Leaping into unified communications can be daunting. To be clear, it's not terrible or ill-advised; it's quite the opposite. A migration to UCaaS is one of the best productivity choices you can make for your business; you just need to ensure you and your business are adequately prepared. According to a Gensler study, employees spend 42 percent of their time collaborating with one another. That's even more of a reason to ensure your employees have the best available tools.
If done hastily or without much preparation, a seemingly great decision can quickly turn bad. But guess what? After reading this article, you will be ready to avoid common mistakes and knock your UCaaS migration out of the park!
Why is a UCaaS Migration Plan Important?
There is such a thing as being over-prepared, but enabling an entirely new business communication tool is more of a requirement than a suggestion. A UCaaS migration plan needs to have your entire organization in mind, especially your customers. This is where the relationship with your service provider and leaning into their expertise is crucial. A knowledgeable provider like Gamut has dealt with countless installs and system rollouts to help ensure you're prepared and can sidestep any issues that may arise.
Plan for a Smooth UCaaS Migration
Your UCaaS migration plan needs to encompass everything from before signing a contract to 90 days after the installation is complete. Then, there should be ongoing check-ins to ensure everything runs smoothly.
A top priority will be assigning an internal member to manage the rollout. The person working on the project must have good soft skills, written and verbal communication, problem-solving, and adaptability, just to name a few. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), projects have a seven percent higher success rate when soft skills are part of the equation. You or someone else could be this person, taking the lead on everything related to the UCaaS migration. Aside from setting a point person, the following are some additional areas to keep a close eye on.
Inventory Your Current Business Systems
Knowing the ins and outs of everything you currently use will help determine the business scope of moving to a unified communications solution. Specifically, break your inventory lists down by department, then teams, and finally, every piece of equipment they use: computer, desk phone, headset, fax machines, etc. Once you determine what and where everything is, then make a detailed list of the systems every group uses and their purpose.
You will have redundant software options since UCaaS is a robust product offering. Understanding the full scope will help you determine where you have the most risk.
Create a Project Plan
Working with your provider to hammer down a go-live date will make creating a project plan easier. After establishing the date and knowing where your risks lie, you can work backward to create a realistic project plan. From Asana, a leading project management tool, some examples include:
- Goals and project objectives
- Milestones and deliverables
- Success metrics
- Project dependencies
- Stakeholders and roles
- Timeline and schedule
- Scope and budget
- Communication plan
By getting as detailed as possible with the project plan, you can help avoid scrambling as you go deeper into the project.
Highlight Vital Systems
There are systems in your business that are more important than others, plain and simple. Specific testing and care need to be placed on these areas so that when the UCaaS migration begins, you will always have eyes on those systems. For instance, you don't want to do anything that could jeopardize your accounts payable, do you? Could you imagine that going down?
Training Plan
Getting employees trained will be one of the most important aspects of this project. It may seem wild, but creating raving fans and building hype around the change will bolster the engagement you receive from your employees. A recent HubSpot survey found that only 32 percent of employees were trained on UC and collaboration tools. Can you imagine the productivity gains when employees are adequately trained?
If you think this is a big change, believe us—it is an even more monumental change for your employees. They need to feel secure with this change for it to go smoothly. Training should not be left until the end; there should be continuous training opportunities well before the rollout.
Rollout
The rollout should be treated as a party—not like a frat party, but as a celebration, even an achievement for the company. You should be sending thanks left and right to cap off this accomplishment. Also, you need to make sure that the provider is locked in and ready to assist in case anything strange occurs. With an introduction to an entirely new business communications workflow, there are bound to be issues that pop up. Be prepared, and nothing will be a surprise.
Ease the Stress of a UCaaS Migration with Gamut
The decision to embark on a UCaaS migration is considerable and should not be taken casually. We understand the stresses and calm partner you will need, that’s why Gamut is here to be your rock. We provide personalized training and 24/7 product assistance. We understand that we’re nothing without customers, so we put customers first in everything we do.
Our lives are about business communication, not something we stumbled into, and we created a business to help others succeed. We do not take your partnership lightly. Contact us today to see how we can help you make the smoothest UCaaS migration possible.
