Crosstalk with Select Telecom (Summer 2013)
“Productive” may not be the first word that comes to mind when you think of your upcoming summer vacation, but let’s face it: today’s competitive 24/7 marketplace is not exactly conducive to a relaxing stay on the beach. Most of us simply can’t afford to “turn off” work completely, and even if you’re one of the lucky ones who can, the last thing you want is to come back to an overflowing inbox and irate customers and colleagues who want to know why you haven’t returned their call in seven days.
Thankfully, modern unified communications systems have tools in place to help ease the transition between work and play, and allow you to work effectively (even from the beach!) while you’re away from your desk. Here are our 5 top tips for making your vacation as productive as it can be:
1. Change Presence. If your communications system supports a “presence” status, be sure to set expectations with colleagues and managers appropriately by changing your status to “Out of Office” before you go.
2. Update Voice Mail Message. Update your voice mail greeting to let callers know which dates you’ll be unavailable, when they should expect to hear back from you, and who to contact with any urgent matters while you’re away. Keep in mind that some systems tie the active voice mail greeting to your presence status, so be sure to update the right message. (And don’t forget to turn on your email auto-response while you’re at it!)
3. Set Calling Forwarding. Planning to work remotely? Remember to set your calls to forward to your cell phone. Or better yet, delegate this responsibility and have your calls forward to another colleague’s desk!
4. Prepare for Remote Meetings. If you can’t miss an important meeting taking place while you’re on the road, set up video conferencing on your laptop, cell phone or tablet. (Just remember to bring a shirt and tie with you to the pool – after all, they can only see you from the waist up!)
5. Staying Home? Get a Services Check-Up. Even if you can’t get away this summer, take advantage of the downtime while your clients are away to give us a call and sign up for a free services audit. Select Telecom can review your local, long distance, and internet bills and provide suggestions on where your company might be able to save some money. Hey, maybe all those savings might be able to buy you some extra vacation days!