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For most people, it's too big a project to mess with.
Just pay that phone bill when it arrives and walk away from
it. After all, it's THE PHONE COMPANY. Like other industries,
communications firms are shrouded in veils of vocabulary and
regulation. With all of the advertising focused on the long
distance Carrier Wars, most managers are unaware that long
distance call expenses have dropped, while local & local long
distance call charges have risen dramatically. As a result of
deregulation, your cost per call and your overall phone bills
have gone up, not down! Phone expenses have skyrocketed
because the utility of telephone lines have increased.
Telecommunications is not just an industry which connects the
voice and ears of users. It is facsimile, data transmissions
from personal computer to personal computer, and more
recently, graphics and video. According to EDP Analyzer, March
1986, "Keeping Abreast of Tele-Communications," only 15% of
the typical telecommunications budget was consumed by
non-voice media. Today, that figure has changed to
approximately 50% One of the ways to get a handle on your
expenses is to block outbound dialing of prefix codes: 411,
540, 940 and 976; as well as "900" area codes. You can also
insist upon a user's last 4 social security digits or other
password, as a means of tracking calls outside of your local
area. The installation of call tracking software and a
printer, can give you a detailed analysis of where your
telephone dollar is going. Charge back your employees for
personal calls and periodically hold them responsible for
their use of your firm's asset. Regarding 411 calls, give your
employees access to current telephone directories. If their
call is not to a customer and not within their assigned
calling area, they should not be using your phone for their
comfort. Look closely at your phone bill to determine if the
lines you are being charged for are actually yours. Upon
auditing complicated invoices, I have often found that I did
not have the equipment indicated and/or did not have a
facility in the town that was indicated on the invoice. The
next step is to have those lines checked out and determine
whether you need as many lines as you have. How many callers
have complained about busy signals? If people and data are
getting through, and you are not receiving complaints, you may
have more lines than necessary. AT&T and other major telephone
vendors can analyze your phone bills, and your line utility. I
know that AT&T can scan your telephone bills into their
sophisticated software and give you some surprising
information about what is wrong with your present set-up.
Also, most telephone companies provide your phone bill on a
diskette. Pacific Bell calls this service "Custom Billing
Disk," which works on IBM or IBM compatible personal
computers. You can purchase call-accounting software that is
compatible with the utility supplied diskette. This software
will enable you to closely evaluate large phone bills on a
systematic basis. This method works best because you can
provide absolutely unbiased reports, you are not obligated to
this vendor, and you are not at the mercy of the vendor's
schedule. Are you paying for a dedicated alarm phone line?
If so, stop it now by installing a device that will seize a
normal line when the alarm is activated. And while you are at
it, take a look at eliminating the monthly expense of an alarm
monitoring firm. Always cast a suspicious eye towards any
on-going payment, known as an annuity, and attempt to avoid it
if at all possible. Other than banks or similar types of
businesses, I would recommend an alarm system that would
automatically call an ascending series of telephone or beeper
numbers. These systems will even tell you why it is calling,
because of a fire or intruder. The automatic monitor can also
allow you the option of listening to voices or other sounds
within the premises where the alarm was activated, from the
safety of your telephone. This will allow you the convenience
of not responding to false alarms or to call police if the
alarm is genuine. With all of the advances that have been
made in the transmittal of video via computer and the
internet, there are many products out there that would allow
you to view multiple cameras from your computer at home. You
could see and hear what is going on in any portion of your
building. From the safety of your home, you could decide if
the alarm is false or not, or whether to call the police.
For most firms, the dedicated fax line is all wrong. You can
buy facsimile units with a built-in feature that determines
whether an incoming call is either voice of fax. If it is a
voice call, the unit will let it ring until a person answers
it or it will transfer the call to a built-in answering
machine. Fax calls are preceded by a unique signal or
handshake, and are answered by your unit automatically. For
older units, you can buy an accessory that serves the function
of identifying a voice from a fax call. In the long run, this
will save you money. And, do not stop at the differences in
facsimile machines. Look carefully at the use of facsimile
boards in your personal computers. This will reduce your
consumption of paper and electronically file your document
instead of forcing you to place the document in a file
cabinet. I use a fax/data/voice card from Zoom Comstar and fax
software from Symantec, called WinFax Pro.
If your environment is best served with stand alone
facsimile equipment, you can save telephone time, labor and
paper by discontinuing the use of a cover sheet. I suggest
that if a letter is to be faxed, merely type, under the
letter's date, the recipient's fax number after the word "fax"
( FAX 213-000-000 ) and, under that line, type in the number
of pages sent ( 3 pages total ). Talk about efficiency, this
effort will also give you a notation that it was faxed. For
persons who fax, then mail originals, this method tells the
recipient all of the efforts you have employed to enhance
prompt communications. Are you paying for an employee to
answer the phone? The need for human operators is equivalent
to that of elevator operators. Just as in the United States
Congressional offices, many firms have strong convictions that
the customer is better served by reaching a "live voice."
People who are never going to become acclimated to technology
will oftentimes complain about automated telephone attendants
and voice mail. They claim that it is dehumanizing and
inefficient. Lets compare live versus electronic. In a
"live" environment, the caller initially reaches the least
skilled, least educated, least experienced individual in the
firm; usually a young person who had barely finished high
school. A telephone answerer can, after some experience within
the work place, transfer your call to the desired person. In
the lean & mean 90's, it is likely that you will not reach
that person and must leave a message with the telephone
operator. The operator will probably get your name and
telephone number recorded correctly, and may have the time to
record a sentence or two of message. That operator will
apologize for your being placed on hold during this process,
if you are not disconnected first. In the end, you will be
unable to reach the party you needed to talk to and will play
phone tag for several hours or days and eventually accomplish
the task that seemed so urgent at the time. In an
"electronic" environment, you will be answered by an automated
attendant, who will not put you on hold while attempting to
answer a lot of other incoming calls, or while completing a
personal call. Your call will be transferred promptly. No
waiting. In all likelihood you will not reach your party, as
they are busting their buns in one-to-many meetings, are on
the road as "sales are the lifeblood of the firm", or are
already on the phone talking to customers or juggling more
inquiries than one person can physically or mentally handle.
If you believe that time is money and that your time is a
valuable and non-replentishable commodity, you will hope that
some forward thinking manager had the intuitiveness to install
voice mail at this point. If not, you will either be sent back
to the automated attendant to choose another person's
extension or you will go to someone who will take that very
limited message. Assuming that the vendor you are calling
thinks your time is valuable, a voice mail box will open up,
and you will be greeted by a message from the person you are
attempting to talk to. At the tone you will then leave a
detailed message, from which you desire an immediate answer.
When you leave that complete message, it will have sufficient
detail so that the person you have called can resolve your
problem or provide your product or service, with no additional
input from you. This process avoids telephone tag. Also, your
tone of voice or others sounds of urgency or priority are
included. As many managers know, there are many facets to
complete communication. While you cannot record body language
or facial expressions, the caller's tone of voice can prove
invaluable to obtaining a more complete message. The
electronic method of communicating, when the person you are
calling is unavailable, which is very likely, is clearly the
best method of getting the job done. It is efficient, the
customer receives a more prompt response, and it will save the
firm money, which can result in a lower cost of product, as
savings are typically passed along to the customer in this
very competitive environment. When installing voice mail and
an automated attendant, the user typically obtains a return on
their investment within twelve months. When you consider that
this technology has a 60 to 72 month life, the results are
exciting. It is difficult to find another environmental change
that could have so much going for it. Improved communications
at a fraction of the cost! Installation considerations
include (i) the utility of a professional "friendly" voice to
overcome the sterile sound of many installations ( I hired a
female disc jockey to do our voice prompts), (ii) be prepared
to modify the system for several months after the
installation, to overcome unanticipated user problems, (iii)
be certain that the installer signs an agreement regarding
compatibility of their equipment to your telephone system, and
(iv) publish for all users, the reports generated by the
attendant. Management should use segments of the report as a
part of an individual's periodic performance evaluation. I
have had problems with installations, even when the telephone
switch and voice mail/auto attendant equipment was purchased
from the same firm. From first hand experience, buying all
product from the same vendor is no guarantee of success. You
MUST include an addendum to your purchase contract in which
you specify that the product must perform as expected. Demand
that the product meet certain benefit criteria, such as: the
ringing of a bell when the caller cannot determine which party
he/she wishes to speak to, and there is no designated
operator. This benefit will put several persons on notice that
a call needs personal attention and will share the task
amongst several staff members. And, speaking of criteria
when purchasing telecommunications equipment, I would like to
offer the following guidelines for purchasing
telecommunications equipment.
1. Establish strategic objectives. Make total integration of
departments, such as Accounting, Sales and Inventory Control,
THE priority. In the long run, it will always save you money
and reduce errors.
2. Make integration of voice and data communications your
second most important priority. Insist upon equipment that
will meet anticipated ISDN (Integrated Services Digital
Network) standards.
3. Look at different methods of reducing the annuity you are
currently paying the local telephone company. including
microwave and virtual networks. I recommend that you contact a
municipal agency or other high volume user to determine if
they have any surplus time to sell. You may even consider a
radio link as a means of talking to each other over short
distances.
Another idea to reduce your overall costs is to connect your
facilities, that are in different LATAs, (Local Access and
Transport Area, or geographic boundary) to each other, and
cause your switch at both locations to complete the delivery
of your call as a local call. Of course, this is only feasible
when a lot of calling traffic is involved.
4. To provide for a strong disaster recovery plan, realizing
that personal computer users will not follow a data back up
plan for very long, I recommend that you implement a remote
polling location. This site would contain a computer with a
five to seven day magnetic tape configuration, in a fire proof
room, which would call all designated personal computers at
night, copying that data onto the magnetic tape. This project
would cost less than the haphazard pick-up and delivery of
mishandled tapes, that are handled by a data security vendor.
Of course, while in the information gathering stage of a major
telecommunications purchase, I seriously recommend that you
invite all potential vendors to meet with the users. At this
meeting, allow a free exchange of ideas that will facilitate
the creation of a list of needs and wants, which I call meat
and desert. Allow the vendors to submit their proposal, known
as an RFP (Request For Proposal) of what technology they have
that will most suit your needs at the least life time expense.
After you have evaluated the returned RFP, you will select the
criteria that most appeals to your organization and write your
own proposal. Your proposal will be sent to the participating
vendors, with a deadline for an RFQ (Request for Quotation).
Be sure to inform the vendors that you will not disclose price
or other confidential information received from their
competitors during any portion of the procurement effort. Be
certain to ask for the life time cost of the purchase, as
discussed in chapter IX.
Last but not least, let us not forget the claims made by
vendors of long distance and local-long distance services. ALL
of the telephone line vendors insist that they can save you a
lot of money, more than their competitors. The fact is that
the utility commissions in most states regulate this industry
and that there is very little difference between the telephone
service firms. Insist upon a detailed proposal as to how
they will save you money. I served a firm that had an annual
telephone bill, excluding equipment, of approximately $1
Million. During an evaluation of vendor services, I received
several boastful letters, stating four and six figure savings.
When push came to shove, almost none of the vendors were able
to supply proof as to how they could perform this economic
miracle. Insist upon a clause that would cause them to pay
all reconnect costs, if their service does not meet the levels
promised. Insist upon a performance clause, which would cause
them to pay you the difference between their quote and reality
as well as a penalty, if the bills you pay are higher than
they told you they would be. Of course, the vendors will state
that their claim is based upon your future traffic being the
same as the traffic they measured by scanning your telephone
bills. If you were savvy enough to install call accounting
software, you will be able to measure their claims to your
current use during an IQ (Intelligent Query) software sort.
Lastly, insist upon a recent financial statement from your
potential supplier. Will they be around to service your
product next year? Will they be able to satisfy any financial
claim, should their equipment perform at less than expected
levels? A discussion of telecommunications would not be
complete without including computers.
If your computer system is five or more years old, it is
costing you too much money to keep. Trade that sweating beast
for a lean and cool machine. I know that gold can be mined
when firms decentralize their computer systems. Whenever
possible, (i) look for debugged off-the-shelf software
solutions, (ii) avoid altering or customizing your software,
and (iii) never hire a software programmer. I have been
involved in a number of automation projects. In one
environment, I evaluated a predominantly manual method of
production and implemented the automation of nearly every
aspect of a general services department with a $1,000,000.00
operating budget. Re-inventing the entire work place, I
eventually generated an annual savings of approximately
$290,000.00, using revised policy and procedures, as well as
only $60,000 worth of technology. To be successful in
managing the computing portion of your telecommunications
environment, it is necessary for you to re-invent yourself. Do
not stop at merely computerizing functions that were
previously performed in another way. Always ask yourself and
your staff three simple questions,
1. What are you doing?
2. How are you doing that?
3. Why are you doing that?
The answers may surprise you. I discovered that a number of
redundant and unnecessary tasks were being performed,
primarily because it had always been done that way. I have
made it a career-long practice to attempt to reinvent my
departments every three years. I work under the premise that
everything that I am doing today is wrong, no longer valid.
Under that premise, I will take a segment of my business, and
no matter how much I think of my operations or suppliers, on
paper, I attempt to replace all vendors and eliminate all
functions, including my own. From this effort I have
obtained cost concessions from complacent vendors and learned
that newer, tested methods of equipment utility or personnel
management fit into my current and/or future long range plans.
I know it is a lot of work, and I know that it can be
uncomfortable for many. But, if there is one thing the current
global economy has taught everyone, is that warm-and-fuzzy
does not and will not cut it anymore in the work place,
regardless of your profession. If you haven't tried to throw
out the baby and the bath water within the last thirty months,
then you and your company have a lot of work to do.
CONCLUSION: A new computer or telephone installation will save
you a lot of money. Do not just go out and buy new gear. To be
successful, you must evaluate what processes are already
automated and determine if they are still necessary, or if
other tasks require automation.
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