2016

Once your company grows past the small business stage, you’ll probably provide telephone services to the office through a private branch exchange (PBX) system of some kind—also known as a switchboard. This lets you share a number of incoming phone lines among a larger number of extensions, so it’s not necessary to pay for a separate line for every office employee or workstation, which saves money.

However, you can save even more money by using VoIP instead of traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN) lines. There are many IP PBX solutions available, including popular open source products such as Asterisk.

But the implementation and ongoing maintenance of an IP PBX system requires a type of expertise that your IT staff may not have. And if you go with a commercial product, the up-front costs for the hardware and software may be high.

One alternative is to use a hosted IP PBX service. Just as some organizations prefer to use a Web hosting service rather than run their own Web servers, some find it easier and/or more cost-effective to have their IP PBX services hosted offsite—a solution sometimes referred to as IP Centrex. Let’s look at some of the benefits of hosted IP PBX for organizations.

The Centrex concept

The concept of centralized PBX services (Centrex) came about in the 1960s in regard to traditional phone service; the telephone company hosted the PBX service at its central offices (COs). In early systems, an attendant handled operations, controlling the switching via a complex console.

Centrex service never became as popular as on-site PBX systems, and its primary use was at enterprise-level companies and government agencies. However, the combination of Centrex-type service with IP delivery makes this concept very attractive to many businesses today, especially those in the midsize category.

Advantages of hosted services

A big advantage of using hosted services such as Centrex is that you don’t have to make the initial capital investment in expensive equipment. Further, you don’t need anyone on staff to maintain and troubleshoot it—all of the equipment resides at the provider’s site. These can be important factors for a growing business on a tight budget.

This makes for a scalable solution as well, since the provider usually has the means to upgrade your service easily as you add more users or need more sophisticated features. The number of users is almost unlimited with a hosted service, whereas when you use an on-site IP PBX, the hardware and/or software can limit the number of phones that can connect to the system.

How it works

There are a couple of different approaches to Centrex:

• Centrex IP uses Class 5 switches, the same type of large switch used at the telco CO for traditional lines. Centrex IP adds equipment that allows the Centrex service to run over an IP network. Companies such as Lucent and Nortel offer these types of solutions.
• IP Centrex uses an IP-based server, rather than a telco switch, to provide the Centrex features and functionality. In a hybrid architecture, the Class 5 switch coexists with the Centrex server, but the Centrex functions reside in the server, not the switch. In a softswitch environment, the Class 5 switch is done away with entirely, and a softswitch—a media gateway and applications server—provides the services that the Class 5 switch would have provided.

More sophisticated hosted IP PBX solutions include Web-based management so you retain more control over the service. You can use a browser to perform management tasks, rather than having to request that the provider make changes for you.

IP-based server solutions offer more flexibility. They can be part of a unified messaging solution that includes voice mail, fax, and e-mail integration.

Hosted IP PBX options

As you would expect, the larger telephone companies offer hosted VoIP services.

• AT&T Voice DNA provides a virtual IP PBX solution hosted on an application server. It provides for SIP-based VoIP with easy access for remote users at other sites. Not only does it include Web-based tools for administrators, but individual users can manage their call logs and voice mail through a Web interface.
• Verizon Hosted IP Centrex is available through Verizon’s business services division in more than 200 metropolitan markets in the United States, as well as several European countries, including France, the United Kingdom, and Germany. You can get unlimited, tiered, or metered service, and there are many add-on services (at additional cost) available, including conferencing, voice mail, and calling cards.

But it’s not just the big telcos that offer these services. And in some cases, you can get more competitive prices and/or more features for the same cost from other companies.

• Speakeasy Business VoIP offers a hosted PBX solution that includes conferencing capability and advanced features such as “click-to-dial” integration with Microsoft Outlook, voice mail as e-mail attachments, and a remote office feature that allows users to place calls from any phone as if they were in the office.
• Mendax’s Hosted IP PBX service puts an emphasis on security issues and offers advanced PBX features, such as auto attendant, with no limit on the number of concurrent calls that users can place or receive through the system. It also includes online monitoring and modification of features from automatic voice mail to e-mail forwarding.
• GlobalTone’s IP Centrex service integrates with its VoiceConnect and VoiceSelect services, with usage-based pricing and no upfront costs.

Author: Deb Shinder, 2007

Source: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/can-your-company-benefit-from-hosted-ip-pbx-services/

Many small businesses today are making the switch over to VoIP business phone systems. There are plenty of advantages to using such a service, but a lot of small business owners are overlooking some of the most valuable features. Beyond options like voicemail, call waiting, toll free numbers, call forwarding, and remote operation, you’ll find a host of other features that can help your small business.

1: Door phone entry buzzer integration

This feature allows you to integrate an analog door phone so that you can have a two-way call with visitors and then unlock the door from your phone if you deem them worthy. A great way to upgrade the security of your building.

2: Find me/follow me call routing

Mobile workers will appreciate this feature. Find me/follow me call routing allows you to create a list of numbers where you can be found before the call gets pushed to voicemail. So, for example, you might have your office phone ring twice, but on the third ring, your cell phone starts to ring, and then on the fifth, your home phone. If the list is exhausted, the caller gets sent to voicemail.

3: Voicemail to email transcription

Voicemail to email transcription transcribes your voicemail messages to text and sends them to a preferred email. You don’t have to worry about furiously scribbling names, numbers, and addresses. Take your time and read them in your email at your leisure. This also allows you to file, organize, delete, and search all your voicemails in a way that would otherwise be impossible.

4: Music on hold

If your company often has to put callers on hold, this feature is a necessity. Do not subject your callers to terrible elevator music — or worse, silence. This feature allows you to choose what your callers listen to as they wait. (Tip: You can’t go wrong with Journey.)

5: Bandwidth utilization and inbound/outbound call detail reports

Data! As a business, data tracking is essential to figure out where to direct your company’s time and energy. A managed, cloud-based VoIP service can provide bandwidth utilization information that allows you to view data usage over a period of time. Inbound and outbound call detail reports let you view details of your company’s call history, including rate centers, duration, originator, destination, and cost.

6: Call screening

Call screening is an often-forgotten feature of the VoIP business world that can come in handy. It allows you to look at a number on the caller ID and choose how to treat it. For example, if your spouse is calling, you can redirect the number to your cell phone. Or if it’s a caller that keeps trying to sell you energy supplements, you can disconnect them.

7: Coaching tools

Instead of giving your employees advice after they’ve hung up the phone, give them advice while they’re on the call. Two features can help you train and monitor your employees’ on-phone performance: barge and whisper. Barge allows you to listen to a conversation between an employee and a client without interrupting. You can alert them — or decide not to. Whisper allows you to provide advice, tips, and information to your employees while they are on the phone with a client without the client being aware.

Author: Amber Newman/TechRepublic

Source: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-things/10-voip-features-that-can-benefit-your-small-business/

One of the outsourcing trends in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industries today is called call center seat leasing. With fast internet connection and amazing development in communication systems, virtual outsourcing of general administrative tasks has become highly indispensable and cost-effective for many business owners.

A Complete Solution

Call center seat leasing offers a complete solution to any small or large business industry. Through an effective delegation of tasks, business owners will be able to have more time in their hands to address the most important things. Depending on one’s particular needs, a business owner can take a number of call center seats with highly trained agents attending for his or her customer’s problems or issues 24/7.

Less Expense

Hiring directly the services of a good quality BPO company is far more practical and cost less than hiring your own customer service team. In addition, as business owner, you no longer have to manage them and go through the hassle of training them for the job and buying additional office equipment. You can simply eliminate these things with call center leasing. You can have one call center seat or more depending on your job requirements.

Hire the Best

Another best thing with call center seat leasing is that you can choose to only hire the best in the field. With lots of companies offering the same services, you can surely find the best ones that you want to work for your company. You can be certain, too, that every call center or a virtual assistant you hire is carefully trained and possesses the skills required to make the job done properly.

The growing industry of call center seat leasing and virtual assistant services offers great solutions for both business owners and highly skilled individuals to work together for business growth. The Philippines and India are two of the leading offshore outsourcing locations in the world that provide the great and highly skilled people who can serve perfectly to your business needs, giving you greater flexibility and optimum virtual assistance that you want for your business growth.

*IT Support

Nowadays, almost everything works through a computer and internet connection. Any issue in relation to programs and networks need immediate IT support.

Written by: Jobette

Source: http://www.cebuimage.com/top-benefits-of-call-center-seat-leasing/

*Added by NextIX

PERFORMANCE = ABILITY x MOTIVATION x OPPORTUNITY

Performance is a function of the three factors acting together. Ability has to do with whether a person can do a task. Motivation is a measure of whether a person wants to do it. Opportunity is about accessibility; a person can’t do a task if she is not given a chance or if she is denied access to necessary resources or amenities.

This framework – looking at human performance as being influenced by multiple factors – reflects the difficult and variable nature of our work today. All of these factors must be supported by the work environment in order for people’s best work to occur. So, how can the workplace help?

According to Judith Heerwagen, a former scientist with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory who is now a program expert with the General Services Administration, productivity and the workplace are related in these ways:

• “A building can positively affect ability by providing comfortable ambient conditions, by enabling individual control and adjustment of conditions, and by reducing health and safety risks. Negative impacts on ability to do work are associated with conditions that are uncomfortable, distracting, hazardous or noxious.
• “A building can positively affect motivation by providing conditions that promote positive affective functioning, psychological engagement and personal control. Moods create the ‘affective context’ for thought processes and behaviors and are directly tied to motivation.
• “A building can affect opportunity by providing equitable access to conditions that reduce health and safety risks, equitable access to amenities and compensatory design options where inequities exist and are difficult to eliminate entirely.”1

Which specific workplace strategies provide the right mix of ability, motivation and opportunity to enhance human performance? Best practices in workplace design can help.

TEN WORKPLACE DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

Ten fundamental design elements can positively impact the workplace environment and support the work being done:

1. Thermal Comfort and Temperature

2. Access to Nature, Views and Daylight

3. Sensory Change and Variability

4. Color

5. Noise Control

6. Crowding

7. Human Factors and Ergonomics

8. Indoor Air Quality

9. Choice

10.  Employee Engagement

1.  Thermal Comfort and Temperature

Thermal comfort is created through the right combination of temperature, airflow and humidity. A combination of these elements is required for physical comfort in the workplace. When you hear people complaining about temperature in the workplace, chances are that airflow and humidity are part of the reason.

Keys to thermal comfort include:

• The ideal temperature in office environments is 70.88 degrees Fahrenheit (21.6 degrees Celsius) with a 1-2 percent decrease in performance for every 1.8° F (1° C) above or below.2
• Slightly lower temperatures are associated with higher accuracy on simulated tasks and reduced sick leave.3
• Personal control over ambient conditions, especially temperature, increases productivity. One research study tracked workers in an insurance company as they moved to a new building with advanced thermal controls in their workstations. The study found that productivity increases of 2.8 percent could be attributed to the new workstations.4

Workplace strategies:

• Consider underfloor air, which provides individual control of air flow.
• Provide zoned temperature controls or, if possible, individual controls in each enclosed space (offices, conference rooms, etc.).
• Provide operable windows or operable window coverings to maximize sunlight, airflow and temperature control.

2. Access to Nature, Views and Daylight

• The presence of daylight and windows, as well as opportunities for active and passive contact with nature, sensory change and variability, positively impact well-being.5
• Daylight helps people regulate circadian rhythms, the daily cycles of waking and sleeping hours. When these rhythms are upset, people experience stress.6
• Given complete freedom, people want to be on a height looking down. They prefer open, savanna-like terrain with scattered trees and shrubs and they want to be near a body of water, such as a river or lake. They pay hefty prices to have these views.7

Workplace strategies:

• Organize the floor plate to maximize natural light penetration onto the floor. For example, place enclosed spaces around the core of the building and open spaces at the perimeter where windows are located.
• Use glass where visual privacy is not required.
• Give preference of “nice views” to shared spaces.
• Provide outdoor areas for use by employees. Encourage employees to go outside for breaks, even if just for a few minutes.

3. Sensory Change and Variability

In much the same way that they prefer access to nature, views and daylight, people also prefer sensory change and variability. A lack of visual stimulation during the day can dull the senses and affect a worker’s ability to stay alert. Large expanses of neutral-colored workstations, all with the same height and texture, typically do not support human productivity.

• Sensory change and variability should not include bright lights and noise, but rather, access to daylight, window views to the outdoors, materials selected with sensory experience in mind (touch, visual change, color, pleasant sounds and odors), spatial variability, change in lighting levels and use of highlights, and moderate levels of visual complexity.8
• When the work environment is not stimulating, employees lose focus and creative drive. An environment devoid of sensory stimulation and variability can lead to boredom and passivity.9

Workplace strategies:

• Consider introducing “texture” into a space by using natural materials such as wood, cork, plants, natural fibers.
• Minimize the appearance of long corridors or paths by introducing color, art, graphics, patterns or texture changes.

4.  Color

How people perceive color varies based on their culture and life experiences. However, there are some generalizations about how color is likely to be perceived, either overtly or subliminally, in the workplace.10

• Brighter colors (reds, as well as blues and greens) are associated with higher focus and task accuracy.
• Blue is calming and cooling, promoting mental control and clear, creative thinking.
• Pink lessens feelings of irritation, aggression, loneliness, discouragement and burden.
• Red enhances feelings of strength and energy; it is associated with vitality and ambition.
• Yellow makes people feel clear-headed and alert, allowing for clear thinking for decision making.
• Orange helps ease emotions and boost self-esteem. It creates enthusiasm for life.

Workplace strategies:

• Use color strategically to promote desired behaviors and feelings based on psychological reactions, not personal preference.
• Vary color use through the workplace. Use it as a design technique to identify circulation or the changing character of space.
• Use lighter colors to help reflect light through the space and increase the amount of natural light. (See “Access to Nature, Views and Daylight.”)

5. Noise Control

Noise is an issue in most workplace environments. Interestingly, it can enable or disable productivity, depending on individual preferences and the type of work being done. The key is enabling people to control noise by providing access to a room with a door and acoustical separation when needed.

• Perceived noise (discernible by the average human ear) is typically higher in open office environments, but this depends on a space’s organization, the materials and the nature of work being done.
• When employees have a degree of control over the noise in their environment, they are less distracted by it.11
• Contrary to popular belief, noise interruptions during simple, mundane tasks can provide the stimulation needed to keep going. Interruptions during complex work, however, require a longer period of time to re-orient, and continued interruptions are likely to have negative effects on mood that reduce the motivation to resume work.12
• The U.S. General Services Administration recently published a comprehensive guide to acoustics in the workplace. In it, they state, “Office acoustics is a key contributor to work performance and well-being in the workplace. The ability to find quiet times and places is essential to support complex knowledge work, while the ability to have planned or spontaneous interactions without disturbing others is necessary for team work and relationship development. Having speech privacy is necessary for confidential interactions and work processes. ‘Acoustical comfort’ is achieved when the workplace provides appropriate acoustical support for interaction, confidentiality and concentrative work.”13

Workplace strategies:

• Designers recommend three strategies for achieving a non-intrusive level of speech privacy. They include absorption (through acoustical ceiling, fabrics and carpet), blocking (through furniture system, panels, walls, partitions and screens, and covering (sound masking). To achieve the desired result, all three strategies must be integrated.
• Try to separate energetic, centralized and noisy spaces from quiet areas. Create opportunities for people to come together without disturbing colleagues.
• In open plan environments, ensure that people are sitting near those with similar work patterns or subjects of study.
• Consider a “virtual door” policy in which people sitting in an open workstation aren’t necessarily available to talk.
• Provide headsets to tune out noise.
• Define policies for employees to be able to reserve quiet space and collaboration space.

6. Crowding

When people feel crowded they often feel stressed, which influences their satisfaction of the workplace. The perception of space and whether a person feels crowded varies greatly by cultural background, individual preferences and gender. The following rules of thumb are from Sally Augustin, an environmental psychologist and expert in how people perceive space.14

• Lighter, brighter spaces, as well as rooms with high ceilings or those that have walls with mirrors, are perceived as less crowded.
• In the same conditions, men are more likely to feel crowded than women. Men have better peripheral vision than women, and are more likely to perceive others in the same space.
• People who work in high-rise buildings feel more crowded than people who do not. This effect is reduced for people who reside on the upper stories in tall buildings, likely because they have better views and access to daylight.
• The perception of crowding can be reduced through the use of furniture, plants, decorative elements or pillars. These objects prevent people from feeling crowded or distracted.

Workplace strategies:

• Reduce the impact of “dense” space and the impact of seeing a significant number of people at once by orienting individual workspace openings such as workstation openings or desk positions in an office to minimize views into others’ workstations while seated.
• When possible, provide views to windows to reduce perception of crowding. This could be accomplished by moving circulation to the perimeter of the space and relocating fixed elements such as offices or conference rooms to the interior of the space.

7. Human Factors and Ergonomics

Workplaces that are designed for and around people are more likely to be comfortable, flexible and support productivity over time. This is because they take into account the needs and limitations of the people who occupy them. “Human factors” is an area of workplace psychology that focuses on a range of topics including ergonomics, workplace safety, the reduction of human error, product design, human capability and human-computer interaction. The terms “human factors” and “ergonomics” are often used synonymously.

• According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, musculoskeletal diseases, which include back pain, arthritis, bodily injuries and osteoporosis, are reported by people in the U.S. more than any other health condition. In 2004, the estimated total cost of treatment and lost wages associated with musculoskeletal diseases was $849 billion, equal to 7.7 percent of the gross domestic product.15
• HOK recently conducted a workplace survey leveraging social media to 3,600 employees across multiple industries. An overwhelming 82 percent of respondents report experiencing some type of physical ailment at work. The most common complaints – neck, back and shoulder pain – were typical for workers sitting for long periods during the day. About half of those responding complained of pain in the neck, back or shoulders, while a third reported headaches and eye strain. Workers who stand for long periods of time at their job complained of hip, leg and foot pain. The survey comments indicate that most of the complaints result from poor ergonomics or from being overly sedentary.16
• The American Cancer Society released a report in the American Journal of Epidemiology stating that men who sat for six hours or more a day in their leisure time had an overall death rate that was nearly 20 percent higher than men who sat for three hours or less in the 14-year follow-up period. Women who sat for more than six hours a day had a death rate that was almost 40 percent higher. Dedicated exercise had no neutralizing effect.17

Workplace strategies:

• Provide adjustable furniture such as adjustable chairs, task lights, sit-to-stand desks and keyboard trays, so individuals can adjust their workspaces to meet their needs. To ensure employees are using furniture properly, provide training as needed.
• Provide efficient and seamless technology to enable mobility and efficient work in all work settings provided. Examples: Equip all collaboration areas with  similar technology that is intuitive for users moving from space to space. Ensure technology is “user-friendly” and provide instructions clearly visible to the user.
• Equip employees with tools and technologies that encourage mobility in the workplace. Examples: Provide employees with laptops and mobile devices. Provide VoIP phones that allow workers to easily move between desks or rooms and still make a call.
• Encourage employees to use the stairs by showing them the number of calories burned or time saved. Use signage to make it easy to find the stairs.
• To encourage them to move around during the day, provide employees with wearable devices such as pedometers that count steps or vibrate at regular intervals.
• Design stairs to be more visually accessible and pedestrian-friendly.
• Provide incentives to encourage movement both in the work environment and outside of the typical workday. For instance, an employee competition (with prizes) measuring steps taken per day is a fun and healthy way to create buzz.

8.  Indoor Air Quality

Healthy workplaces are a focus for today’s organizations. The health of the workforce can affect health insurance costs, sick days and productivity. In addition to supporting human factors and ergonomics, the workplace should support good health.

• Americans and occupants of other post-industrial countries spend an enormous amount of time – 90 percent or more – indoors. As a result, the quality of the indoor environment has a significant influence on well-being, productivity and quality of life.18 Indoor settings often contain levels of pollutants that may be two to five times higher – and occasionally more than 100 times higher – than outdoor levels. Sources of indoor air pollution include combustion, building materials and furnishings, household cleaning, maintenance, personal care or hobby products, central heating and cooling systems, and humidification.
• A recent study found that reduced respiratory illness, allergies and asthma, and sick building syndrome19 along with increased worker comfort from changes in thermal comfort, lighting, and improved indoor air quality would produce an annual U.S. savings or productivity gain of between $43 and $235 billion.20

Workplace strategies:

• Invest in carpet, paint, furniture and other workplace finishes with low counts of particulates, gases or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can trigger illness. Recommended “eco labels” to watch for include Greenguard and SCS Indoor Advantage (furniture, seating and furnishings), Green Seal (paints and coatings), Blue Angel (office equipment), Floor Score (hard surface flooring), Green Label Plus (carpet and carpet tile), SCS calCOMPliant (wood).
• Invest in equipment with ENERGY STAR labels.
• Ensure heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and other office equipment is checked and maintained on a regular basis.
• Train cleaning staff on how to use cleaning equipment and products such as handling vacuum cleaners with hepa-filters or nontoxic chemical cleaners.
• Add plants to the office to help clean the air, but be sure to keep them clean and healthy so they do not get dusty or contribute mold spores.

  9. Choice

  Today’s knowledge work requires high levels of concentration, collaboration and everything in between. Well-designed workplaces provide opportunities for both and allow individuals to choose when and how they use them.

  Susan Cain’s book, Quiet, The Power of Introverts, has caused a not-so-quiet revolution from knowledge workers everywhere. She said in an interview, “A ‘best office’ is one that would give people a choice of how much stimulation is coming at them at any one time. I would create an office that has lots of nooks and crannies, lots of zones of privacy, but also lots of zones where people can come together and schmooze and hang out. Another thing is that when people work on projects, there should be more of a tolerance for people working on their own. I think it’s okay to work on a team, but within that team, the individual members need to be able to go off by themselves and do their own things and have a lot of autonomy and more privacy.”

  Sally Augustin claims, “When we don’t feel in control of what happens to us in a place, we are stressed, discouraged and frustrated.  Feeling in control is the key here; we don’t have to actually exercise control to reap psychological benefits.”21

  Workplace strategies:

  • Provide a variety of work settings in the right proportion to support a variety of work functions:
    – Focus work: Provide quiet zones or spaces for concentrated work.
    – Collaboration: Emphasize small group collaboration and provide diverse settings (formal and informal).
    – Learning: Consider the workplace to be an educational environment that supports learning and mentoring by providing e-learning and in-person, one- on-one learning.
    – Socializing: Provide a variety of informal spaces that accommodate work and casual communication while fostering informal collaboration and innovation.
  • Provide technology – headsets, sound masking and white noise – that allows workers to perform focused work when necessary.
  • Provide technology that allows workers to connect and collaborate more effectively in person and virtually. Consider a mix of teleconference, video conference, web conference, instant messaging, social media and other tools to enable different teams to communicate in the way they work most easily.

  10. Employee Engagement

  There is a direct correlation between employee engagement and worker satisfaction. This affects productivity and innovation.

  • Engaged employees are more productive, more profitable and safer than less engaged employees. They tend to create stronger customer relationships and stay longer with their company. Engaged employees are likely to be a company’s best source of new ideas.22
  • Based on 7,939 business units in 36 companies, Gallup researchers examined the relationship at the business unit level between employee satisfaction/engagement and the business unit outcomes of customer satisfaction, productivity, profit, employee turnover and accidents. Significant connections were found between unit-level employee satisfaction/engagement and business unit outcomes.23

  Workplace strategies:

  • Provide work spaces that enable visibility, openness and greater employee mobility to foster engagement. When workers are more likely to see each other, they are more likely to connect and collaborate.
  • Provide collaborative spaces that incorporate the five “Cs”: coffee, CNN (or a “buzz” in the background), circulation nearby, connectivity and comfortable seating. These five characteristics are particularly successful for “hub” or central pantry spaces on the floor.
  • Organize a floor plate into team “neighborhoods,” with a variety of spaces included in each, to foster team identity and sense of place.
  • Incorporate branding, awards and recognition in a visible way to reinforce employee engagement.

Putting it all together

1   NATURAL LIGHT – Open spaces at the perimeter of the floor allow light to penetrate deeper into the floorplate, providing access to daylight for interior spaces.

2   VIEW – Shared spaces are located along the window wall with access to light and views.

3   NOISE – Phone rooms dispersed throughout the workplace support the open environment and  provide opportunities for private phone conversations or heads-down work.

4   NOISE – High traffic areas by large conference spaces, breakout space, and reception, are located at the entrance to the floor, consolidating activity and noise to minimize disruption to individual workplaces.

5   NOISE – Separating open workstations with enclosed spaces helps to maintain noise. Too many open workstations create a feeling of overcrowding and can be too noisy.

6   CHOICE – A variety of spaces can support different functional needs. Employees choose from a variety of spaces, depending on the task at hand, as well as when and how to use them.

7   COMMUNITY – Organizing space types into “neighborhoods” has many benefits, including minimizing the feel of overcrowding, encouraging informal interaction and supporting a team environment.

Source: http://www.hok.com/thought-leadership/workplace-strategies-that-enhance-human-performance-health-and-wellness/

Where Silicon Valley goes, business follows.

There’s a strong case to be made that Silicon Valley and nearby San Francisco have become the center of the world, displacing even New York and London. That’s because the computer industry is centered there, and technology currently is the number one force that is changing the business landscape. Even if a business has nothing to do with technology, it is strongly influenced by the trends that emerge from the Valley.

Not only are the tools changing, so are the business processes as a result of new technology such as mobile, cloud computing and wearables.

Technology trends

Ever-evolving and adaptive technology is driving and transforming business every day. Businesses that want to thrive are in a constant race to adapt and take advantage of these technologies while they’re still relevant and useful, or otherwise these businesses eventually will fall by the wayside. Here are six technology trends that businesses will have to embrace to stay ahead of the game.

Payments get even easier

While every business today accepts credit cards, and even Grandma is getting savvy about transferring money via Paypal, the friction of making payments is going to be reduced even further in 2016.

With Apple Pay, Google Pay and a litany of mobile payment solutions flooding the market, the trend is toward making payments as easy as a click of a smartphone button, reversing transactions just as easy and sending automatic invoices by email a snap.

Right now this definitely is a business-led technology trend.

Only 17 percent of consumers in a recent Creditcard.com study said they pay for items using a smartphone most of the time, and adoption rates are low according to almost every study. But research firm, Gartner, predicts that the mobile payment industry will be worth $270 billion in transactions by 2017, up from $235 billion in 2014. That and a forward-thinking strategy has led businesses and technology firms to make a massive push for consumer adoption and the future of payments.

Earlier this year, Google bought Softcard for its Google Pay solution. Samsung acquired LoopPay, and turned it into Samsung Pay. Paypal bought Paydiant in March for much of the same reason. And, of course, there’s Apple Pay, which the company says currently accounts for two out of every three dollars spent using contactless payments.

In terms of merchant adoption, almost every day a new major retailer the likes of Target and Best Buy announces it’s now supporting one new payment system or another.

Security becomes non-negotiable

No business leaves its doors unlocked at night, but the dirty little secret is that most businesses and their cloud service providers have been playing loose and fast with digital security.

Email is not usually secure, employee mobile devices are unprotected in many cases. VoIP phone systems are not always fully encrypted, and web sites have gaping holes. In the mad dash to embrace the latest technology, security often is an afterthought – and both consumers and businesses are starting to wake up to the liability.

Nearly 5,000 company data breaches have compromised over 815 million records containing information about medical histories, Social Security numbers or bank data since 2005. Which lead the U.S. House Financial Services Committee to overwhelmingly approve legislation that would force companies that lose control of customers’ sensitive personal data to notify both customers and law enforcement.

Business leaders also are sounding the alarm. In October, T-Mobile CEO John Legere publicly ripped into credit monitoring firm, Experian, when the company exposed the private data of roughly 15 million T-Mobile’s customers.

White Hat security statistics show that 86 percent of all websites tested had at least one serious vulnerability, often more. The biggest culprit is at the transport layer, according to White Hat, with a likelihood for security breaches as high as 75 percent for many businesses.

Security concerns have reached a critical mass, and one of the biggest technology trends in business right now is ensuring that those holes are closed and all systems are adequately protected. This is taking the form of encryption during both data transport and at rest, enterprise mobility management for mobile devices, containerization so hacks don’t infect entire systems and adoption of cloud solutions that take security as a fundamental priority.

Communications gets embedded

Along with easy, embedded payments, communications are embedded directly into apps and web sites. While currently Skype and WhatsApp are the darlings for talk, chat, video and file sharing, they still require users to open a dedicated app. Real-time communications (RTC) and the emerging embeddable communications standard, WebRTC, are changing that.

According to ComScore 11.3 percent (and growing) of all internet users rely solely on their mobile devices to get online, and this year you’ll start to see more click-to-call buttons embedded directly into apps to cater to directly to this quickly growing mobile minority. When a customer has a question while shopping within an app, they can just press a button and connect instantly to a customer service rep. When they have trouble setting up a product, a simple press of a button and they’re immediately connected to a trouble-shooting video session.

A few, but not many, companies are already getting on board.

The best known example of this is Amazon’s “Mayday”. The button on its kindle devices allow for an almost instant communication with a customer service representative, any time of the day. And Bank of America has started to embed its click-to-call “Teller Assist” service into their ATM machines, allowing bank goers to connect to a live teller, via video chat, if they’re having issues at an ATM.

This technology has been by and large reserved for the few big companies that could afford it. However new technology companies like Agora.io are making this embeddable communications possible for almost any business with an app. With an easy to implement SDK click to call voice and video chat can be seamlessly integrated into any business’s app. Making this embedded communication feature something that will be proliferating the market in 2016 and beyond.

Connected devices bring real-time updates

Inventory that self-reports when it is low. Field equipment that signals when something is wrong. Trucks that self-track. Products that notify a company when a refill is needed or a malfunction may occur.

Rolls Royce and other aircraft manufacturers are building their aircraft with sensors embedded within them. By using these sensors to collect and send real-time data to stations on the ground, they can detect if anything may start to break down – and gives them the ability to avoid potential calamities. This is the realization of the Internet of Things revolution, and 2016 is the year that the promise of connected devices gets real.

There is an estimated $19 trillion of value at stakefor companies and industries as a result of the Internet of Things, and every business needs to figure out how it can take advantage of devices that can report and communicate with each other.

Wearables reach employees

With self-reporting devices comes business velocity, and the wearables trend makes it easy for employees to interact with real-time data from connected devices throughout the course of a day.

Some companies are giving wearables to their employees on the ground for second-by-second inventory updates. Others are using them internally to see how their corporate employees interact.

Companies like the Tokyo-based electronics manufacturer Hitachi have developed a proprietary wearable called “Hitachi Business Microscope” which comes in the form of an ID name tag card that hangs around an employee’s neck. These ID cards have several sensors within them –everything from infrared sensors, a microphone, accelerometer and more.

When an ID card comes within a certain distance of another, the card starts to record body behavior rhythm data and face time and sends this data to an internal server. The ID card measures how long you talk to specific people, how far away you stand from them and more. Hitachi is using this data to better understand how their employees interact and collaborate with each other.

Just like the introduction of tablets a few years ago, businesses are still figuring out how wearables can integrate into business processes. But companies such as Salesforce clearly see the direction of things, which is why it’s already launched 20 Apple Watch apps for business use. For quick and constant feedback, wearables are going to start playing a noticeable role in business this year.

The cloud envelops everything

Nearly every business uses the cloud for all or some of its business software. Roughly 93 percent to be exact. The cloud enables connectivity with other systems and reduced maintenance and mobility among other benefits.

The past few years have seen widespread adoption of cloud computing, but 2016 is the year that businesses will start to complete the process and move the remainders of their systems to hosted solutions.

Currently 68 percent of enterprises run less than a fifth of their application portfolios online, an unsustainably low figure given the necessity for connected systems and interaction with connected devices, APIs from other businesses and mobile workers. Unsurprisingly, startups in Silicon Valley likeCoupa – which provide online procurement software and services to other businesses – are already showing the way by relying entirely on cloud solutions to run their businesses.

There are other business technology trends, of course, but these six represent the largest changes. Businesses would be wise to take note, make improvements and advance toward the future.

Contributor: Peter Scott

Source: http://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/01/13/6-business-technology-trends-for-2016/

CRM tools are critical to a business’s triumph, as they permit companies to gather leads, change prospects into clienteles and cross-sell products and services to current customers. New sets of existing CRM tools are on the market with new features that can make a small business owners consider switching to and spending in a different CRM system is worth the cost and effort.

In many cases, switching is worth the cost when the business ponders on the added functionality that their business will appreciate. Many new CRM tools integrate finance and marketing software programs. This means that users do not need to complete supporting sales tasks using diverse programs.

As great as these new features are, there is one that all trades should look for when picking a new CRM software program: a high degree of customization. Here are just some of the explanations why businesses should only choose CRM programs that they can customize.

Differences in Business Practices

Companies function too in a different way from each other to depend on an out-of-the-box CRM tool that lacks customization selections. For example, the same highly customizable CRM tool can be used for a for-profit education institution to trace graduate job placement efforts and a non-profit organization trying to track donors for an upcoming moneymaker if the fields themselves could be appropriately customized. Instead of “Lead” the CRM tool could group the names under a “Donor” or “Graduate” tab. Although simple, this is just one example how a customized CRM tool could better mirror the actual workflow of an organization.

Targeted Customer Records

The types of data your organization needs to be successful within the sales pipeline is different. For instance, some organizations collect company names for their sales prospects while others enter the first and last names of their connections. Sometimes a lot of this information is not recognized early in the sales cycle. Many CRM tools require one type of field to be input into each record in order to be saved. For example, Zoho’s CRM tool needs that a last name be entered for each record and will not create a new item deprived of it.

If an organization starts its sales cycle by identifying target companies without a singular contact, some other type of information will need to be entered into the “Last Name” field, which causes inexactitudes within the database. This is why it is important to be able to customize each field of a CRM tool, even the required ones, to better reflect how an organization actually operates. With the ability to better aim customer records, companies don’t have to alter their own workflow to meet the needs of the CRM tool.

Ability to Evolve or Adapt

Businesses naturally change over time to come across market demands or evolving customer needs. This often means that the CRM tool selected today may not match what is needed in a business a few years from now. A highly customized CRM tool can be modified to a business’s needs in the future. Switching to a new CRM tool is a hassle, as businesses must train end users on how to use the system in addition to transitioning the actual client data over to the new software program. For this reason, it is important to find a CRM tool that can adjust to changing business needs over time.

Deciding to shift existing operations to a new CRM tool is not a decision that should be taken lightly. However, it may be worth the added cost or effort to move to a CRM tool that can better encounter a company’s needs. A highly customizable CRM tool is one example of a CRM tool worth the effort, as it allows businesses to use a system that thoroughly matches what they need.

Source: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/why-highly-customizable-crm-programs-are-in-demand-71691

The goal of customer-centric CRM is to improve customer value. It treats relationship marketing as a continuum as opposed to treating it as a means to an end. Companies that view CRM as mere software end up automating business processes, instead of using the tool to optimize customer transactions and increase consumer experience.

The Customer-Centric Approach

A customer-centric approach to CRM uses users as the axis around which all thought processes related to a business revolve. This idea is built on the belief that every user is unique and so are his/her needs. In order to reap customer loyalty, enterprises should recognize this uniqueness, and customize their services and products to attend to these needs. In their book “Customer Relationship Management: Concept, Strategy and Tools,” V. Kumar and Werner Reinartz define CRM as the practice of analyzing and utilizing marketing databases, and leveraging communication technologies to determine corporate practices and methods that will make the most of the lifetime value of each client of the firm.

Key Metrics for Customer Centricity

Since businesses are mainly about profit-making, your goal must be to maximize customer value (both current and future) for your company’s advantage. Customer value is determined by a customer’s involvement to the net profit of a company. Towards this end, ask yourself these questions:

• Can you measure the lifetime value of a customer? If yes, how?

• What is the link between customer loyalty and profitable customers?

• Does customer loyalty always pay? If not, identify cases when it does not.

• How can you augment your marketing resources to get the most out of customer centricity?

Responding to these questions will give you the basic road map upon which to chart your marketing decisions. For example, you will get a clear vision of when to practically pursue customer loyalty and when not to. They also lead the way for customer identification and prioritization.

The Satisfaction-Profit Chain

Customer loyalty is one of the basic elements of a company’s profitability and growth. However, loyalty pivots heavily on customer satisfaction, which is in turn influenced by the value of services provided. But, how do you put a figure on customer loyalty? Well planned surveys may be the most reliable means to measure loyalty.

Customers can either be terrorists or apostles. It was Scott D. Cook, CEO of Intuit Inc., who first coined these terms in relation to customer relationships. While apostles joyfully take along in new customers without any energy on your part, terrorists are unhappy customers with the influence to interrupt your efforts to acquire new customers.

Benefit of Customer Identification and Prioritization

Identification and prioritization is simply code speak for locating and luring customers that will progress your business’ financial well-being. It also means locating unreasonable and problematic customers and letting them go. CRM allows you to identify customers that provide the most value. Since these customers are apostles already, you won’t have to expand your budget on lucrative loyalty programs to retain them. They are mostly happy with occasional prioritization for special treatment.

Customer Retention versus Customer Acquisition

While it’s a commonly held belief that customer retention is more inexpensive than customer acquisition, it’s not always true. For example, it would not pay to hold on to terrorists. Because it is anticipated that existing customers are easier to satisfy and are more forgiving of lapses, the common trend is to allot more funds towards customer retention. However, in order to optimize the value of your customer base, strategies for customer acquisition and retention should be given equal importance.

In conclusion, CRM is not specific to any certain department within an enterprise. As people are the heart of any business, CRM in general and customer centricity, in particular, are the weft and the warp holding together the condition of your company.

Source: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/crm-and-the-concept-of-customer-centricity-71614

Establishing customer service guidelines is nice, but you need to put those principles into action with everything you do and say. There are certain “magic words” that customers want to hear from you and your staff. Make sure all your employees understand the importance of these key words:

“How can I help?” Customers want the opportunity to explain in detail what they want and need. Too often, business owners feel the desire or the obligation to guess what customers need rather than carefully listening first. By asking how you can help, you begin the dialogue on a positive note. And by using an open-ended question, you invite discussion.

“I can solve that problem.” Most customers, especially B2B customers, are looking to buy solutions. They appreciate direct answers in a language they can understand.