Studies have shown that employees using corporate-owned mobile technology for their personal use are more likely to deal with business-related issues after hours.B In essence, the work day is extended beyond the time we leave the office if we are available by phone and e-mail.
VoIP communication technology allows us to extend our desk phone beyond the walls of the office as well.B For example, the b best in classb phone systems have a list of features that help us stay connected.B These include voicemail to e-mail, find me/follow me, and advanced call transfer capabilities.
Letb s take a look at one of these features and how it actually benefits the user-increasing productivity.B If youb ve never experienced voice mail to e-mail, you might think it wouldnb t be of much use to you.B Itb s common for new users to b squeal with delightb when they see their voice mail adeptly transcribed and forwarded as an e-mail.B What a huge time saver!B You can take action, forward it, or delete it with ease.
How about find me/follow me?B With a bit of careful consideration in the set-up, you can eliminate much of the annoying b phone tagb .B The system knows where to look for you and what to do if you canb t be tracked down.
With the ability to effortlessly transfer calls, you can start a call on your desk phone and easily transfer it to your cell phone when you need to leave your office.B And, the reverse is true.B Walk into your office mid-conversation and transfer it to your desk phone to continue it with the reliability of a b land lineb .
With each feature, there is a potential benefit.B Remember, the system developer didnb t come up with these features b out of thin airb .B There was demand for them!B If you think they wonb t benefit you, itb s entirely possible that you havenb t given them enough consideration.
And, while any improved technology can reap rewards-those rewards only materialize if the capabilities of the technology are put to good use.B So, once the decision is made to deploy the new technology, training and reinforcement are keys to success.
