Adapt and Overcome: Words of Wisdom from a 24/7 Answering Service

Posted February 6, 2013 in 24/7 answering service, secure messaging by admin

Survival of the fittest doesn’t necessarily mean the strongest. The business world is full of 24/7 answering service stories of strong organizations (both locally & nationally) that somewhere along the way lost their ability to adapt to their changing environment; and down they went, sometimes in very short order. The most surprising ones are those that seemed outwardly successful. They had a decent balance sheet, were busy servicing a good number of clients and even appeared to be growing. However, a large change, or perhaps several smaller changes occurred within their business environment; and by not focusing on adapting to those changes, those businesses suffered.

Be Successful – And Stay Successful

If you run or manage a successful organization, you know there is a lot more to it than most people realize. You have certain strengths that have helped you get this far, but you need to hire, lead, manage and even outsource to others to both extend your strengths and fill those areas where you may not be as strong. One of those key areas is recognizing and adapting to changes in your business environment.

Communications Shift

For the medical practice and professional service organizations we support, there are significant business environment changes currently underway. One of these significant changes has to do with the handling of private information. With the exponential proliferation of smart devices and electronic communications methods in recent years, it is now much easier for private information to get into the wrong hands. This environmental change has quickly become a serious liability for those that handle sensitive information.

Physicians, lawyers and CPA’s (just to name a few) all have smart phones and use them actively in support of their patients and clients. While these devices are very helpful in support of the business, it only takes one instance of a lost phone to reveal sensitive information that could quickly snowball into a major lawsuit citing non-compliance of government regulations such as HIPAA and other privacy-of-information regulations.

Help in Leading the Way

As a 24/7 answering service, we act as a labor resource to help many of these organizations manage the tremendous amount of ‘high-touch’ interactions that are required within their operations. As such, we are part of the communications process, and not only must we also comply with the same regulations, but we believe it imperative for us to help guide our clients in regards to the technologies and best practices needed to improve their communications while at the same time staying compliant.

If you feel you are not ‘up-to-speed’ with the communications changes in your business environment (i.e. secure text messaging, e-mail encryption or protocol for a communications audit trail), don’t hesitate to reach out. This is one of those environmental changes that can be addressed without too much difficulty, but not adapting to it could mean big trouble down the road!

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