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    Voicemail - back to basics


    Added: 14-03-2010
    Author: Milan Zala
    Category: Telecommunications     		← Back | ↓ Related | Home →


    More than 15 years ago, a company disturbed by the dichotomy of trying to increase revenue and reduce costs in administration and support staff down at the same time. They think they are the solution lies in the emergence of voice messages. What is more valuable today as if it is possible to measure the results or voicemail true not only about the bottom line, but also the productivity of staff? What are the benefits generated extinguished or have recently lost as a rule must be to the office.

    It is envisaged that ddI and voice messaging system will provide the best solutions for each client call to catch and release time of the Secretary to answer calls and take messages and the cost to produce work that focuses on the production of documents. Actually very different.

    When questions about voice mail, talking on the face is suggested that a beautiful waitress and well intentioned, but behind the scenes paint a different story, with lawyers, partners, customers and consultants as a secret hate technology. Voice messages are a tool, but mainly because really there is no other alternative in the market to solve inherent shortcomings.

    Voicemail came and put new problems - voicemail becomes impersonal (customers prefer to talk with someone). Industrial research has confirmed this picture. 75% of callers-up depending on when they succeed with voicemail messages. But it did not stop there. Outcom Limited, a communications company designed for the professional market, to study corporate law and found the results very much. More than 82% of companies in the pole admit that their system does not provide results that voicemail. Among the issues that are not only the messages left on the cost of not utilizing the system for too long and destroyed the hard work.

    Result: both companies are increasingly visible before returning to the era of voicemail with the staff of the Secretary of hybrids continues to receive messages in a more cost-effective cost-generating activities.

    Voicemail adds another layer of administrative costs-down time (not eliminating) and fees charged by the company for lost time. It takes about 90 seconds to take all the messages through voicemail systems need time to get, or write notes of information (and perhaps re-listen to the message) to the lost when contamination. An extra fee earner typically retrieve voice mail messages for 10-20 days. The end result is worth the time (15-30 minutes a day) will be taken from client work and so charged. One has to increase the level and number of employees required to see the value for the cost of income that came every day / year basis.

    Of course, some argue that it's been noted in this rule is difficult to belief. Now for filling the acute pressure on lawyers to tot their goals, but they may be authorized. Furthermore, client pressure to deliver projects in a fixed cost and term of more stringent, it is important that law firms are given the opportunity to spend their time and profit pressures, without additional staff.

    What about the secretaries? They used to take days in a message to them 3 or 4 bosses. More than one year and has spent a considerable amount of the fee-generating activities. There is also recognition that the secretaries can play an important role in more customer-oriented to become more productive and skilled to do more value-added activities that contribute to a stable value, such as paralegal work, marketing, knowledge management or invoice.

    Customer satisfaction is also topping the agenda. And what is between 10-40 seconds before you can even leave any message is strange that the law firm that lost calls as customers get frustrated and focus on voice messages. Messages are delivered in a few records a voice message again seemed to oppose any logic, if a client came to record he knew someone was not available and therefore did not need to be reminded in a long message about the movement of lawyers, leading to increased irritation. Voice message wasn t the purpose of preventing and reducing the administration of all this? Group or groups of hunters seem to take problems and improve customer calls are sent to run around and not answered in time before the client is not on the Kings.

    There are many technologies developed to try to resolve some of these problems, for example, unified message - that goes to highlight the problems inherent with voice mail and then again is to resolve some, but not all the problems mentioned - the customer still had to leave a message in the first place, which, as we see they are reluctant to do so. And involve high costs and infrastructure integration costs and IT training.

    And how you can measure the return on investment in the implementation of voicemail on this background? What impact bottom line? If the law firm so focused on squeezing as much time as possible in order to improve efficiency and productivity in today's market is very competitive, they do not have to look real alternative, measurable.

    One company, Outcom Limited, has the answer to this problem. Executive Director, the Milan Zala, a former City lawyer organizations, believes that companies must turn a problem on its head and performance management outsourcing their call for the three providers. The company provides professional services to answer dedicated only for law firms. If the expansion of the law firm, called Outcom catch all messages sent directly to the desktops of individual / Blackberry to ignore the voice messages and two secretaries from all the increased productivity, profitability and customer relationships without the infrastructure costs. The system is flexible to allow services to elect members who prefer to maintain client relationships, they remained PAS without sacrificing the benefits for remaining workers. Mr. Zala believe that by giving time back to the workforce, companies invest in their welfare by helping them manage their time more effectively and efficiently, producing results for all employees (more control, less stress and more rapid turnover time at work) and to employer (to increase productivity and profits).

    This can solve the problems inherent in the voice message and deliver the benefits that you can see in the office, but what about the bottom line?

    Outcom Apparently this problem can be solved also for the unique transparency and reporting tools that provide an individual perspective and departmentalised cost savings and additional income subject to a position resulting from the use of actual system and the law firm, providing valuable information to assist in management decisions.

    So how do managers manage? An increasing number of companies reviewing their support for Secretarial costs down to improve the quality and responsiveness of the Secretariat staff, competitive basis to the needs of customers in which the speed of response, consistency of service and value for money. Opens the way for the company for several non-core activities to outsource a win-win situation for clients, law firms and their employees.

    And practice for seeking partners return on real investment through this new process will save time and valuable labor, may be very old voicemail?

    Milan Zala from Outcom Limited, you may call at 44 (0) 208 590 7408 or via e-mail at milan.zala @ outcom.co.uk.

    © Milan Zala - 16 August 2006



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