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To VoIP
or Not to VoIP
To VoIP or not to VoIP.? This is a question that I get
asked many times a week. It seems that everyone has
heard something about VoIP these days. Most of what
people have heard has nothing to do with a business
VoIP phone system, but everything to do with a home
VoIP phone line. Business / corporate VoIP phone systems
are mature and stable. They have been around since October
1998 when 3com released the first commercial “pure end-to-end”
IP phone system called the NBX.
There are pros and cons to going VoIP, but most of the
cons can be disregarded as long as you use a reputable
system and the supplier has experience in VoIP and networking.
There have been many systems that I have been asked
to look at and fix over the years that were installed
by a ‘phone guy’ whose primary business is installing
older non-VoIP phone systems. This is not the type of
company to use. Your installer must be familiar with
voice, data and security if you want to have a successful
implementation.
Here are the some items to consider if you are thinking
about VoIP.
Top 3 Reasons to Go VoIP
1. Cost control.
A VoIP system can save costs on cabling, internal office
user moves and long distance between your own offices.
2. Increased user productivity.
A VoIP system can allow you to have users working from
home, remote offices or even other countries. No longer
does an employee have to be in the Toronto office to
answer an incoming call.
3. Improved customer service.
A VoIP system can allow your company to better handle
incoming calls. You can have anyone in any office answer
incoming calls
Top 4 items to verify before going VoIP
1. Have you chosen the right voice partner?
How many VoIP phone systems has the company installed?
Do they do 90 per cent traditional systems and are offering
you VoIP just because you asked for it? Do they have
experience in voice, networks and security?
2. Is your network up to handling a VoIP phone
system?
VoIP phone systems do not need a high end network, but
there are some key things they do need. If you have
remote users or remote offices what type of security
will you be using?
3. Does the manufacture have additional applications
available?
There are many phone systems on the market that provide
just the basic phone and voicemail features.
4. Is the product you are looking at built on
OPEN STANDARDS?
There are many systems on the market that are closed
and proprietary. The problems with these systems are
that anything you want to do with the system has to
come from the company that made it.
Sean Jennings is a Certified Telephony Expert at C.I.M.
Solutions and can reached by phone at (905) 458-5090
x322 or email at sjennings@cim-solutions.com
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Live
better through leverage “Live better through
leverage!” Does this comment sound familiar to you?
Perhaps it is because this very statement is very often
the mantra of the financial advisor. Their intent, as
I understand it at least, is to ensure that you leverage
your financial assets appropriately. The basic concept
being to use other peoples funds to maximize the financial
return to your business.
This concept is in no way being challenged or downplayed
by the writer. Rather, I would propose that you consider
this very statement from another just as meaningful
perspective. The perspective being referred to here
is your organization’s human resource assets.
Time and again, business leaders hear the word “assets”
and conclude the reference is solely related to physical
premises / equipment or their financial holdings. As
a former employee in the financial services industry,
I would be the last person to say that this assumption
should be discarded.
That being said, premises; equipment and money produce
a positive result for your organization only after application
of some effort by a human resource. The question then
becomes one of “Are you maximizing your human resource
asset?”
Let’s suppose for a moment that you have all the staff
you require to perform the service provided by your
company. Clearly if there is the right amount of people
applied to the process/ task, then the result should
be the return expected, right?
However, after you check your numbers, it becomes clear
that your return on investment (ROI) is not what you
expect nor near the average for your industry. In many
cases, the assumption is quickly made that reducing
the number of staff will result in an increase of the
ROI. There are countless examples of where this logic
has been applied. Unfortunately, in many instances,
they are from companies no longer in operation.
Another fairly common response to a low ROI for human
resource expense not meeting expectations is to change
the human resource itself. This may be completed through
either re-organization or perhaps wholesale staff replacement.
Again, analysis of this response indicates less than
satisfactory results.
So what is a firm to do? Is there a magic solution
to ensuring that your ROI on human resource expenses
improves? Unfortunately, there is not a “one size fits
all” solution. That said, I believe there is a solution
to this dilemma - leverage your assets.
Appropriately leveraging human resource assets simply
means that you have:
1. The right people;
2. doing the right things;
3. in the right way;
4. at the right time;
5. for the right reason.
To accomplish this goal, it is necessary to first assess
your staff as individuals; do you have square pegs in
round holes? Once the people are appropriately placed
it is necessary to ensure that they are doing the right
things; i.e. do a job task analysis for all positions.
Simply having the right people do the right things
is not enough however. They need to be doing things
the right way and at the right time. Clearly, a process
review will help you assess whether the tasks are done
in the right order (the right time) and a without a
doubt documented processes allow for the measurement
of doing things the right way.
The final question in this equation is: “are they doing
it for the right reason? Here it is necessary to assess
your compensation system and rewards programs. Remember
it is hard to gain team successes if you are rewarding
people for their individual effort. A fair market comparison
of financial compensation for your industry will tell
you whether you are compensating in line with the norm
for your industry.
To properly leverage your (human resource) assets you
should be able to respond with a resounding YES, to
each of the five points noted above. If not, what are
you doing to change?
Gordon is President of The Newman Learning Group Inc.
an organization dedicated to providing value add solutions
to improve the bottom line performance of organization
and individuals. Gordon may be reached at gordon@newmanlearning.com
or 905-790-2944.
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Business
classes support diverse workforce
Teranet Inc. is a provider of business-to-government
and business-to-business e-service
solutions -- and an employer of immigrants. Teranet
has discovered that most skilled immigrants
hired have a very good foundational understanding of
English. However, they sometimes lack
the ability to communicate effectively in work-specific
situations such as presentations or
business writing.
In response, Teranet offers a six-course communications
program focusing on pronunciation, conversation, idioms,
presentations, business writing and leadership communication
skills. At the time of hire or during performance reviews,
managers invite employees to take one or more of the
courses, which are taught by Gandy Associates.
Graduates are more confident, more aware of the nuances
between formal English and Canadian style and more competent
in the strategic use of language. As a result they collaborate
more effectively with other members of the Teranet workforce.
Dial in on Tuesday, December 11, at noon when Teresa
McGill, President of Gandy Associates,
will outline how business communication classes can
help you tap into the talent of your culturally
diverse workforce. She will share with you the positive
impact that companies have had from
making this investment. Better internal and external
communications have improved teamwork
and resulted in innovation, increased morale and employee
retention.
Janet Beecham, Resource Manager, Human Resources &
Development, Teranet Inc. and Deborah
Bugeja, Manager, Training and Employee Development,
Toromont CAT, whose companies both
tap into Gandy services, will speak about the impact
communication classes have had on their
staff.
Register online today at www.hireimmigrants.ca/seminars.htm.
If you cannot participate, check back online a week
after the event to download and listen to the audio
file.
hireimmigrants.ca is a program of the Toronto Region
Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) and is funded by
the Ontario Ministry if Citizenship and Immigration.
The hireimmigrants.ca tele-seminar series is funded
by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The program provides
employers with interactive tools and resources to accelerate
the integration of skilled immigrants into their organizations.
TRIEC is working to increase access and support for
immigrants trying to enter the labour market, while
at the same time helping organizations like yours benefit
from the talents and skills immigrants bring with them.
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