Keeping your business phone system up and running is crucial to business success. Problems with your phone system can lead to missed opportunities, lost sales, and frustrated customers. To avoid any major down time, take these steps to proactively maintain your business phone system and eliminate any issues that arise.

Assess
Look at your entire system overall – what are the specific goals and standards you want your system to meet? Figure out the purpose your business phone system serves and how it plays a role in achieving your business goals.

Identify
Take a short inventory of all the devices in your system. Know how old they are, what purpose they serve, and any known issues up to this point. Are the older devices at risk for failing? Do they need software updates or does equipment need to be replaced? Have there been issues within the last 6 months, and are they showing a pattern? Once you have assessed and identified concerns within your system, you can proceed to the next step.

Prioritize
Based on your findings, figure out which issues should be addressed first. Which issues impact customer service, sales, or productivity? How would the resolution of these problems improve business? Start with the problems which make the most impact and work your way down to the minor issues.

Evaluate
Now that you have your issues in order, how can you address and solve them? What resources are available to remedy the situation? Can updated cabling or new equipment aid in solving the problems? If you have come up with more than one solution, you then have a decision to make.

Decide
Determine your total cost of ownership for your existing system and other new solutions you’re considering, and then compare this to your potential gains in productivity, customer service, sales, or other measurements. Make a decision about which solution would be the best for your business in terms of cost, convenience, and benefits.

Implement
Once you make your decision, plan an implementation project. Include the planning phase, resource allocations, procurement, migration, testing, and other necessary steps. Get upper management involved in the process to ensure that implementation and resources are available and approved.

Consider A Partnership
If you would rather someone else handle these tasks rather than using internal resources, you may want to consider partnering with a telecommunications systems provider. In the case of a partnership, the provider would deal with the issues and resolve any problems with your system. Should you decide to go this route, a service level agreement (SLA) should be in place to ensure that your partner responds to any issues and helps to keep your business on track.

Aside from addressing issues, you partner can help you choose the right equipment to suit your needs, as well as a phone system which possesses the advanced features necessary to promote business success. You can work with your partner along the way to upgrade or expand your system as necessary.

Does your business handle troubleshooting and maintenance within your headquarters or do you partner with a provider? Share your experiences and tips with us on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

To find the ideal business phone system for your company, visit Startechtel.com. For more information or if you have any questions, please call 1-800-564-8045.

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