Don'T Downsize Staff – Redistribute Them
With the recession concerns affecting so many families and businesses, it is certainly worrisome to have to consider downsizing your staff, especially if you are a small, close-knit company. With layoffs taking root all over the country, it can be a terrible reality for many companies in the coming year.
Obviously, saving money is the reason behind the layoffs but for some businesses there can be other ways to get rid of unnecessary expenses and help prevent layoffs. One such solution is to maximize your dollar and downsize the technologies you are using in the office, specifically communication systems. If you are using expensive phone technologies that require additional staff to manually operate the incoming phone calls, there is a better way.
A toll free phone system that comes with PBX virtual phone features including automated attendant, voice mail, and call forwarding can be a great alternative to traditional local numbers. When you employ a toll free number in your office, you encourage more calls and can implement better quality customer service. The toll free phone number doesn't limit your business by geography. Having an auto attendant feature in-office will also free up your staff to perform other duties that are more instrumental for business than answering a multitude of calls day in a day out. Unlike a human receptionist, the auto attendant can answer all calls simultaneously, leaving no call unanswered. The system then routes calls to various extensions throughout the company that are ported to other phone numbers, whether it be cell phones or land lines.
Traditionally, a receptionist position requires more than one operator to handle the volume of calls. When one breaks for lunch, a substitute is needed. If you are using valuable personnel in such a capacity each day, you are losing valuable man hours. You also are likely to pay overtime for those pinch-hitting employees who get pulled away from work to answer calls.
Additionally, staff will benefit from the flexibility offered by the virtual PBX features. They are free to go out on the road without missing a beat from the office. All calls can be forwarded to the other numbers available for each staff member so staff can stay active and never miss out on business calls when out of the office.
Restructuring your office personnel and cutting down on inefficient technologies is a great start to avoiding the hits of the recession. By making staff more useful and efficient, you can not only save on costs but you can also benefit from the increased productivity of staff members.
About the Author:
Ty Ralot is a business owner and writes about issues concerning business communications, including the technology of the virtual PBX phone system and 800 numbers.