Frustration or Communication…What are you providing?

Angela Pitts

I needed some information about my daughter’s recent immunizations.  I was partially at fault for not keeping the records in a place that was readily accessible; however I knew her pediatrician could easily provide the necessary information for me.

Her pediatrician is fantastic as are all the people that work in his office, but they do have very limited “office hours”.  The office is open from 9am to 4pm, with an hour off for lunch.  Coordinating schedules is always a challenge, and the same difficulties apply to calling the doctor’s office.  I started calling the office at 9am on the dot, rolled right to voicemail.  I kept hitting redial until approximately 9:07am when someone answered the phone.  I realize this was only 7 minutes out of my day, but it was 7 minutes of valuable time.

This got me thinking about when I was in staffing, recalling all the employees’ requests for information. Each of these employees (or even candidates) had to wait until our office opened at 8am and time it right within their day to be sure they called before 5:30pm.  I’m sure many of them felt the same frustration that I felt last week.  Why in the world is technology not being used?

As I was dialing for what felt like the 100^th time, I thought about how much easier it would be for the both of us to correspond over email.  I could send it anytime of the day or night and they could answer at their convenience as well.  Both parties being able to enjoy the benefits of the 21^st century.

How about your current operation?  Are you expecting your employees or even customers to work around your schedule?  I’m sure not everyone walks around with a smart phone attached to their hip, but a lot of people do.  In a world of conveniences, it’s tough to figure out why something as simple as email , an online application or employee portal are not being used.

I hear all the reasons why prospects or even current customers are not using technology that is readily available.

1.  Our employees are not that tech savvy.
2. Most don’t even have a computer or email address
3.  We are comfortable with our current  system
4. We like to talk to our employees and customers

Varying statistics say that about 70-80% of the US population owns a computer.  About 90% of the US population has an email address.  Likewise, you would be surprised with the number of people that have text service on their phones.  Most people will check their text messages prior to voicemails or emails.  Think about how much you actually “talk” on your phone.  In 2010 an article was published in the NY Times talking about data being more widely used on cell phones than actual talk time.

An Avionte user and presenter at the last ASA Conference said it best, “The higher the technology, the higher the touch.”  John Thomas knows what he is talking about as a leader in the staffing industry.  He went on to explain that by allowing your customers (and employees) to have access to the information they need on their own schedule, your conversation with them will be much more meaningful.

Why wouldn’t you want to make information as easy and accessible to your employees and customers?  Why wouldn’t you want to make data entry and retrieval as easy and painless on your internal staff?  Think about some of the dated processes you are currently using, and ask yourself (and us!) could there be a better way?  Chances are……there is!