Business Phone Systems and Business Transparency Go Hand in Hand

A recent study from the folks at TINYpulse shows the practical, not just ethical, value to an organization of management is transparency. Business transparency is the openness, communication and accountability. It is the full, accurate and disclosing of information in good time, and it makes it more likely that business assets will be accurately valued.

For the small and medium sized business, transparency is key to success. Of course, transparency takes on multiple definitions as it related to how and why business operates. The word "transparent" can be used to describe high-quality financial statements or corporate philosophies, what is expected of the workforce, or what management’s role is during processes.

The term has quickly become a part of business vocabulary, in fact. Dictionaries offer many definitions for the word, but those synonyms relevant to business health are: "easily understood," "very clear," "frank" and "candid."

Transparency is about being open, honest, and accountable. It’s about responsibility. Beyond just employees, customers are listening to you and making evaluations and decisions based upon what you say, and how you present yourself. It is important to take responsibility for the messaging you cast out to the world.

One business dictionary defines transparency as a “lack of hidden agendas or conditions, accompanied by the availability of full information required for collaboration, cooperation, and collective decision making.” The same source describes it as an “essential condition for a free and open exchange whereby the rules and reasons behind regulatory measures are fair and clear to all participants.”

Knowing that, how can business transparency be improved with a business phone system? It may seem like the two are completely incongruous, but in actuality, a good communication system can lend itself to making corporations and small businesses more transparent for their customers and their workforce.

Consider the fact that a business phone system, whether it’s a hosted IP system or a premise-based PBX (News - Alert) system, does a lot of good for the company that employs its use.

One of the most important advantages of using a dedicated telephone system is that all of the workers in the office will be able to share the same voice resources. A telephone system in place allows workers to transfer calls to one another, and that ability alone can make the business run more smoothly. Just imagine how time-consuming it is to have a worker from one part of the office go to another desk to answer a simple phone call versus the ease of transferring a call directly to the person who can answer the question or solve the problem.

It is also true that a business phone system can help workers collaborate more efficiently. The traditional "siloed" communications infrastructure no longer meets the requirements of today’s extended workforce. That’s why a growing number of organizations are using their data networks to support a wide range of IP-based unified communications services, including voice and video, to keep employees on the same page, thus promoting transparency by keeping everyone in the loop.

Transparency is about information. It is about the ability of the receiver to have full access to the information wanted, not just the information the sender is willing to provide. Transparency embodies honesty and open communication because to be transparent someone must be willing to share information when it is uncomfortable to do so.

Having the proper phone system to support that kind of open communication, through collaborative efforts, conferencing and a diverse set of technologies make it a necessary reality.

The integration of communications and data services enables organizations to transform key business processes and increase efficiency.