Collaboration technologies – so it must be a UC opportunity
Whilst going through my mail this week, I came across an interesting article from SearchUnifiedCommunications.com, discussing ways to cut employee training costs. Apparently companies are solving this challenge using a variety of ‘collaboration technologies’ … so there must be a UC opportunity then…
Well, not necessarily… but possibly!
Irvin Lazar, from Nemertes Research reports seeing wikis replacing the need to send out an email or store a document for instructions. The most useful wiki entries are task-focused - how to look up a record for a customer contact, or how to enter data into a CRM… easy to update and all there.
Forrester Research also recommended that companies help employees create and organize wikis, blogs, and other employee–maintained tools in order to make training material both accessible and fresh. Forrester also suggests that this material be set up in small chunks that take no more than three or four minutes to consume. Hmmm… sounds a lot like the episodes on SCTV; but not much for UC salespeople to get their teeth into
:-(
Yammer is a tool that allows corporate users to communicate internally in short status messages (a bit like Instant Messaging) about projects they are working on, problems they are confronting, or tips they have learned. Yammer offers both free and paid services in a SaaS model. Neil Oatley, VP Marketing at SYS – a Yammer user – believes that value is all about showing how the technology can speed up processes without being disruptive. He believes that, “Whenever you’re distributed and trying to work together, anything you can do to streamline communication is going to help [you].” Again, not of direct use if you’re selling UC but some useful messages to bear in mind.
For more in-depth training, such as a new process or a tutorial on using a software system, a wiki entry or Yammer message just might not suffice. Here, video-on-demand can be an effective supplement, even a replacement, for in-person training sessions. “You see a lot of Web conferencing for meetings, but it’s also pretty useful for training,” Lazar said. “We’ve talked to a lot of companies looking into video-on-demand, and if they’re using a Web conferencing vendor, they’ll use the same vendor for recording that Web conference for an on-demand record.” The technology gives employees added flexibility to acquire training on their own terms or to refresh as necessary, without waiting for an available class. Now we’re talking - something that fits into the UC world. For business collaboration at senior levels, high-quality Telepresence solutions may be the answer.
So what’s the message here?
There are many ways to skin a cat… just because there is a ‘collaboration’ requirement, the answer for the customer is not necessarily a huge unwieldy UC solution. This is all about working with your customer to understand their needs and potential solutions, and where you can help them meet those needs. If a wiki is the best approach – tell them! They’ll appreciate your honesty and your help, and the next time you recommend something they’ll probably listen…
See the full article below: