Fostering a creative culture

Fostering a creative culture within an organization involves creating an environment where employees feel encouraged and empowered to think outside the box, share innovative ideas, and experiment without fear of failure. Here are some strategies to help cultivate a creative culture:

1. Encourage Open Communication

Idea Sharing:
Create platforms and opportunities for employees to share their ideas, whether through brainstorming sessions, suggestion boxes, or collaborative tools.

Feedback Loops: Establish open and constructive feedback mechanisms to ensure that ideas are heard, valued, and refined.

2. Promote Diversity and Inclusion:

Diverse Teams:
Build teams with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives to foster a variety of ideas and approaches.

Inclusive Environment
: Ensure that all voices are heard and respected, creating a space for everyone to contribute.

3. Provide Autonomy and Flexibility:

Empowerment:
Give employees the autonomy to explore new ideas and take ownership of projects.

Flexible Work Environment:
Allow flexibility in how, when, and where work is done to accommodate different working styles and stimulate creativity.

4. Encourage Risk-Taking and Experimentation:

Safe to Fail:
Create a culture where failure is seen as a learning opportunity rather than a setback. Encourage calculated risk-taking and experimentation.

Pilot Program:
Implement pilot programs or small-scale experiments to test new ideas without significant risk.

5. Invest in Continuous Learning and Development:

Training Programs
: Offer training and development opportunities that focus on creative thinking, problem-solving, and innovation.

Learning Culture:
Promote a culture of continuous learning by encouraging employees to seek new knowledge and skills.

6. Recognize and Reward Creativity:

Recognition:
Acknowledge and celebrate creative efforts and innovative solutions, both big and small.

Incentives: Provide incentives, such as bonuses, awards, or public recognition, to motivate employees to think creatively.

7. Create Collaborative Spaces:

Physical Spaces: Design workspaces that encourage collaboration, such as open-plan offices, breakout areas, and creative zones.

Virtual Collaboration: Utilize digital tools and platforms that facilitate remote collaboration and idea-sharing.

8. Lead by Example:

Leadership Support:
Ensure that leaders and managers actively support and participate in creative initiatives.

Role Modeling:
Leaders should model creative behavior by being open to new ideas, taking risks, and demonstrating innovative thinking.

9. Encourage Cross-Functional Collaboration:

Interdisciplinary Teams: Form cross-functional teams to tackle projects, bringing together diverse expertise and perspectives.

Collaborative Projects: Encourage collaboration between different departments and teams to foster a holistic approach to problem-solving.

10. Provide Time and Resources for Creativity:

Dedicated Time:
Allocate time for employees to work on creative projects or explore new ideas outside of their regular responsibilities.

Resources: Provide the necessary tools, technology, and resources to support creative endeavors.

11. Foster a Positive Work Environment:

Work-Life Balance:
Promote a healthy work-life balance to ensure employees are energized and motivated.

Positive Culture
: Create a positive and supportive work culture where employees feel valued and appreciated.

12. Stay Connected to Trends and Innovations:

Industry Insights: Keep employees informed about industry trends, emerging technologies, and innovative practices.

External Inspiration: Encourage employees to attend conferences, workshops, and networking events to gain external inspiration.

By implementing these strategies, organizations can create a fertile ground for creativity and innovation to flourish. A creative culture not only enhances problem-solving and adaptability but also drives long-term success and competitive advantage.

SWITCHING TO A HOSTED VOIP SYSTEM? Here are several things you need to know

Switching to a hosted system, such as a cloud-based unified communications (UC) solution, can offer numerous benefits, but it also requires careful planning and consideration. Here are some key factors to evaluate before making the switch:

1. **Business Requirements**: Clearly define your business needs and objectives. Understand what features and functionalities are essential for your organization and how a hosted system can meet those requirements.

2. **Cost Analysis**: Evaluate the total cost of ownership, including initial setup costs, subscription fees, and any potential hidden costs. Compare these with the costs of maintaining your current system to ensure the switch is financially viable.

3. **Scalability**: Ensure the hosted system can scale with your business. Consider how easily you can add or remove users and services as your business grows or changes.

4. **Reliability and Uptime**: Investigate the reliability of the hosted system provider. Look for guarantees on uptime and service availability, and check their track record for outages and service disruptions.

5. **Security**: Assess the security measures provided by the hosted system. Ensure that it offers robust security features such as encryption, access controls, and compliance with relevant regulations to protect your data.

6. **Integration**: Determine how well the hosted system integrates with your existing applications and workflows. Seamless integration can enhance productivity and ensure a smoother transition.

7. **User Experience**: Consider the ease of use for both administrators and end-users. A user-friendly interface and straightforward management tools can reduce the learning curve and improve adoption rates.

8. **Support and Training**: Evaluate the level of customer support and training provided by the hosted system vendor. Ensure they offer adequate resources to help your team during and after the transition.

9. **Customization**: Check if the hosted system allows for customization to meet your specific business needs. Flexibility in configuration can be crucial for aligning the system with your workflows.

10. **Data Migration**: Plan for data migration from your existing system to the hosted system.

11. **Vendor Reputation**: Research the reputation and reliability of the hosted system provider. Look for customer reviews, case studies, and references to gauge their performance and customer satisfaction. Do they have Local Support?

12. **Compliance**: Ensure the hosted system complies with industry standards and regulations relevant to your business, such as GDPR, HIPAA, or other local data protection laws.

13. **Disaster Recovery**: Verify the disaster recovery and business continuity plans offered by the hosted system provider. Ensure they have measures in place to protect your data and maintain service in case of an outage.

14. **Contract Terms**: Review the contract terms, including the length of the agreement, termination clauses, and any potential penalties for early termination. Ensure you have flexibility in case your needs change.

By carefully considering these factors, you can make a more informed decision about whether switching to a hosted system is the right move for your business.

Our industry experts can help, call/text 602-331-7200

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Can your phone system do this?

Can your phone system do this?

Intermedia Unite is an easy-to-use cloud-based communication platform that helps employees to be more productive and collaborative. It includes a full-featured phone system combined with chat, web/video conferencing, and file collaboration and backup capabilities.

PHONE SYSTEM

  • Includes 90+ enterprise-grade calling features.
  • Free local and long distance calling to the US, Canada and Puerto Rico.
  • Powerful video conferencing, screen sharing and file sharing features facilitate better collaboration.
  • Simplified Scaling and Management.
  • J.D. Power-certified 24/7 support.
  • 99.999% financially-backed uptime SLA
  • Proprietary Intermedia VoIP tests help ensure a reliable connection and high voice quality.
  • Redundant East/West datacenters increase reliability and reduce latency
  • Call Flip – Allows the user to seamlessly move an active call from the desktop phone to a mobile phone or vice versa

CONTACT CENTER

  • Support multi-site contact centers and remote agents.
  • Centralize management from one portal, accessible anywhere, any time.
  • Smart queueing technology tells customers their position in line, plus wait time
  • Deep analytics and reporting help you visualize gaps and improve performance
  • Access to Advanced Hunt Groups included with Unite Pro and Enterprise
  • Upgrade your Contact Center features to PRO or Elite which include omni-channel capabilities (SMS, chat, email) to connect with customers through their preferred modes of communication.

CONTACT CENTER PRO/ELITE

All of CONTACT CENTER above, plus below:

  • Centralize the handling of calls, web chat, email, and SMS in a single application with our omnichannel capabilities.
  • Easily manage customizable agent skillsets and statuses.
  • Enhance audience engagement with outbound dialing and advanced outreach campaign capabilities
  • Send out post-call surveys to measure satisfaction
  • Quickly and easily integrate with CRM and WFM systems.
  • And much more…

TEAM CHAT AND SMS

Company Messaging

  • End-users included in a Company messaging group (“Agents”) can see Company messaging conversations under the separate tab available in the left panel of the Intermedia Unite Desktop app and within the Messages tab in Intermedia Unite Mobile apps Agents can receive and reply to messages using both Desktop and Mobile apps.
    • Each conversation will be tagged with the group name associated with the DID (Configured by the admin) that external users are sending messages to (“Main Company Number”, “Sales”, “Support”).
    • New Company conversations and their searchable history are visible for all agents in the group. Any agent may reply to an external user and other agents will be able to see these messages.  External user will receive each message as an SMS sent from the Company number.
    • Agents can send and receive MMS attachments (MMS limitations apply)
    • Agents can mute conversations that other agents have assumed ownership of (to stop receiving notifications of new messages)
    • Agents may edit conversation names and descriptions.
    • Agents may create new SMS conversations with any US or Canada number, or a saved contact.

SMS/Text/Chat

  • SMS feature is available for each user.
  • Pin favorite contacts to the top of your list.
  • Chat messages automatically sync across desktop and mobile devices.
  • View free/busy/away statuses of all your contacts.
  • Chat messages are securely encrypted in transit and at rest.

DESKTOP

  • brings essential collaboration tools together, making teamwork easier than ever. See who is available, send chats, place and receive calls, share screens, start video calls and share files – all from one application.
  • Have the flexibility to use your desktop application to place and receive calls in two ways, either as a call controller for your associated desk phone or as a softphone from your PC or Mac®.
  • One place to see the availability of coworkers, place a phone call, start team chat and launch a video conference.
  • With the Unite desktop and mobile applications, you take your contacts, files and conversations with you—wherever you are.

PRESENCE INDICATOR

  • Indicates presence – whether another user’s phone is currently in use
  • Other user extension and name information is presented as virtual “buttons” on the desk phone LCD display.
  • The BLF display can be used for speed dials, and also to make or take calls on behalf of another user.

EFAX/FAX

FAX

  • Ditch your old fax line we can replace with a “cloud box” that connects to your existing fax machine.

EFAX

  • Included with Pro and Enterprise packages.
    • Users receive, view, manage faxes via the web, or as email attachments FILE SYNC, SHARE AND BACKUP.
    • Users may send faxes from any Internet-connected PC.
    • Does not require an additional phone line.

MOBILE

  • This powerful mobile application transforms your phone into an essential collaboration tool, making teamwork on-the-go easier than ever. See who is available, send chats and SMS messages, place calls and see voicemails – anytime, anywhere. Best of all your customers see your work number not your cell number.
  • Extend your business phone number and extension to your mobile phone, so you can place and receive calls on-the-go or even transfer calls from your desktop phone to your mobile device—seamlessly, without interruption.
  • Your full desktop chat history is synchronized with your mobile device so you can stay connected and continue conversations no matter where you are.

VIDEO CONFERENCING

  • HD video conferencing: Face to face meetings eliminate unnecessary travel and empowers teams with remote members to be more productive.
  • Screen sharing: The computer desktop can be shared in real-time, improving collaboration and speed of decision making.
  • Screen annotation: Meeting participants can call out important points on a shared screen in during a meeting.
  • Includes a conference dial-in number, and Custom URLs for meetings.
  • Unite Pro includes up to 100 participants and up to 30 simultaneous video feeds.

FILE SHARING, SECURITY, & BACKUP

  • File sync and share with backup for desktops, mobile devices, and file servers.
  • Easy and secure file sharing.
  • Access the most current version of files from any device.
  • Co-edit in real time.
  • Access file server content from mobile devices without a VPN.
  • Integration with Windows file server, Exchange Email, Active Directory, Outlook, Office, and Office 365®.
  • Reduced downtime from ransomware and other types of data loss.
  • Full control over files, users, devices, and sharing activities.
  • Includes 10 GB/user of storage for SecuriSync Backup and File Sharing