The New Living Workplace
Today, new technologies in the workplace are taking hold. We have more forms of communication in the workplace then ever before – e-mail, landline calls, instant messages, texts, video calls, social media, mobile calls, VoIP, SMS, conferencing and more.
This adoption of so many types of new technologies isn’t necessarily happening as a matter of IT policy or top-down control; it’s happening due to the broader acceptance of employees bringing their own personal technology into the workplace. The advent of so many different tools has not only shifted the way we communicate and collaborate but is also shifting the way we work. Most significantly, it’s reducing the need to be in a traditional office to work effectively.
Skype commissioned a survey with InCites Research in December 2010 to look at these trends. The survey results were analyzed and packaged by GigaOm Pro, and it’s now available to you in a report for download from Skype’s new Living Workplace website.
Why do I call it The Living Workplace? Because the notion of work is being re-invented. How we communicate and collaborate is at the crux of this change, and is driven by new technology. This Living Workplace is open and flexible. It supports remote working, where it doesn’t matter if you’re at your office, home, an airport or a coffee shop. It acknowledges that your personal and work lives co-exist, and it understands that being able to bring your personal technology choices into the workplace can help you and your business achieve the best possible results.
So, check out the downloadable report, and learn more about the Living Workplace.
You can follow Skype Enterprise on Twitter at @skypeenterprise, as well as keep track of the discussion about the Living Workplace on Twitter by searching for #livingworkplace.
Incorporating Skype into Living Workspaces
The first step to achieving this goal: consider a new approach to customer service and the quality of the products that are provided to them.
As a new paid subscriber/user…I have had some good experiences and some bad experiences with your product. The most disconcerting…would be the issue of a knowledge base…a more, user friendly knowledge base that does not simply exist as a blog where customers complain about issues. The problem with this is…there is no “reply” link to a posted message (you know…threads, like in a true blog?), just in case somebody reading the posts has some information they can share. This would be really helpful. Also, did you happen to notice that on http://www.skype.com…there is no link to the blogs let alone an “issues” blog? Hopefully this is not intentional…as in, do not let prospective new customers know how much difficulty users have with Skype. Now, I am not a novice to computers, or using the internet…I even worked for some time for a dotcom whose sole purpose was to find information on the internet for customers, so I am pretty good at this…but finding solutions to problems regarding Skype…well, that’s a whole other ballgame to say the least! What I find usually…are unofficial Skype blogs that attempt to answer the questions to user issues…which, ironically is your responsibility…you created this software. With this in mind…there should be a “blog” button, or a “answers” button in Skype itself…no user should have to go hunting for solutions…they should be more than obvious. Perhaps the most frustrating with regards to your “blog”, is the fact that on the front page of your blog…there isn’t a community blog for issues, problems, or technical difficulty…this too should be more than obvious to Skype users.
-Redefining Customer Service
The issue of customer service; it’s just not what one would expect from a company that has millions of paying subscribers each month (not to mention all the extra services they may purchase as enhancements). I am disappointed…and when I need answers, or I am having a problem with a specific service, as a paying customer, I expect propitious and expeditious results…not a blog without any real answers, or “canned” answer emails from somebody telling me they are “investigating” the issue. Therefore, it is extremely important that you work to resolve a more professional, customer focused assistance that does not leave people out here in cyberspace feeling distraught. A call center for customer issues is not a good idea…it’s mandatory if you intend on providing exceptional customer service for your customers. We are more than aware of how internet based businesses try and avoid this aspect of customer service in order to sidestep overhead…but in the end…look at all the failed internet based businesses…there is a graveyard with millions of them right behind you.
-Up next: Updating
Updating! This should be as simple as clicking on the “Skype” button in Skype…and right there, before my very eyes is a link that says “UPDATE Skype”. I shouldn’t have to go to some blog, sign up for Twitter, or Facebook to be notified. This should just be right there where I can just click on it! Given the wide variety of problems experienced by paying customers…I would say that this should not be a consideration…it should be a part of successful engineering.
Pure Gold
Another feature that should be immediately incorporated into Skype…”Tip” bubbles…which appear when any function in the screen is rolled over by the cursor. For example: the little circles that spin silently to the right of a message or file that was sent should have a tip bubble, so that when the cursor is scrolled over it, a user can know what this means. Any function in Skype should have this feature so that a user can know what to expect without having to try and find the answer to these functions buried in some blog on some page in the midst of millions.
The Biggies
-Blocking and Deleting Users
I know that there are many people who appreciate their privacy, and I do appreciate mine as well…but, there is something missing in all the anonymity that is possible by the various social sites, and yes, even Skype. Whatever happened to “protocol”, and social politeness? If somebody “blocks” you…or deletes you from their contacts…this should be more than obvious to a customer. I have read as many as 50 blogs dealing with this issue and it appears out of control. People should understand that if they are going to be a part of something as unique as Skype…that there are rules of engagement…politeness at all times, and, courtesy and respect. If you don’t want to talk to somebody you should just tell them…if you can’t, then block them by all means…but there should be a notification that happens when they are either blocked, or deleted from another users Skype. This is not only reasonable…but it saves the “blocked” person any personal inconveniences or undo emotional stress. Apparently, this situation (due in many cases to technical issues), has caused quite the distress for many users; which later on was simply unfounded. Personally, I want to know if somebody blocks me or deletes me. It saves my time, and emotional expense, giving me the opportunity to just simply move on.
-Did they read it?
This question seems to be one of the big questions on blogs everywhere, and though one could assume that such concern could indicate an “obsessive” issue; it makes no difference. Whether one is prone to such emotional irregularities is nobody’s business…but, creating an immediate “received” notification upon sending a message or file is crucial to a successful service. Whether it is actually read by the recipient is irrelevant…the sender knows they got the message no matter what! This beneficial service provides two things: responsible, courteous, and polite communication, as well as personal wellbeing in the case of the sender. As long as they know the message was received; it makes no difference if it was read or not. In most cases…who can resist reading any message anyways…which just may serve to improve communications with people that may have inadvertently experienced some form of negativity with one another…maybe this could help them get past any immediate or past issues. Truly, the issue is one of decency…we should assume respect and politeness from all users…and if this just cannot be managed…then by all means…block them or delete them…but know, that the person you intend these actions for will be notified.
The Bottom Line
So, as paying subscribers, your service is for us, and it should work for us…even if this means working overtime to ensure a slick, polished, professional, easy to use service that has redundant assistance services built in or provided for outside of the actual Skype software. I invested my valuable time to share these observations because I do like having Skype…but not if I must become subservient to the software, or experience daily frustration because of it. So, I expect results, and acknowledgement from your team that my words did not fall on deaf ears. I speak for millions of customers who may not otherwise be as articulate or as bold as myself in conveying the daily frustrations from using your product, as forward thinking as it may be. If your company hopes to become a standard for customers who are turning more and more to home based businesses…it is of utmost importance that you align your company with what the customer wants and needs…not what your “imagineers” want to make or do because they find it interesting or self-fulfilling.
Sincerely,
Michael Woodall