A UC To-Do List

Any IT team considering implementing unified communications technology at its agency’s call centers should do its homework before taking the leap and should consider making the upgrade in stages, says Daryl Covey, founder of Government Customer Support Community of Practice.

Any IT team considering implementing unified communications technology at its agency’s call centers should do its homework before taking the leap and should consider making the upgrade in stages, says Daryl Covey, founder of Government Customer Support Community of Practice.

Amy Burnett of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agrees. “You need to be ruthlessly data-driven and performance-based,” says Burnett, director of the CDC’s National Contact Center, known as CDC-INFO. “You need to talk to your colleagues and learn from them. And you need to know your customer — their information needs and preferences.”

Here are some tips Covey and Burnett suggest:

• Implement technology in stages. That way, you can help determine cost benefits and technology impacts. Plus, by using a migration plan that ramps up the tools available, there’s less chance of overtaxing workers learning new applications and services.
• Plan for scalability. The network infrastructure must have available bandwidth and be capable of handling additional traffic load on an as-needed basis. The call-routing infrastructure also must be able to handle user registration and additional loads.
• Deploy core call-control components. These tools will let users take advantage of the revamped network infrastructure to initiate calls more easily and to enhance the overall experience for callers and users of the technology.
• Set database synchronization policies based on user needs. Each application has its own set of limits.
• Embed applications in the call routing. Some to consider are click-to-call dialing, manager-assistant applications and the ability for users to log in to any phone.