Support for VoIP telephone systems

Installations of VoIP telephones are outpacing installations of traditional telephone systems. The benefits for users and the potential cost savings for companies are considerable, but how can managers be sure that staff will adopt the new technology smoothly and get the best from it?

Challenges

Fast adoption of new VoIP telephone technology
Many new features available to users
Insufficient time for users to attend formal training
Just-in-time support needed at the desktop

About voice over IP
Voice over Internet Protocol (also called VoIP, IP Telephony, Internet telephony, and Digital Phone) is the routing of voice conversations over the Internet or any other IP-based network. Using VoIP makes the telephone system part of the company network and there are many advantages and considerable cost savings over traditional phone systems. VoIP provides users with many new features, such as conference calling, the ability to route incoming calls to other office locations, make and receive calls from anywhere in the world with a broadband Internet connection and calling clients directly from a CRM application.

Supporting users
Implementation involves installing new telephone sets and providing users with instructions on how to use and get the most from VoIP. However, most implementations focus on installation and not on end-user support, which leads to issues with the rate and depth of user adoption. LearningGuide supports end-users in the use of VoIP telephones, including supporting users to get the best from the many new features.

In 2004, LearningGuide implemented its first VoIP support system at TNT Express in the Netherlands, providing staff with just-in-time instructions on how to use and get the most from their new system. VoIP installations are now outpacing traditional PBX telephone installations and LearningGuide is developing support content for several of the market leading VoIP systems and for an increasing variety of clients – across both the commercial and public sectors.

Standard and customized support content
LearningGuide provides standard content for Cisco IP Telephones covering basic use, advanced use and settings. Using LearningGuide’s authoring environment LearningGuide Manager, users are able to quickly develop and deploy support systems for all forms of office equipment and workplace application. LearningGuide Services partners around the world are also able to provide professional development services – recent projects have included providing VoIP support systems for the pharmaceutical company Akzo and the Dutch Police.

Users browse to on line learning objects about their phone system to find instructions for the features they wish to use.

With LearningGuide support systems the rate that users adopt new technologies is dramatically increased.

‘Quick’ and ‘deeper’ reference materials provide users with just the right amount of information, so that they can quickly find what they need and get on with the task in hand.

In-company helpdesks use LearningGuide support systems to ‘push’ relevant support information around the workforce.

LearningGuide systems can be updated internally by the IT support team quickly and easily and without the need for specialist programming knowledge.

Learning and support content for any company process or application can be added to each LearningGuide. For example, adding support content for other types of office equipment, computer applications and organizational policies and procedures.

Supporting VoIP telephone systems

audio clip

VoIP-telephone-support.pdf 135Kb