If you have any follow up questions about any of the topics that were covered, please feel free to contact your channel manager for more information.

In this video, we will demonstrate an emergency duress situation, using a Spectralink 8400 series handset, a Spectralink PIVOT:SC handset and SERIA by Olinqua.

If you have any questions about duress or Spectralink handsets feel free to contact us at sales@wavelink.com.au
http://wavelink.com.au/ 

If you have any questions about duress or Spectralink handsets feel free to contact us at sales@wavelink.com.au

Unified communications (UC) tools such as Skype for Business are changing the way employees communicate, share data, and enhance productivity. However, truly successful companies are leveraging the value of UC by deploying the same functionality to their mobile workers according to Wavelink.

For channel businesses it is essential that they can meet these customer demands for tools such as Skype for Business in the mobile solutions they are offering.

Ilan Rubin said, “Available in Australia and New Zealand through Wavelink, Spectralink offers the only enterprise mobile solutions qualified for Microsoft environments that are compatible with Skype for Business. It is also the only wireless solution that does not require the need for a third-party gateway, instead offering direct integration and feature set.

“This makes it an ideal solution for channel businesses. Resellers who add Spectralink’s purpose-built DECT wireless or Wi-Fi mobility solutions to their customer installations will ensure they benefit from increased workplace mobility and improved staff efficiency in industries such as healthcare, retail, manufacturing and hospitality. Mobile workers can remain productive and connected back to the enterprise telephony platform from anywhere in the enterprise.

“Mobility is inevitable in a corporate landscape where speed, instant access to business data, and immediate responses are the new norm. However, keeping a mobile workforce productive can be challenging and customers rely on the channel to help them succeed in choosing the right technology and applications.”

 Spectralink Corporation, the global leader in enterprise mobility solutions for the healthcare, retail, manufacturing and hospitality industries, has announced the results of independent research on the performance and symbology support features of its PIVOT™:SC (8744) enterprise smartphone with a dual-mode camera/barcode scanner. The study, conducted by The Tolly Group, showed quantifiable benefits in comparing the PIVOT:SC to two phones with dedicated hardware scanners.

Read Press Release here

Read Tolly Group Report here 

By providing sales staff with mobile devices, they can provide customers with real-time access to additional information and in-the-moment offers, price checks and inventory information. These devices also connect sales staff with managers and other colleagues and stores within the retail chain. This makes staff more productive and helpful without having to walk away from the customer to a phone or point of sale station.

Ilan Rubin, managing director, Wavelink, said, “Retailers need to empower frontline staff to close the sale. This means giving them the means to get the information and approvals they need on the spot, so they can give the customer the best price or the information they need to encourage them to buy.”

Here are seven key ways that mobile devices can help retail staff be more effective:

1. Improved customer service

When staff have to leave the customer to find the answer to a question, the spell is broken. The customer has to wait for them to come back with an answer and may decide in the meantime to walk away. Mobile devices let sales staff provide the answers to any conceivable question and, what’s more, they can finalise the sale using mobile point of sale technology without having to direct the customer to a different area for payment.

2. More add-on sales

Using a mobile device makes it easier for sales staff to suggest complementary items, provide up-to-date insights on inventory and price, delivery times and more. They can even tell customers what previous customers have purchased in addition to that item to complete the outfit or project, saving the customer a second visit to the store. Staff can place an order for an out-of-stock item and arrange for it to be delivered to the customer’s home.

3. Enhanced staff management

Turnover tends to be high in retail and recruitment, and training can be costly. Most retailers rely heavily on part-time workers. Consequently, it’s important to use devices that deliver a user experience that’s similar to personal mobile devices, to minimise the amount of training required. New hires can become productive very quickly with all the information they need at their fingertips, and customers will enjoy better service and responsiveness.

4. Improved loss prevention

Surveillance, such as CCTV feeds, can be delivered directly to the mobile device, so managers, employees and security can have their eyes and ears on the floor at all times. Additionally, managers can receive alerts for specific events, such as if a freezer is left open or a fire escape is used, potentially minimising spoilage and theft.

5. Increased integration between the store and the warehouse

Mobile communications, workflow applications and automated alerts can impact inventory distribution workflows, improving both the customer experience and the bottom line. Being able to check stock levels at the warehouse facilitates inventory management and efficient fulfilment and return processes.

6. Improved inventory accuracy through radio frequency identification (RFID) technology

RFID tags help retailers manage inventory on the sales floor, reducing shrinkage, and can help on the supply chain side as well. RFID enables frequent inventory counting, which leads to improved inventory accuracy.

7. Deeper customer intelligence

Knowing your customer well means understanding their buying needs and behaviours, and engaging with them on a deeper, more individualised level. This includes understanding customer behaviour across a number of channels. Handheld devices can put that information at the sales employee’s fingertips, letting them customise the interaction according to that customer’s purchase history and loyalty, as well as any stated preferences.

Ilan Rubin said, “Retailers need to put consumers at the heart of their activities like never before. It’s not enough simply to offer products for sale; retailers need to offer an experience that’s unlike anything they can get at a competitor or online store. By using mobile devices equipped with the right apps, such as Spectralink Wi-Fi handsets, retailers can keep ahead of the competition and achieve sustainable growth.”

Paul Craven

Aged care residents are gaining more control over their own care and experience through the increased use of technology.

Instead of pressing a single button to summon a carer, regardless of whether they require urgent medical attention or simply a cup of tea, residents can now use smart devices to communicate their specific needs.

This may include the use of menu options via a smart device.

The care team receives the message and the closest and/or most appropriate person can respond, which can lead to more timely responses and improve team productivity.

As well as enabling residents to communicate more effectively with care staff, as well as family and friends, smart devices also facilitate greater access to entertainment options.

Technology also delivers convenience for aged care providers. By giving staff access to the people, equipment and information they need when they need it, organisations can save time, reduce employee angst and improve satisfaction and morale, which results in a more positive resident experience.

Furthermore, when technology automates basic tasks, carers are freed up to engage more with residents.

However, putting residents in more control of their own care via technology requires a lot of infrastructure to facilitate.

To enable a true resident-centric experience, aged care providers need to provide staff with a mobile device that uses healthcare mobile apps and handsets designed for aged care, and have the Wi-Fi infrastructure and software to make sure these all work together.

Role of software

But as well as hardware and ICT infrastructure, software will also increasingly play a key role in modernising aged care workflows.

Take a simple example like nurse call. In addition to the traditional button on the wall or bed, nurse call could be a menu item on a smartphone, tablet or resident entertainment system application.

This becomes powerful when it is integrated with resident monitoring, which can alert nurses and physicians to take specific action from a particular data output – for example, testing blood sugar levels.

Add to this location services for aged care professionals and asset tagging for equipment, and staff can easily know who is closest to the resident to assist and where the nearest required piece of equipment is located.

Key priorities

Migrating from paper-based processes to automation technology in a high-pressure environment like aged care can be overwhelming. Aged care organisations looking to take the leap to digital should do so incrementally, starting simply to create a technological ecosystem that can grow over time as things evolve.

The focus should be on key priorities such as:

• how to keep residents and staff safe and secure
• how to effectively know what condition residents are in
• how to decide who should do what, and when
• how to communicate relevant information quickly to all necessary parties, and
• how to keep track of everything that needs to be done; who did each duty and when they did it.

By keeping those priorities paramount, it should be easy to decide what additional technology to adopt, such as wireless, integrated communications platforms, location services, alerting and alarming services, tagged equipment, and smart portable and mobile devices.

Paul Craven is health practice lead at Wavelink.

Paul Craven, Health Practice lead, Wavelink, said, “Wireless networks have now reached speeds where it makes sense to rely on them for healthcare applications. Untethering healthcare providers from wired devices lets them provide a better quality of service and cuts down on the time spent on administrative tasks. This means frontline providers can spend more time with patients and less time on paperwork, for example.”

Some healthcare facilities are encouraging employees, including professionals like doctors and nurses, to bring their own devices (BYOD). Others have mandated which wireless medical devices should be used or have brought in reliable, high-quality tools designed for their environment, such as the Spectralink PIVOT, to communicate on the job. And in some organisations, different departments within the hospital make different decisions regarding which devices to adopt. All of these different situations can lead to chaos and increase the risk of security breaches.

Paul Craven said, “Technology decision-makers in healthcare organisations must use risk management techniques and thoroughly test each device that will be deployed on the Wi-Fi network. If any of the devices cannot meet minimal security requirements, they need to be identified and rectified.”

There are three key considerations for healthcare organisations looking to implement wireless medical devices:

1. Confidentiality. Since medical devices can access patient information, it is essential to ensure confidentiality. This means ensuring unauthorised people cannot access patient data via BYOD devices or other wireless devices.

2. Interference. Wireless networks can be subject to interference from a myriad of other devices and networks. It is essential to thoroughly test the network and ensure potential sources of interference are removed or mitigated. This is particularly true when it comes to lifesaving wireless devices where interference can have catastrophic consequences.

Managing interference also includes considering the other devices that may come into the hospital. This can include guest devices on the facility’s network as well as devices using public networks such as those used by patients or visitors.

3. Policy. Healthcare organisations need to understand and comply with federal, state and local policies regarding the use of wireless medical devices. This includes everything from federal privacy legislation to state government regulations on the use of Wi-Fi-enabled devices that can interfere with wired medical equipment.

Paul Craven said, “Healthcare organisations should consider using industry-specific mobile devices that are easier to manage for healthcare applications and provide better performance and security as well as a wireless network that delivers a better patient experience coupled with uninterrupted connectivity.”