in the loop to everyone’s coming and goings, is usually privy to what seems at times information worthy of an oracle. They answer phones and take messages with “While You Were Out” note pads, and hand them to staff as they walk in and out of the office. An admin assistant's obsession with the In Out board can seem unreasonable at times until you realized the workload they carry. The traditional In Out board was an attempt at automation and off loading a bit of work that was critical for smooth operation of the office. And as a result of the “telephone game” effect, where obfuscation of verbal notes get passed on, errors, missed opportunity, and perceived client neglect can surface. Everyone knows improving customer service begins on the front lines.It's surprising that the electronic versions are simply transplanted from "paper" to the PC. A simple 1-1 swap. I can't imaging a better candidate to introduce Web 2.0 and front line collaboration to business. While PC or web based In Out Boards can display the whole organization, and not just a department, that about all they do. Why not hyperlink the HR department name to the HR intranet, email link the user name, Google Map the Location, filter only your departments, sorting, private messages (to replace the While You Were Out" mini messages). It's easy to see the integrations that are possible and where this is going. After all, you should never swap one process for another. Where's the benefit? If a new or proposed process doesn't solve at least 2 new problems, I wouldn't waste my time.
Business Benefits of a Web Based In Out Board
For Customers and Partners
- Rapid and accurate business query turnaround
- Enhanced perception of importance
- Enhanced customer service
For Your Company
- Rapid and accurate client and employee query turnaround
- Record of Messages through the In and Out board private message facility
Employee Time Tracking - Enhanced internal communications
- Informal brainstorming platform through private messages.
- Increased Employee Corporate IQ via the In and Out Board department hyper linking
- Increased communications efficiency via email hyperlinked employee names
- Faster, better business decisions with up to date client and corporate information
- Leveraged Hawthorn Effect via employee time tracking
I'm sure you can think of many more.
BC In Out BoardWhile the BC In Out Board serves as a corporate In Out Board, allowing employees to quickly find out if someone is in or out of the office, it obviously provides more information than the traditional wall mounted In Out Board. The ability to hide all but the In and Out fields provides a clean interface. The board also allows you to add custom fields for whatever is relevant to your company, organization, or firm. For example, along with the In and Out fields, a legal team might include Clerk’s Office, In Court, or any other legal related activity. But the BC In Out Board doesn’t leave it at that. The top priorities for collaboration tool investment are linked to the No1 business priority. Improving customer service ranked first in the 2008 Top Trend Survey (ZDNet). The BC In Out Board lets customer-facing employees share information, and project teams, dispersed and centralized, also benefit in a big way from the increased communications through private messaging. The private messaging’s collaboration and productivity properties allow employees to brainstorm in an informal environment. Employee Corporate IQs can also be enhanced with hyperlinked department intranets, on the In Out status page, which reduces support requests for information you already have on your corporate intranets. Google Map links also provide employees with driving direction to remote office locations.
Web2.0 really isn’t new it's just moving from the wall to your desktop where it belongs (along with a few tweaks).
You can view the BC In Out Board at http://www.billcatchem.net/InOutBoard/, http://www.inoutboard.org/
BC.
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