5 key steps to boosting your customer satisfaction with Unified Communications
In our new series of blog posts, we look at the 5 key steps every business needs to take in order to build a solid UC strategy that changes the way customers interact with the brand.
Step 3: Consider user adoption. Empower your teams to adapt quickly
User buy-in is essential for the successful deployment of any new system or process, and UC is no different. When implementing a collaboration platform, or you are introducing potentially thousands of users to a diverse range of new tools and processes, and to promote successful take-up your colleagues will need to understand the benefits of the new systems. Unless everybody knows what they’re doing, as well as why they are doing it, there is an inherent risk of even the best-laid plan being met with apathy or even outright opposition.
Start laying the groundwork as far ahead of deployment as possible to whip up some excitement among your teams. Keep your colleagues in the loop, or even involve them in the process of identifying and choosing the solutions that will be used. Ask for feedback and input from the people who will be using the Microsoft UC tools every day – the chances are they will have good ideas about what functionality will be most useful, and which will be a waste of resources.
Another way of getting everyone on board is to ensure there are plenty of training opportunities available pre-deployment, as well as ongoing support after the launch of new applications. Any new working environment requires a period of adjustment and getting the most from a UC solution– including collaboration tools as well as those designed to connect you with your customers – requires users to be well-trained in the features that will help them optimise workflow. Putting together a suite of supporting information for your teams – including short how-to videos, and cheat sheets they can print out and keep easily to hand – will not only put your teams at ease in terms of feeling empowered, but it will also help improve adoption rates and ensure users can fully engage with the applications.
It might be that a phased rollout is the best way to handle the deployment. Considering a phased adoption of Microsoft Teams and UC capabilities to a chosen number of teams or roles, on specific sites, can help identify what works, what doesn’t, and what is simply unnecessary. The results of these trials will allow for informed scaling back of provision, spinning up of more appropriate functionality, the addressing of snagging points, and the perfecting of a strategy without the whole operation having to grind to a halt while a new solution is identified and deployed.
Key questions to ask yourself:
- How will Microsoft UC benefit your teams?
- Who are the key players in teams? Can they offer insight about the best solutions?
- What role do teams have to play in making your UC strategy successful?
- What can you do to make the transition to UC easier for your colleagues?
- What hands-on training will you need to offer?
- Will user manuals and/or troubleshooting guides and videos be helpful? Could you build a knowledge hub for self-service training?
- How can you gather feedback on an ongoing basis to make sure the Microsoft UC tools are providing the necessary support in day to day work?
The next step…
When you’ve got your teams ready for the rolling out of your UC strategy, the next thing to consider is how you’re going to collect, visualise and analyse data coming from customer interactions including feedback and reviews. In any UC strategy that has been built with the express purpose of improving customer and employee satisfaction, the input of those users is vital in ensuring you are making the most of your Microsoft investment, with the right mix of tools and capabilities for your business needs. Read the next blog on our series for tips on how to ensure your Microsoft UC solutions are ticking all the boxes to achieve the right level of customer engagement and capture all the technology requirements your users have.
Step 4: Analyse customer behaviour and act on feedback
The rest of the series
Step 1: The generation game. Start with a customer analysis
Step 2: Choose your solutions
Step 4: Analyse customer behaviour and act on feedback
Step 5: Don’t ever think it’s done
