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In-Out Board Case Study
 
Cutting costs and increasing productivity
using a simple legacy office technology
 

In Out Board Abstract

Learn how to leverage legacy technology and infrastructure to improve customer service, cut costs, drastically increase office productivity, and increase employee corporate IQ.

Business Challenge

To track employee time and enhance communication between employees in a way that is non-intrusive, intuitive, and effective.
 
Admin assistants have always been expected to know where everyone was. But that’s not what office In and Out boards are for. They are for employees. Most admin assistants always know where everyone is, and as a result of always being in the loop to everyone’s coming and goings, is usually privy to what seems at times information worthy of an oracle. They answer phones and took messages with “While You Were Out” note pads, and handed them to staff as they walked in and out of the office. The obsession with the In Out board seems unreasonable until you realized the workload they carry. The In Out board was an attempt at automation and off load a bit of work that was critical for smooth operation of the office. And as a result of the “telephone game” effect, where obfuscation of verbal notes get passed on, errors, missed opportunity, and perceived client neglect can surface.
 
Improved customer service begins on the front lines. That’s where the BC In Out Board can help.

Solution

Teaming with Bill Catchem Software can greatly improve customer service, employee efficiency and productivity, increase employee Corporate IQ, enhance communications, and provide an informal brainstorming platform that can help breed innovation.

Business Benefits

For Customers and Partners

• Rapid and accurate query turnaround
• Enhanced perception of importance
   

For Your Company

• Rapid and accurate client and employee query turnaround
• Record of Messages through the In and Out board private message facility
• Employee Time Tracking
• Enhanced internal communications
• Informal brainstorming platform through private messages.
• Increased Employee Corporate IQ via the In and Out Board department hyper linking
• Increased communications efficiency via email hyperlinked employee names
• Faster, better business decisions with up to date client and corporate information
• Leveraged Hawthorn Effect via employee time tracking

and much more.

Implementation/Installation

The installation file simply copies the files off the root to the default website and assigns the appropriate permission to the web server to access the “web site”. That’s it! No DLLs, components, or snapins are installed or required. To uninstall the trial version, simply delete the install folder! (Usually C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\InAndOut).

Solution Summary

While the BC In Out Board serves as a corporate In Out Board, allowing employees to quickly find out if someone is in or out of the office, it also provides more information than the traditional magnetic or cork In Out Board. The ability to hide all but the In and Out fields provides a clean interface. But the board also allows you to add custom fields for what ever is relevant to your company, organization, or firm. For example, along with the In and Out fields, a legal team might include Clerk’s Office, In Court, or any other legal related activity. But the BC In Out Board doesn’t leave it at that.
 
The top priorities for collaboration tool investment are linked to the No1 business priority. Improving customer service ranked first in the 2008 Top Trend Survey (ZDNet) The BC In Out Board lets customer-facing employees share information, and project teams, dispersed and centralized, also benefit in a big way from the increased communications through private messaging. The private messaging’s collaboration and productivity properties allow employees to brainstorm in an informal relaxed environment.
 
Employee Corporate IQs can also be enhanced with your hyperlinked department intranets, on the In Out status page, which reduces support requests for information you already have on your corporate intranets. Google Map links also provides employees with driving direction to remote offices.
 
Web2.0 really isn’t new. It's just moving from the wall at your front door to your desktop where it belongs.
 

For more information
To learn more about how the BC In Out Board can help your company,
contact us.