With tight budgets and long timelines, government agencies cannot afford to allow their technology to become old and more prone to critical failures. Offices must be proactive in predicting and assessing their technological needs and making plans to keep their network and hardware up-to-date and supporting the vital work they do.
For government agencies, the best way to modernize while cutting costs and boosting workplace efficiency is the adoption of Unified Communications (UC).
Unified Communication for government offices is a single suite of powerful communication tools that keeps colleagues and constituents connected and creates more efficient and productive workplaces. UC does this by merging all the standard ways organizations communicate with some powerful features into a single system that is accessible from anywhere work takes employees.
Here are some ways UC can streamline government offices and support the vital work they perform.
Streamlining Customer Service with Unified Communications for Government Agencies
Many private-sector companies have made their name and staked out their niche in the market by providing an experience that is at once simple and satisfying. This often allows them to retain their market growth while charging prices higher than their closest competitors.
That principle of making the experience of constituents easier is important, reducing the time they spend trying to accomplish their goal and increasing their satisfaction with their government.
Unified Communications facilitates a lot of processes that increase customer satisfaction by making their experience as fast and frictionless as possible. Callers can be greeted by an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) that can answer their questions, process their requests, and place them in the appropriate call queue where on-hold music or messaging can be specific to the type of caller.
And by keeping communication tools on the same interface as integrated business tools, the time it takes agents to process requests, share information, and create records is dramatically reduced. This helps ensure vital work is done quickly and leaves constituents impressed by the timeliness.
Streamlining Internal Collaboration and Remote Communication for Government Agencies
Unified Communications provides a wealth of tools to increase and improve collaboration internally within government offices. With features to elevate internal visibility and expanded messaging capabilities, UC can give government offices a boost in office productivity while ensuring a simple, intuitive user experience.
Status and Presence functionality allow government office workers to see at a glance who’s active and what their status is. Without leaving their desk, staff can see who’s in the office and their status (whether they’re available, busy, on a call, eating lunch, etc). When on leave, users can set their status to vacation or extended away. This is only one of many benefits for unified communication for government call center employees.
Instant messaging (IM) allows office workers to direct quick questions or comments to their colleagues without disrupting them or calling them on the phone. Integrated right into the government agency Unified Communications platform, users do not even need to change windows to send an IM, seamlessly lowering the barrier to effective office communication and collaboration.
With modern government phone systems, every user has their own conference bridge. This makes Unified Communication for government agencies the perfect platform for users to host virtual meetings, whether with just voice or with the addition of video or screen-sharing. The option to host meetings over the phone makes it much easier to plan around different schedules, allowing work to get done faster and more efficiently.
Streamlining Mobile and Remote Work: Remote Communication for Government Agencies
A Unified Communication for government agencies phone system unchains office workers from their desks, allowing them to make and receive phone calls on their mobile devices, transfer them to their deskphone, and vice versa. Remote communication for government agencies makes it possible for users to move around or leave the office as necessary without missing important calls or sacrificing productivity. And the best part is that, with softphone apps, users can do all this with their extension and the full power of their phone system. Not only does this keep their personal mobile number private, it also makes carrying a secondary mobile work device unnecessary.
In addition to enabling mobile and remote government employees to stay connected and in sync with their home office, Switchvox provides a robust set of tools for managers to lead and train their mobile and remote staff. Switchvox is an ideal solution for remote communication for government agencies.
Modern Unified Communications government phone systems also give managers deep visibility into their workforce, including mobile and remote workers, with productivity and queue reports. These reports provide intelligent data that provides insight into their team’s workload and potential bottlenecks in office processes. And because mobile and remote government employees are able to use the same system as office staff, managers do not need separate processes to track performance outside the office.
Switchvox Unified Communication for Government Agencies
With a Switchvox Unified Communications phone system, government agencies can integrate all office communications, including phone, fax, chat, and web integrations, into a single system, connecting employees and citizens and immediately improving agency efficiency.
Switchvox is the secure, reliable way for government agencies to connect and communicate… without going over budget. Click here to learn more or contact a solutions specialist for assistance in determining the needs of your government agency, department, or office and guidance in navigating the RFP process from start to finish.