Technology

Guidelines to Choose the Right Phone System for Your Business

October 16, 2017 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Image: https://pixabay.com/en/phone-home-telephone-numbers-2127/

Choosing a business phone system is a very important decision. A decision that requires a lot of research and consideration. Different businesses have different needs, especially when it comes to a phone system. A small coffee shop could probably get by on a personal landline and mobile phone combo. On the other hand, a city centre hostel with 100 plus beds will need a business phone system, such as a virtual PBX, to handle multiple incoming calls, facilitate call transferring and be ever reliable with no downtime. If you need a business solution there are plenty of options out there for you. Read on for 3 of the most popular business phone systems along with pros and cons of each.

Traditional Landline

When you think of a traditional landline we think of our home phone line. They are slightly different when talked about in a business sense. Business landlines are typically supported by a phone company. These are analog systems that run on the phone companies existing technology. This technology is usually traditional copper wiring.

To run a traditional landline, you need local PBX hardware. This hardware is what enables you to use business phone system features such as call transferring etc. They enable the use of multiple phone extensions.

Some business landline systems run as a hybrid with VoIP systems (more on them so). The traditional phone line comes into your business and then connects to your data network. The data network is then responsible for connecting the multiple business phones to the central line.

Many landline systems are now being phased out by most system providers.

Pro: Landline systems have been around for ages so are reliable and time-tested. A lot of companies like what they know, which is the traditional landline.

Con: With the prevalence of the cloud most providers are moving away from landlines. This means they are more difficult to purchase and, more importantly, repair should something break.

VOIP Systems

Where landlines use copper wires to get you connected, VoIP systems use the internet. They tap into your companies existing connection to enable your phone system. VoIP systems provide great business features such as automated attendants, call queues and computer integration. Some of the highlights include allowing voicemails left over the phone to be sent to email inboxes and computers to be turned into "softphones."

VoIP systems give remote employees and users access to the business VoIP phone system from their mobile device so they can work on the go without the hassle.

Pro: VoIP systems provide the complete business phone package. These VoIP systems are easily set up and configured, and are a lot more cost effective than landline systems.

Con: The downside, however, is that these systems rely on your internet connection. So, if you’re in a community with spotty internet service, this type of phone system wouldn’t work for you.

Virtual PBX

Virtual PBX phone systems are the next step in the evolution of business phone systems. The Virtual PBX phone systems differentiate themselves by being hosted in the cloud instead of being on-premise. And that eliminates many of the challenges associated with traditional systems and provides all the benefits of the cloud technology it is based on.

A virtual PBX phone system is securely stored in the cloud on a server that is accessible and configurable via a web interface. Virtual PBX phone systems uses internet protocol or IP communications, allowing businesses to make calls over the internet. The difference is mostly invisible to the average user. The only change you’ll see is that instead of plugging your phone handset into the wall socket, your plug your IP phone directly into your modem.

Pros: Cloud-based systems like virtual PBX mean no local hardware to purchase and maintain. Your provider takes care of that for you. You can set up and configure the system for your business, all from your computer.

Cons: Not having your own hardware means that if there are any problems it is out of your control and up to your provider to get them fixed

Think about the services we’ve talked about here and align them with your business needs. Choosing the right system for your business will help it thrive while avoiding headaches down the track. If you need some more advice ask the team over at https://www.cloudtelecom.com.au/ what would be best for you. The right phone system for your business is right around the corner.

How to Choose the Right Commercial Air Conditioning Unit for Your Business

September 26, 2017 by Reporter Leave a Comment

When choosing quality air conditioning for your business, it’s best to go for a custom-tailored solution for your commercial installation. You want your employees to be comfortable as overbearing heat can have a large impact on productivity. You’ll want to seek expert advice on your air conditioning installation so you can get the right fit for your business.

One of the biggest mistakes made by businesses, is choosing the wrong air conditioning unit. Anyone considering a commercial air conditioning should get in touch with an air conditioning designer who can tailor the solution specifically for you. These quality air conditioning professionals understand how everything needs to work together and what features you’ll need to get the maximum benefit from your units.

Read on for a rundown on what you should be considering when installing quality air conditioning for your business or commercial property.

Size and Scope

Size is the most important factor to consider before your commercial installation. Each space in your office or building should be treated individually. The air conditioning requirements of an industrial plant will be vastly different to those in a small office. Always choose an air conditioning system that compliments your intended environment.

One of the major decisions will be whether you’re after a single thermostat or if you’ll need to split the system up into different zones. A single thermostat is exactly how it sounds. A unit that is controlled from one spot with that temperature being consistent in the affected area. This is perfect for a smaller area that is self-contained. Businesses such as small restaurants or offices would benefit the most from this solution.

Breaking them up into zones however is the best option for large commercial properties or offices that are divided by lots of individual rooms. These systems have quality air conditioning that can be tailored to each specific room. Your large break room can have its unit working harder to cool the larger, traffic heavy space, whilst the unit in your office with be operating at the lower end as it doesn’t have to affect a larger space.

Not all quality air conditioning units are created equal. Make sure to choose an air conditioner unit with all the features you need that’s within your budget. Your chosen specialist will work with you to design a system that’ll work for you.

Power Usage

The power usage of your air conditioning unit will be an on-going cost you’ll want to consider before your commercial installation. If you end up with a system that isn’t energy efficient it could end up costing you a huge amount of money in the long run. This is of paramount importance for those businesses that will have their air conditioning units running 24/7.

To make sure you get an energy efficient air conditioning unit you may need to pay a bit more money upfront. Don’t worry though, as this will save you big bucks in the long run by way of reducing operating costs. A little immediate pain for some huge long-term gains.

Air Filtering

A little-known benefit of a quality air conditioning unit is its air filtering ability. Air conditioning systems are very effective at removing dust, spores, mold and additional unhygienic particles in your commercial business environment. Removing these ‘baddies’ from the air will create a healthier workplace for you and your staff. Reduce those total sick days with a quality air conditioning unit.

If you’re considering investing in a commercial installation of a quality air conditioning system, always hire the services of the experts such as the team over at https://toshiba-aircon.com.au/. They’ll help you organise the type of system that your business requires. Remember these points when choosing your quality air conditioning and you’ll have a system that benefits you, your employees and your business.

Things to Consider Before You Switch to Hosted PBX

September 5, 2017 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Are you one of the businesses that is considering a move to a hosted PBX phone system, but are not sure if it is a smart decision? You know that you are not happy with your current outdated system and you see competitors using hosted PBX systems to add a number of really cool benefits that help them be more efficient and effective. But with every change, there are plusses and minuses to consider. So you would like to know: Is it a smart move to get a hosted PBX phone system now? Here are some important things to consider:

The Size of Your Company:

Generally speaking, Hosted PBX phone systems provide the most advantages for small businesses with 12 employees or less. If your employees are spread over several locations, this will put less strain on the overall system and more employees can be accommodated.

Bandwidth Costs: In terms of cost of the phones and flexibility, hosted PBX cannot be beat, but you need to also consider additional bandwidth costs that will become costly as you begin to add more people on the system. This will cause a spike in your bandwidth costs and you need to calculate how much this will add to your bills every month.

Call Quality: Another consideration is call quality. Today most company’s employees are on the internet all the time. There is information going in both directions and this is taxing on the connection. Calls through a hosted PBX phone system are routed through the Internet and as with all such connections are affected by unknowns in the cloud. These events can lead to issues like latency that affect call quality or worse events that in-effect cause outages due to loss of signal or call routing. Although generally short lived in duration, these issues can and do occur. You obviously need to have a consistent amount of bandwidth in order to get great and consistent call quality. Depending on the Internet speed available to your business this may be a problem.

The Cost of Set-up:

Router and Lines: When you decide to purchase a hosted PBX system, technicians will visit your office to test your connections to ensure you have enough power and data speed to support the system. If you do not, you’ll have to first upgrade your power and high-speed internet connection. Once this is done, you will have to purchase and have installed routers and equipment in order to make the system function properly. Therefore you will incur set-up costs that depending on the size of your company can run into the thousands.

Handsets: Hosted PBX requires that you purchase IP phones for the system. These phones vary in price from a low end feature phone costing about $100.00 to higher-end full featured phones costing up to $300.00 each. Each phone has a built in Ethernet port where the PC can then be plugged in. It is better though to have each phone connected to its own switch or router port for more throughput and better consistency and you will be able to separate voice and data.

As with any purchase for your business you need to do your homework and research the different types of packages that hosted PBX providers offer. There are some packages that take into account multiple business locations, others that take into account fast growth, and some that have plans to compensate for areas that will likely experience Internet outages. Be clear about the specific needs of your business so you can decide which package serves your company best.

Hosted PBX provider like Cloud Telecom provides free handsets on the monthly packages above $20 AUD . Visit our website https://www.cloudtelecom.com.au to check out our competitive hosted pbx pricing or call 1800 358 339 for more information.

Top 10 SEO Tips For Your Business in 2017

May 16, 2017 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Every single business, large and small, is now aware of the need to have a well-maintained and efficient website. The best websites drive traffic towards your business, which means they need to be easy to find, as well as persuasive and informative for your customers. One of the best ways to achieve all of these goals and be confident that your website is performing at maximum capacity for your business is by following these 10 SEO tips from industry experts.

1. Focus On Popular Keywords

This means researching the terms that are actually being searched for, not just deciding which words suit your site and focusing on them.

2. Use Keywords Effectively

A few years ago, stuffing content full of keywords was enough to fuel SEO. However, this is no longer the case, and it’s now prudent to monitor how much of your content is made up of keywords, as 1-3% is currently seen as the perfect balance. It’s easy to make sure you’re meeting this criteria with Keyword Density Checker.

3. Gain Legitimate Backlinks

Backlinks from spammy websites are a big no-no for SEO, however carefully cultivated backlinks from legitimate websites can be a huge boost for your rankings.

4. Keep an Eye on Your Competitor

In today’s market, your competitors are multiple and international – keep an eye on what works well for them, and also learn from their mistakes. Ah Refs is a great tool to keep on top of this kind of data.

5. Work On Becoming Authoritative

If you want to stand out, you need to show you are an expert in your field. This means focusing on quality content, that’s original and really offers something to your customers. Guest blogging is a great way to show you’re respected in your field. If you’re not sure how to present yourself this way, there’s plenty of advice from professionals in the forums at Paper Fellows.

6. Learn About SEO

Many businesses want to fuel SEO without really understanding how it works, which is essential if you want to stay ahead of your competitors. Spend some time on Yoast to really get a good idea of the subject.

7. Use Online Editing Resources

Successful entrepreneurs have an amazing set of skills, however creative writing isn’t necessarily one of them. For this reason, many businesses are opting to make the most of online editing tools to improve SEO such as Essay Roo or Australian Help. These sites, as well as Big Assignments are a great platform to find a qualified editor or SEO expert who can optimize your content for the web.

8. Size Matters

Search Engines have acknowledged that the length of the content plays a part in SEO. Over 1000 words is better for SEO, while social media studies show that 1500 words is ideal for audience engagement. It’s easy to monitor this with Easy Word Count tool.

9. Focus On Your Title and Meta Descriptions

When your page appears in the search results, you need to make sure it stands out from the rest and is most appealing to your readers. The more people click on your page, the more traffic and conversion leads you get, and the more your rankings improve.

10. Be Mobile Friendly

As millions of people access the internet over mobile devices every day, you lose a lot of business if your site isn’t mobile friendly. First, the bounce back rate from your site increases, which is bad for SEO, and crawlers assess this feature anyway, which is also bad for SEO. It’s extremely important to make sure your site is mobile friendly.

Overall, SEO is becoming a lot easier to integrate with a high quality website, and following these tips can help you really make the most of your website.

What You Need To Know About NBN

February 15, 2017 by Reporter Leave a Comment

The Federal Government of Australia has funded the project for the nationwide project known as The National Broadband Network, in order to offer and provide users (home and business) with a reliable and fast connection.

The Federal Government has committed to help in building a mixed technology network (aka multi-technology mix or MTM). This includes many houses being connected to a core network that use fibre optic cables. They would provide satellite internet options and fixed wireless network for those houses that are not physically connected to the NBN.

How to connect to NBN?

Connecting to NBN is totally free (including all the required equipment). Unless you are changing to a new NBN package, you really don’t have to do anything.

All over Australia there are many homes being connected to this network. In many cases its being done by laying fibre optic cables under the street, so don’t be surprised if your neighbourhood has work going on for it too.

It is necessary to note that, even though the connection to NBN is completely free and covers all the cost of installation, you will still have to pay for the monthly fee to your network provider for the packages you pick. You may also be required to pay for the installation of hardware. There are 7 kinds of NBN connections which are as follows.

FTTdp – Fibre to the Distribution Point
FTTP – Fibre to the Premises
FTTB – Fibre to the Basement
FTTN – Fibre to the node
HFC Cable
Fixed Wireless
Satellite

Why do people need NBN?

People have now started to realize the importance of connectivity through the internet. Almost everything these days is related to the internet whether it’s watching movies or shopping or anything else. The internet has changed the way we live and work. It’s a fast paced life now for everyone therefore a fast connection of NBN is really important. NBN is simply a method of future proofing the homes and business in Australia.

People at home or business owners require faster speed of connecting to the internet these days because of the different needs of people. Streaming videos, playing video games online, connecting to servers and databases all make it important. It is the era Netflix rather than cable TV, and there is huge shift to the way people use entertainment through other means than just TV.

Fast internet speed is ideal for people who conduct businesses, and need to connect internationally through video conferencing, or students doing distance learning and need to video dial in to a classroom. People running a business online also need a high internet speed because all of their work is online.

There are many NBN packages out there to choose from, so research and compare NBN plans.

Research concludes that due to the technological advances, thousands of new jobs and opportunities are created. This has been majorly credited to the benefit of the internet.

Grabbing Business Webinars for Reference with the Movavi Screen Capture Studio Review

February 22, 2016 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Starting and running a business can be hard work – and requires various skills and disciplines. Although it may appear ‘easy’ on the surface, there is a great deal of planning, strategy and analysis that goes into running an effective, efficient and profitable business.

One of the best ways to learn how to run a business while at the same time gleaning some helpful tips and tricks as well as staying up to date is by watching webinars. Because these live webinars are run by experts with a great deal of experience, you will be learning from the best in the business.

Of course just as with all live webinars the one big downside with attempting to watch them is you need to be present at the time when they’re aired or you’ll miss out. Generally these webinars don’t have a convenient ‘save’ or ‘download’ option – so there’s really nothing for you to fall back on unless you’re using the Movavi Screen Capture Studio.

The Movavi Screen Capture Studio can basically play the role of a screen grabber and let you grab the webinar by recording it right off your screen. It is so easy to use that all you need to do to pull this off is position the capture area to encompass the webinar, and hit record. When you’re done you can conveniently save it in any format you see fit – or by using one of the hundreds of presets to automatically optimize it for a particular device or platform.

In addition to allowing you to grab all the business webinars you need for reference so that you can watch them at your leisure – the Movavi Screen Capture Studio will also hand you tons of other helpful features. Using it you can cut and combine video footage, enhance the video quality, utilize filters and special effects, add customizable text to your videos, or even include a voiceover or background music of your choosing.

By making it easy and straightforward to use all of its features, the Movavi Screen Capture Studio is able to ensure that anyone will be able to use it without going through a steep learning curve – even beginners. In no time you’ll be able to record any business webinar you require, and from there you should be well on your way to building a successful business.

A Guide to Lightning Protection Systems: What Every Commercial Property Owner Needs to Know

October 29, 2015 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Every year its estimated 2,000 thunderstorms occur globally at any one time producing up to 100 lightning strikes per second. Each of these lightning strikes carries 100,000 volts or more sparking significant damage, even kilometres away from the point of impact. And whilst there’s definitely a few storm lovers out there; this enormous electrical discharge we know as lightning is not only spectacular, it can be extremely dangerous.

As an underrated disaster educating yourself about the damage lightning can bring to properties and individuals is important – especially as a commercial property owner. Lightning claims are costing property owners nearly $800 million worth of damage a year and gaining good risk management has never been so crucial. Lightning protection systems have become an important part of keeping homes, businesses and people safe. Here’s everything you need to know to keep your commercial property protected.

1. Super Risk Management

From a commercial property owner’s perspective, the damage caused by lightning can be huge. According to the Insurance Information Institute, lightning strikes can cost more than $1 billion in insured losses from damage to expensive electronic equipment to structural fires caused by the lightning strike that destroys entire homes and commercial properties.

Whilst there’s business insurance covers that should be in place for such damage, all commercial property owners should take additional steps to minimise any kinds of damage or loss that may occur due to a lightning hit. The safe installation of lightning protection systems is one of the most effective ways to do this.

As lightning strikes a property, the material damage of the powerful bolt can cause extensive harm to the structure which can lead to building collapses and fires. Electrical equipment and wiring in the property are especially at risk and pose a real threat to igniting fires as the surges cause the energy to jump around. As the electronic circuitry in buildings becomes denser and more interconnected, home and business owners are becoming more vulnerable to damage caused by lightning and power surges. Combined with business and lightning insurance, lightning protection systems can reduce the risks expressively.

2. What are Lightning Protection Systems?

Specifically designed to protect your commercial property from damage caused by a lightning strike, lightning protection systems provide a safe passing of the electrical current to the ground. When lightning strikes an unprotected structure, the damage that can be caused to the property or anyone in the building can be catastrophic.

Lightning protection systems work by a network of low resistance paths to safely take the dangerous electricity from the strike and direct it to the earth without impact to the structure or its occupants. They consist of rods or air terminals for the discharge, conductor cables that carry the current to the ground and ground rods which are buried into the earth around a protected structure – all bonded together.

Because of their vital role in the distribution of the electrical current, they are paramount in protecting people and properties from the worst effects of lightning by preventing or lessening the strike damage to structures. Whilst no protection system can guarantee 100% safety from lightning, a basic system can offer a conductive path between an air terminal and the earth, reducing the effects of the travelling current.

3. Business Insurance

Almost all business insurance policies will cover commercial property damage from lightning related incidents – including fire damage as a result from a lightning strike. Only some business insurances will provide coverage for power surges set of by a lightning strike though, so it’s essential you check what limitations there are in your lightning policy.

Because of the costly damage that can result from lightning strikes, it’s imperative to look into the best cover for your commercial property. Whilst it’s a vital safety consideration for the property and residents in it, it’s also an essential risk management so minimise business losses.

According to information released by the Herald Sun last year, Darwin is one of Australia’s hotspots for lightning strikes – but it still pays to have lightning protection regardless of the location you’re in as their power and potential damage is extraordinary.

4. How Safe is Your Property in a Lightning Storm?

On average 100 incidents a year are fatal from people being struck by lightning – but just how safe is your property during a lightning storm? Each year lightning is notorious for injuring people, killing livestock and billions of dollars in destruction to buildings, power lines, communication systems and electrical equipment, just to name a few.

As the high-voltage electricity is discharges, electrical storms become a massive risk. A strike to your property can kill all the electrics in your home, blast a hole through the property or start a fire. Properties with overgrown trees around can be at a higher risk too as the sap in trees are a natural lightning conductor.

5. Protecting Your Home and Business

To effectively protect your home or commercial property, you need to work with a lightning protection supplier who complies with the strict Australian and New Zealand Standard for Lighting Protection Act AS1768. This is the standard of lightning protection in Australia and New Zealand that comes with a comprehensive risk assessment section and best practices that should be used when designing a lightning protection system and should be used in commercial applications.

As more property owners consider the investment in lightning protection, it’s absolutely essential to contract only with qualified and experienced specialists who are trained specifically to install such systems in accordance with the nationally recognised safety standards. By using a certified lightning protection system along with adequate business insurance, lives and money can be better saved and property damage eliminated. How safe is your home or commercial business property?

Author Bio

Ray Loh is the General Manager of Perth, WA based West Australian Power Protection dedicated to offering earthing, surge and lightning protection products aligned with the latest safety standards.

Mobile cranes have revolutionised the construction industry

August 20, 2015 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Ever thought of what was the world was like before we were able to lift construction equipment mechanically? Well, you’d probably have to go back a very long way to reach that point. For all we know, prehistoric peoples might well have invented some sort of leverage device to relieve their aching backs from the strain of lifting boulders and dinosaur carcasses.

We do know though, from excavations at ancient sites, that the ancient Greeks and Romans certainly had quite sophisticated crane-like tools, including winch and pulley systems, which were probably used to lift the heavy stone blocks necessary for building temples. Structures built by the Greeks, like the Parthenon in Athens, show what good uses they were put to.

The Romans who followed came up with their own variations, which allowed one person to lift up to 150kg. They also devised the treadwheel, a device whereby just two men could lift up to 6,000kg. This allowed them to build structures like the Colosseum in Rome and the mighty Septimius Severus Arch in Libya.

To understand the development of mobile cranes though, we have to look to the Industrial Revolution of the early to mid nineteenth century. This period of rapid technological development and expansion accelerated the steps towards the kind of machinery that we would recognize in the mobile crane hire industry today.

The demands of the Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution began in the United Kingdom but quickly spread to the United States and Western Europe. It heralded the introduction of new manufacturing processes, including the move from hand production to machine generated products, and the advent of new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes.

These advances were aided by the increasing use of steam power, which drew on fuels such as coal. The first steam-operated cranes were developed by a German company in the 1830’s and started to be mass-produced in the 1840’s. They dramatically decreased the number of men needed to operate lifting machinery, and also increased the load such equipment could bear.

In 1838, the industrialist William Armstrong designed a hydraulic water powered crane for loading coal onto barges at the quayside in Newcastle, U.K. It was so successful that his company immediately received orders, for the same model, from the city of Edinburgh, Northern Railways and Liverpool docks. By the early 1860s, Armstrong was employing 4,000 workers and producing over 100 cranes per year. One of his products, commissioned by the Italian Navy in 1883, was still in use in Venice up until 1950s and is still in situ today, although it has fallen into a state of disrepair.

Mobile Cranes

A major problem with the nineteenth-century cranes, however, was that they were static, and so relatively inflexible. Eventually, manufacturers started to fix the structures onto flatcars (railway rolling stock consisting of a flat deck mounted on a pair of bogies), which gave some limited movement. But it would take the involvement of the internal combustion engine, in 1922, along with the invention of telescopic jibs, to really start revolutionizing things in the construction industry.

To cope with the increasing demands of post-war reconstruction and rebuilding work in the early-1950s, a group of men, namely crane expert R.H. Neal, hydraulics genius F.Taylor and designer Bob Lester, came together to create the first of the modern-style industrial cranes with fully telescopic booms, followed some years later with versions that also included a four-wheel drive capability. And so, the truly mobile crane was born. Over the years it has developed and evolved into many forms to meet the demands of modern construction, which requires equipment to be both robust and also as flexible as possible to complete the huge variety of jobs it is required to undertake.

Today, skylines dotted with the cranes, from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai, are a sign of that city’s popularity and prosperity. The workhorses of modern construction have become powerful symbols of success.

Enhancing customer experience through voice and collaboration

July 30, 2015 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Technology continues to amaze us when it comes to voice and collaboration tools. The benefits that it has created when it comes to enhancing the customer experience are incredible. In a way, it is almost like having a physical presence with the customer, where you can walk through your presentations almost as you would if you were physically there. We will look at howvoice and collaboration tools are used and the benefits that they are providing both businesses and customers.

Leveraging the VOIP technology (Voice over IP) and Telephony systems

These systems are a step up from the traditional phone systems that we would previously have in the office. These smarter systems can store data that is received and share it with the relevant groups. For example, a voice message can be stored and accessed from another location via email notifications.

Another solution is providing easy to access national and international numbers where available. This gives the business a stronger professional image and the numbers can be directed to your department of choice.

The routing options that are available means that your business will always be accessible, regardless of where you are. You have the ability to route calls to your mobile phone or to distribute the phone calls between departments. Additionally, businesses will be able to configure their phones to their operating hours during the days, weeks and holidays.

Furthermore, businesses can receive reporting access for their calls. This data is valuable for businesses that want to improve their customer service process, to track telephone drop offs and to identify any issues that need to be resolved as a part of the overall CRM process.

Integrate the system in with your wider technology and CRM systems

One of the incredible things about the technology is the way the technology can be integrated into the business’s CRM process. The collaboration tools can allow different teams to share and collaborate with documentation; information, materials and knowledge that will help address the inbound queries.

Instant messaging with technical support desks

One of the major game changers has been business’ ability to provide live help through their website to the visitors. This type of customer support can potentially be the difference between keeping a customer, losing a customer or making a new sale. The support can be linked to various teams within your organization. Whether the person enquiring is in need of technical support, accounts or sales support, the needs of the visitor can easily be allocated to the department of expertise to assist them with their query. Furthermore, it can help to reduce the caller drop off time and customers frustration with waiting in phone queues.

Leveraging international teams that will allow you to have 24/7 access

Additionally, the business can utilise remote teams or virtual assistants to assist with their customer service enquiries. It isn’t uncommon for businesses to use virtual assistant teams that are based in India, Pakistan, the Philippines or in other parts of the world where the labour cost is much cheaper and they can still deliver the same quality service. The collaboration technology allows these teams to be plugged into the organisation, as if they were operating locally, creating a streamlined customer service process.

The systems available now offer a more scalable cost effective solution

One of the most impressive features of the technology is how cost effective the solutions can be. There are options where you can invest in the hardware. However with the improvement in smartphone technology, there are options available where it can be set up virtually. These virtual options have a lower operational cost and these costs are then passed onto the consumer.

Regardless of the business’ size, there is a cost effective opportunity to invest in voice and collaboration systems that will enhance the customer experience. Look into scalable options that will suit your business needs and boost the perceived value of your business today.

Discover how office temperature influences employee productivity

July 8, 2015 by Reporter Leave a Comment

Did you know that employees that aren’t comfortable with the office temperature are not as productive as those who are? This is a real issue in Australian offices, and can be very difficult to manage, as what is comfortable for one person may not be for the next. You can adjust the air conditioner all you like, but the reality is that there is no one temperature that will please every employee.

So, as a business owner what can you do? Never fear, all is not lost. While the optimal air conditioner settings for each individual might be different, you can still aim to keep the average optimal settings on your office air conditioning system. This is the best tactic available to you when trying to get the highest productivity levels from your employees.

Optimal Productivity Temperatures

According to studies, it is recommended that the temperature in an office should be 25 degrees Celsius. Set your air conditioning unit to 25 and watch as productivity increases. Temperature settings between 28 and 33 degrees Celsius have shown productivity to drop by between 3% and 13%. Every degree makes a difference, so pay careful attention to what works for your employees.

Keep an eye on humidity levels

Keeping the correct humidity levels is crucial to maintaining employee productivity. Having, low humidity levels in the office can cause workers to feel uncomfortable and therefore decrease productivity. Low humidity levels can also leave employees more susceptible to illness, which is never good for productivity. On the other hand, high humidity levels in the workplace cause condensation and encourages the growth of mould, which makes for an unpleasant work environment.

Stock the fridge

Hydrated employees will feel the effects of warm weather less. Encourage workers to drink less caffeinated drinks and to increase their water intake. Install a water fountain near the air conditioner to give employees a place to escape the heat and really shill for a few minutes in the middle of a busy day. Employees who are not hydrated properly will find it difficult to concentrate on any one task for very long.

Air conditioning

The air conditioning unit in your office is vital in the extreme Australian summers to maintaining a comfortable working environment for your employees. Since each person working in the office will have different preferences regarding the optimal temperature, why not run a survey. This will give you some valuable knowledge to work off when trying to figure out what conditions are optimal for productivity.

Ventilation

Air conditioning systems are the go-to for many business owners in terms of maintaining a steady office temperature. However, there are some greener alternatives, which should not be overlooked, and ventilation is one of these. If your office has windows on both sides of the building, consider opening these to create a draught of fresh air through the office. Not only will this keep the office cool but it will also provide more natural light which is a fantastic, natural energy booster. Allowing the warm air a chance to escape and allowing fresh air in is vital to keeping your employees on their toes.

The bottom line

No matter what way you look at it, the bottom line is your employee’s productivity levels have a direct impact on your company’s success. Air conditioning, optimum temperatures, humidity levels, proper ventilation and hydration are all critical to this success. Remember, as temperatures change from day to day, so will your employee’s comfort levels. Always be considerate of these changes and listen to what your employees have to say. The optimum air conditioner settings will change on a daily basis depending on how your employees are feeling. Be sensitive to this and you will see productivity levels rise, even if temperatures do too.

Technology

Guidelines to Choose the Right Phone System for Your Business

How to Choose the Right Commercial Air Conditioning Unit for Your Business

Things to Consider Before You Switch to Hosted PBX