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The Truth About Telecom "Outsourcing"
from: Karen Thatcher When it comes to reducing company telecom expenses, more and more companies are beginning to consider outsourcing as a viable and intelligent option.
Although "outsourcing" seems to be the buzzword these days, there are things you need to know and be aware of before you take the plunge and enter into a telecom outsourcing relationship.
What exactly is telecom outsourcing and how do you know when and if you even need to hand off your in-house tasks to an experienced specialist in the field?
To answer this, let's take a look at the different aspects of telecom outsourcing in more detail.
The 4 Main Areas of Telecom Outsourcing
1. Telemanagement
Outsourcing telemanagement tasks can be as simple as ordering a new line for a specific office or location, or handling moves/adds/changes for a multi-location conglomerate company.
You can think of most telemanagement tasks as the ones that your staff probably complains about or dislikes doing the most. (No one enjoys being put on hold for an hour with a carrier just to make a small change to an account or a bill.)
Adds, moves or changes to a bill or account, questions on a bill, ordering new service or features on existing service are all considered "telemanagement" activities that can be outsourced very inexpensively.
You should consider outsourcing telemanagement tasks if you have ever had any or all of these concerns or problems:
You are understaffed to deal with them and complete them in a timely manner;
Problems that arise are not being solved correctly and/or efficiently;
Company growth is making it less cost effective to handle telemanagement duties in-house;
2. Bill Management
Years ago companies (and individuals) paid one phone bill to one company each and every month. Those were the old days!
Today, companies now must pay local, long distance, wireless and internet bills to multiple vendors in multiple locations.
Bill management is an outsourcing function whereby ALL of your telecom bills go directly to the outsourcing firm itself.
Telecom bills are paid, moves/adds/changes are implemented where necessary, and ideally a routine system of auditing is in place to keep bills "clean" from crams, slams, fraud and abuse, overbills, etc.
You should consider bill management outsourcing if you have these problems or concerns:
*You have multiple field locations within your company and you lack a comprehensive and uniform system to pay bills on time and to deal with moves/adds/changes effectively;
*You are paying a full-time salary and benefits to one or more individuals to handle bill paying duties;
*You need an experienced outsourcing firm to not only pay bills but to implement a system of routine auditing to maximize savings and reduce waste.
3. Cost-Reduction and Auditing
Before outsourcing telemanagement or bill management duties, it is first advisable (although not absolutely necessary) to conduct a thorough audit of your telecom department.
A cost-reduction study will help you maximize savings before systems are put into place for paying and/or maintaining your bills. Chances are that the savings found when conducting a cost-reduction survey first will pay for subseqent outsourcing many times over.
You should consider a cost-reduction audit if:
*You need a comprehensive study and inventory completed to help you determine the "baseline" of all your company's telecom needs - and you need help in identifying exactly where savings and waste can be eliminated ;
*You have experienced or been concerned with any of the following items appearing on your bills in the past: billing errors, fraud and abuse, unneeded/unused features, overprovisioning of lines, cost-effective local service plans, and/or correct long-distance assignment;
*You lack the time, the manpower and/or the proprietary knowledge to conduct a thorough audit in-house
4. Telecom Training
If you are fully staffed to handle the above outsourcing tasks within your company, outsourcing basic and/or advanced training may be in order.
The telecommunications industry is in a constant state of change. Comprehensive training will keep your staff sharp and current to handle these changes.
Telecom training can be customized and on location or can be acquired in a variety of 1-2 day seminars conducted by experienced and reputable training companies. (CCMI is a terrific source for intensive auditing seminars and training)
The bottom line?
Outsourcing some or all of your telecom departmental duties can save your company money. In the process, it can relieve your staff of time-consuming tasks and headaches better left to an experienced outsourcing firm.
About the Author
Karen Thatcher is President and CEO of TelCon Associates, a a 32 yr old telecom cost-reduction and management firm. For free and helpful tools to help reduce your telecom expenses, visit www.telconassociates.com
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