How to Alleviate Employee Concerns about VoIP (Part 2)

The following is the second of two guest post from our partner, www.phonesuite.com, the premier manufacturer of hospitality phone systems. Though written for their industry, the lessons learned are easily applied to any business transitioning to a new VoIP phone system. 

VoIP has the power to completely transform the way that your hotel operates and does business — if, that is, you can overcome your employee’s initial resistance to change. While staffers may have some concerns about making the switch from a legacy phone system to one that relies on Internet protocol, there’s absolutely no reason why these fears should prevent you from growing your hospitality business and providing your guests with a better experience than ever before.

Last week, we discussed two of the most pressing employee concerns about VoIP: call quality and difficulty in learning the new system. We also reviewed some smart ideas for overcoming these obstacles. This week, we’ll conclude our two-part series by looking at issues tied to customer learning curves and the perceived privacy of your staff.

Concern #3 : Learning Curves — Guest Side

After announcing your intent to introduce VoIP to your hotel, you may notice that your staff start to grumble. This could be due to the fact that they’re concerned about how well your guests will adapt to the new system. Your employees are on the front lines day in and day out as they deal with guest issues and complaints. The fear is that if the hotel’s patrons experience difficulty in learning how to use the new phone system, they could create extra work for your team, and your front desk could be slammed with a lot of unsatisfied customers.

The Fix: Keep It Simple

The first thing that you should tell your staff is that the new VoIP phone system is extremely simple to use — both on their end and on the customer side of things. VoIP phone calls can be made with the same ease and simplicity as a legacy phone system. In addition to demonstrating how the phone system can be used for work-related purposes and for staff, perform a demonstration of how simple it is for a guest to pick up the phone and place a call to the front desk or to an outside line. Although the phone system is simple, you might also consider including easy-to-follow operating cards on guests’ bedside tables so that staff are assured that patrons will have clear instructions without the need to constantly bother the front desk.

Concern #4: “Big Brother”

No employee likes to feel that “Big Brother” is always watching over their shoulder, so when you introduce a phone system with advanced call log features, you can bet that there will be some heavy resistance to it. With a VoIP phone system, employers will have easy, unprecedented visibility into what staffers are actually doing with their time, who they are contacting, and the length of the calls that are being made from the work network. If employees are accustomed to having a lot of freedom in this area, you may find that their feathers become a bit ruffled when they learn that things are about to change.

The Fix: Establish Expectations and Protocols

It’s important for employees to have well-established rules and a working understanding of company protocols and policies. Let staff know if and when they are allowed to make personal calls from the company phone so that they are clear on what is and is not allowed, and are less fearful of change.

There’s no employee concern about VoIP that can’t be overcome. When you take the time to understand what’s troubling your staff, you can quickly address these issues and offer workable resolutions before any problems actually arise. For more tips on alleviating employee concerns or to learn more about VoIP for hotels, reach out to the pros at PhoneSuite.