Business: How to Choose the Best Small Business VoIP Solution

How to Choose the Best Small Business VoIP Solution

Written by Gobala Krishnan

Copyright 2005 Gobala Krishnan

Telecommunication cost is always an obstacle for small business owners, especially if you need to call domestic or international long distance. The long distance cost factor alone, depending on repparttar type of business you're in, can make repparttar 142858 difference in repparttar 142859 success of any small business.

The telecommunication market today is one of repparttar 142860 most competitive. Rates for both local, domestic long distance or DLL (long distance in repparttar 142861 same country) and international long distance (ILD) are going down every day. The new player in small business phone systems, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), adds a whole new dimension when it comes to choosing a phone system for your small business or home based business.

There's so much hype today about VoIP, or Voice over IP, or Voice over Broadband, whatever you want to call it. Everyone's saying that VoIP is repparttar 142862 "future of communication" and that VoIP will replace regular analog phone calls. Is all this true? If it is, how do you, as an entrepreneur, decide how to choose and invest in what's best for you? Firstly, if you have no idea what VoIP is really about, here's where you can get educate yourself: http://www.mybusinessvoip.com/start

There are two things you need to consider:

1) Level of investment 2) Cost vs. Quality

To go full out into using VoIP, you'll need to invest in IP phones, and possibly even in IP PBX. Otherwise, you should go for IP phone adapters, which allow you to maintain whatever system you already have, but also gives you repparttar 142863 option of converting some of those phone lines to VoIP. Most entrepreneurs are reluctant to go 100% into VoIP, and yet they still want repparttar 142864 benefits that come from it. That's why IP phone adapters are so popular today. In fact, here's a list of repparttar 142865 most popular providers for comparison: http://www.mybusinessvoip.com/compare

The Accountability/Alignment Process: Three Steps to an Accountable Organization

Written by Bruce Klatt and Shaun Murphy

The Accountability/Alignment Process: Three Steps to an Accountable Organization

Generating genuine accountability and functional alignment into your workplace cannot be left to vague ambitions and abstract statements. Well designed processes must be embedded into repparttar heart of an organization to ensure that each employee’s goals and expectations are clearly defined and that repparttar 142843 resources to bring about specific measurable results are in place.

In our recent book, Aligned Like a Laser, we outline an effective three step process for ensuring managers and employees are mutually accountable and that repparttar 142844 entire organization is aligned toward specific goals.

The Accountability/Alignment process has three fundamental steps:

(1)Accountability (2)Alignment (3)and Achievement

These steps shape repparttar 142845 essential foundation for repparttar 142846 practice of accountability and workplace alignment.

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Step 1: Accountability

Accountability is articulated through a document called an Accountability Agreement. This document forms a context for success by making each individual’s contribution visible within repparttar 142847 organization. It is a brief – 2 to 3 page – overview of repparttar 142848 outcomes that an individual is promising to deliver which also outlines repparttar 142849 support and resources that he or she needs from others in order to achieve these results.

Seven Elements of an Accountability Agreement:

(1)Business Focus Statement (2)Operational Accountabilities (3)Leadership Accountabilities (4)Support Requirements (5)Goals (6)Sustainment Plan (7)Positive Consequences

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Step 2: Alignment

Alignment requires a constructive business dialogue focused on end results. After completing Accountability Agreements, a workgroup negotiates responsibilities and forms an understanding of each member’s contribution to repparttar 142850 team. The alignment process involves resolving gaps and overlaps in repparttar 142851 team’s accountabilities, and it ensures that each member agrees to provide repparttar 142852 critical support needed to fulfil repparttar 142853 team’s purpose. Alignment clarifies repparttar 142854 practice of accountability; it focuses energy and eliminates distractions across repparttar 142855 entire organization. It also provides a renewed sense of confidence and interdependence based on a publicly declared promise to deliver business results.

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