A local university increased incoming applications by switching to a Hosted PBX system for their 170 phones.
A university in the Philadelphia suburbs hired Xtel to replace their phone system.
Shortcomings of the Old System
The university’s old system was centralized, meaning all 170 of their phones were dependent upon one server. If the server went down, the entire campus could not make or receive calls.
The system was near the end of it’s serviceable life, making repairs expensive and nearly impossible. It also lacked functionality, including the ability to make any changes to call routing or forwarding. In addition, the system had no web portal or mobility features.
Overcoming Challenges
Due to the fact that this client was an institution, budget was a concern. The client had little knowledge of their current system and what the costs were, nor how much additional equipment would be required. Xtel performed a site survey to review the aforementioned bills and services, as well as determine phone line locations and wiring requirements.
Furthermore, Xtel needed to integrate an existing analog security phone system into the platform. The security team was using a basic analog phone system so they were able to dial just by picking up the headset and Xtel was required to incorporate that into the new setup.
The Results
Our newly installed system provided the client with a user friendly web portal, enhanced customer experience with additional voicemail features, a cloud-based system that guarantees business continuity in the event of an equipment malfunction, and mobility features that allow administrators to work remotely while still maintaining communication with people outside of the organization.
Overall, the client’s goal was to improve communication with applicants and incoming students. By adding functionality to quickly set call routing and forwarding along with mobility functionality, they were able to increase the ratio of incoming calls sent to a live administrator while also increasing total call capacity by over 280%. This increased commitment to improving the applicant experience resulted in a significant increase in applications received year-to-year.
