Virtual
Office System
"I have
utilized a Virtual Office System for over 8 years that I can state, without
reservation, fills all my needs and more at a very reasonable cost. The selections are numerous; I can’t possibly
cover them all in this newsletter.
Thankfully, I don’t have to! You
can visit the Virtual Office web pages via our site to appreciate the options
available."
You
don’t
stick with a technology for 8 years unless it’s a good one! For me, the most valuable feature is the
universal communication capability the service offers. Communication for a company is crucial - - and
often, our attempts to capture revenue through numerous avenues can not only
get expensive, but confusing!
As
an example, do you have separate telephone numbers for:
- Home
- Office (800 and local numbers)
- Fax
- Pager
- Cellular phone
How
would
you like to bundle all of the above into one toll-free number that is used
universally for office and customer use - - and it’s accessible anywhere in
North America! Genie, the “digital
assistant” service attached to your account, works as a private secretary 24
hours a day, seven days a week. Genie
will interactively handle incoming and outgoing calls. “She” will forward the calls for immediate
attention or professionally, courteously and discreetly screen your calls and /
or take a message capturing the contact information. Your calls can even be directed to follow you
to any number you designate - - wherever you are! You can choose to receive your faxes and
voice messages as e-mails if you like. Genie
can efficiently perform thousands of functions every second - - messages,
faxes, emails, teleconferences, and even make off platform calls as
"Audiograms" - - essentially providing each of our clients with the
productive power of an entire team of assistants for the price of one. The Universal Office currently provides the
most robust telecommunications technology in the world for Communication Management.
Virtual
Office web pages and read how we incorporate this unique system. You will be glad you
did! |
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Flow
Charts
In December’s newsletter we discussed reviewing
last year’s goals and how to properly prepare and set new goals for the
upcoming year.
In conferring with businesses through the years
I have discovered that most businesses, though on the right track,
could use the training / knowledge in identifying the areas that need
improvement. One of the steps in
addressing this is the use of a flow chart to characterize what steps need to
be done and in what order. In utilizing
a flow chart you will discover that it’s usually the seemingly insignificant factors
that are overlooked. In some cases, it
may even be necessary to “re-invent” elements in order to streamline efficiency
or productivity.
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Hats
As an owner of a business you “wear a lot of
hats” - - You have a variety of responsibilities that require a different
approach or thinking process throughout your day. For example, when you open up for the day there are steps that
have to occur in a specific order to do this successfully. Alarms need to be turned off so that law
enforcement doesn’t respond; the grill needs to be preheated so that it’s ready
for customer orders. One moment you’re
wearing your “business owner hat” as you address the businesses operating
agenda and then next you are “switching hats” in order smooth over things with
a frustrated customer.
Basic?
Yes . . . but it’s vital that all procedures are
known so that the necessary steps are identified in the proper order they need
to happen for you as with your employees.
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Job
Descriptions
One key issue is to review all “job
descriptions” you have developed to ensure each person assigned to achieve that
task is the right person for the job. In
addition, make sure each person is fully aware of all responsibilities
associated with that position. This is
precisely why the flow charts are so important.
I believe job descriptions encompass more than the
brief occupation narrative in a recruiting ad.
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Organizational
Chart
An organizational chart clearly illustrates the
chain of command. Once the various “job
description” hats are established, they are placed on the chart coinciding with
the importance of that position. Obviously,
the higher a “hat” is on the chart, the more responsibility that position may
have within the organization.
The flow charts are used to train each person as
to what their specific “hats” encompass.
As in most planning, the creation of flow charts, hats and
organizational charts will take some time - - but once in place, the outcome is
where the successful results will occur!
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