Effective business communication is fundamental to an organisation in many ways. It’s an important tool for facilitating collaboration within the organisation, and it also allows staff to quickly respond to customers. For example, effectivebusiness phone systems can allow staff to work in different ways and in different locations, eliminating travel times, reducing costs, and improving accuracy. We look at how business communication can improve or hinder productivity.

Unifying communications

The trend in business communications is toward unifying communications systems for better efficiency. Productivity benefits can be realised through unifying communication systems via an integrated communications infrastructure that allows staff and customers to share information more quickly with each other. Research conducted by Microsoft Research found that most small and medium sized business waste 10 to 20 per cent of their work hours because of inefficient business processes and communication structures.

For example, some phone systems allow for the integration of lead generation and call management tools (such as voice broadcasting and voice recording) to not only streamline the whole communication system, but to allow better monitoring and reporting.

This can lead to vast improvements, as management is empowered to access better staff performance data, leading to improved call management. Unifying communications on the single platform can also enhance stability and overall reliability of the phone system itself.

Access to productivity tools

Better business communication can prove to be invaluable for sales departments, organisations with a high volume of calls, collaborative work, and mobile fleets. These are just some of the tools that can enhance productivity in these areas:

• Sales. Click-to-call features can simplify the process of making outbound calls, helping to retain accuracy as well as reducing the amount of time required to dial a call. The latest business communication tools include voice broadcasting, which is a highly cost-effective tool for disseminating automated messages to potential customers.
• Call centres. Tools such as auto attendants and auto-diallers reduce the need to manually allocate calls. Better monitoring tools can improve call quality and the customer’s call experience.
• Collaborative work. Teleconferencing, even on the run, can be enhanced with the business communication tools available today. Users can use multiple channels to communicate while making conference calls. These can include instant messaging, voice, and video.
• Mobile staff. Mobile VoIP is a cost-effective alternative to traditional mobile systems. Staff members who are away from their desks can answer calls as if they were in the office.

Accuracy and collaboration

Inaccurate information provided to clients or other staff members within the organisation can lead to errors and delays. Streamlined or unified business communication systems facilitate the sharing of the same information by everyone instantaneously. This not only allows for better accuracy, it saves time and encourages coordination when working on projects, or when working collaboratively at a distance.

Responsiveness and mobility

In today’s fast-paced world, customer responsiveness forms one of the most important elements of a successful business. Even businesses that don’t interact directly with customers need an effective business communication system to improve internal responsive times for productivity. And this responsiveness can be guaranteed regardless of staff locations – whether they’re on the road or working from home.

Cost effectiveness

Although unified communications systems offer more productivity tools than ever before, they’re often far more cost effective than traditional communication or telephone systems. For example, while VoIP empowers users with access to more features and tools, it’s usually less expensive than traditional phone systems.