hours get clocked by employees rounding up to the nearest 15 minutes.  Start looking at automating employee time  clock functions allow accurate management of employee hours including start, breaks, lunch and end of day.

Start saving today

You've decided to get back the 2-4 hours of your week imputing hours into your payroll system and accurately record employees hours down to the minute, using automation.  You're next payroll week goes like this.  1) Employees login into  an IP Phone with their UserID and PIN when they arrive to work.  2) They clock out during breaks and lunch. 3) They clock out at the end of the day.  4) Both employee and employer can view hours worked on the phone and send a copy to their e-mail address.  5)  Employer exports time card data from the system into Quickbooks, excel, csv or pdf format.  Every minute is accurately recorded and easily exported electronically.

Summary

The ability to automate any part of your business, down to time tracking, not only simplifies your life  as a business owner, but also tracks payroll expenses and increases employees satisfaction.  Determine the  impact inaccurate time reporting has to your business and talk to your trusted advisor about ways to mitigate the impact.

NonStop Networks, LLC

Cisco Unified Communications Solutions

http://www.nonstopnetworks.net | http://forum.nonstopnetworks.net

Focused on solving problems for small and medium sized businesses who are frustrated that their communication systems are letting them down, worried about security and concerned with rising technology cost.  Helping businesses communicate effectively and efficiently with customers and staff - anytime, anywhere.

Sticky Note Messaging Method

Are you using the Sticky Note Messaging Method?

You know,  Look at your computer monitor and your co-worker's computer monitor.  See all those colored sticky notes with important customer messages.  Most of use have a note pad right beside us to take down important information while we're on the phone, then forget where we put it or to pass the message to the recipient.  Messages from important clients or potential prospects that are not returned or answered quickly lead to customer dissatisfaction and lost revenue.

What is your messaging strategy?

How do you want your business to interact with customers?  Do you want people to communicate directly with your staff, have first contact with a receptionist who takes messages or even have the ability to leave a message during business hours?

Accomplishing your messaging strategy.

If your customers should always make contact with a person, don't use voicemail during business hours.  Avoid lost messages  by removing sticky notepads from your desk.  This will force you to keep electronic notes that can be immediately sent using e-mail.  Direct customers into a voicemail box that is monitored 24x7 via a physical light on the phone, text alerts, calls to cell or home phone or e-mail alerts.  This will ensure messages are never lost or not responded to.  Don't forget about faxes, they can be sent directly to your e-mail as well.

Summary

Sticky notes are convenient but lead to lost messages and revenue.  Determine the optimal way for customers to interact with your business and speak with your trusted adviser on how to accomplish that goal.  Technology is your friend and will enable you to meet your business objectives.

NonStop Networks, LLC

Cisco Unified Communications Solutions

Network | Voice | Video | Wireless | Security | Storage

http://www.nonstopnetworks.net | http://forum.nonstopnetworks.net

Don't Run Your Business Like the Krusty Krab

If you have ever watched Sponge Bob Square Pants, you know how inefficient the Krusty Krab runs. What if there was a way for Mr. Krab's to increase employee productivity, improve customer satisfaction and increase revenue?

First, Mr. Krab's is always running out of his office checking the kitchen and cash register. If he had a Cisco IP Video Surveillance system, he could manage up to 16 Cameras and see what is going on right from his color ip phone. Add the 2-way audio and he could tell Squidward to get back to work from his desk, while counting his money.

Second, the staff is constantly being side-tracked by signing and dancing (Sponge Bob) or falling asleep on the job (Squidward). Only if Mr. Krabs had a system to alerts his staff of daily task that needed to occur, rather than spending his time keeping them on track. With IPCelerate integrated into the Cisco Small Business Communications Systems, he could add daily task management with escalation alerts if they are not completed.

Finally, How does Mr. Krabs keep track of Sponge Bob and Squidward's time? With an integrated time clock in the Cisco UC500 Office in a Box, Time Clock is a free add-in. He would be assured that only the time worked is paid for and have a way to track breaks, lunch, export data into Quickbooks and have an at-a-glance view of hours worked.

Summary

We all know how cheap Mr. Krabs is. The Cisco Small Business Communications System (i.e UC500) is an all-in-one office in a box that includes your network, voice, video, wireless and security that won't break the bank.

NonStop Networks, LLC

Cisco Unified Communications Solutions

http://www.nonstopnetworks.net | http://forum.nonstopnetworks.net

Focused on solving problems for small and medium sized businesses who are frustrated that their communication systems are letting them down, worried about security and concerned with rising technology cost.  Helping businesses communicate in real-time with customers and staff - anytime, anywhere.

There is no warranty in the information listed. It is always recommended that your seek the advise of a trusted professional.

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