Collaboration analytics delivers value far beyond efficiencies, according Tollring CEO Tony Martino who outlines the full extent of the channel opportunity.
Remote working is now an integral part of most organisations and the signs are that workplace flexibility is here to stay – which raises certain challenges. “We’re seeing a lot of focus on managing the wellbeing and performance of remote employees, and while this is critical, equally important is customer retention and customer experience,” stated Martino. “The key to solving all of these issues, as well as contributing to the bottom line, is collaboration analytics. This is a huge opportunity for the channel. The newly adopted collaboration tools have propelled organisations into new ways of working in a short space of time without the insight and feedback necessary to ensure that they’re on the right track.”
The scale of demand for collaboration analytics is reflected in figures from Gartner which Martino cites as significant. In a recent survey Gartner stated that 82 per cent of business leaders intend to have employees working at home some of the time and 47 per permanently. “Collaboration analytics delivers on this vital management need, going beyond just call analytics for sales and support teams, capturing and presenting information and insights from across a whole organisation,” explained Martino. “It is all about breaking down an organisation’s natural silos to look holistically across every area of business performance, from individuals, to teams, to departments and then relating the information to business objectives.”
Managing employees remotely, whether at individual or department level, requires greater transparency and clear objectives. “This can help to clarify how the very nature of their management has changed and how the new hybrid and remote working environment is performing,” added Martino. “These analytics can also be used to help organisations determine how their collaboration tools are working, identify trends and gain an accurate insight into employee experiences.”
It is all about breaking down silos to look holistically at every area of performance
Wellness has also become key to operational performance, observed Martino. A workforce that is balanced and healthy will have a positive impact on the customer experience and analytics can be used to help assist in the areas of company culture, mental health and isolation issues. “By extending analytics into this internal collaboration space we can also gain an insight into the impact that change has on workforces,” added Martino. “For example, the last year has seen many organisations forced to adjust their business model, or reduce headcount, which has a large impact on the day-to-day role of the employees that remain. Analytics gives managers the data they need to manage this change effectively.”
As a key enabler for the shift from UC to collaboration, much of the channel already understands the value of analytics in collaborative environments. “Those familiar with monitoring calls have an advantage and are moving to this new generation of analytics to help their customers to achieve relevant insights across all areas of their organisations,” said Martino. “Metrics that relate to externally facing activities provide a new perspective that complements traditional measures, and combining internal and external metrics delivers a stronger view of an organisation’s ability to deliver a good customer experience than ever before.
“It’s a relatively easy approach to position too, because delivering collaboration analytics in the cloud removes technical overheads, making it a straightforward up-sell or bundle opportunity. The only complexity comes from the depth of information that can be delivered, so we’re helping the channel to leverage the opportunities, providing educational resources and demonstrating the business benefits that they can deliver to their customers, with sensitivity to the compliance and privacy requirements that the increases in transparency of data can bring.”
According to Martino, the channel can expect to see future advances around tools like Microsoft Teams which will be at the heart of these developments. “Collaboration analytics will be extended to include enhanced management capabilities for meeting recordings, through to greater integration with CRM systems and calling platforms for an even more complete view,” he commented. “More communications tools will be integrated into the business ecosystem, such as Teams, with the aim of achieving a more fluid working environment where organisations can become far more effective, whether their workers are in the office, at home or in a café.”