Very Helpful in Team Cooperation During Acquisition
July 14, 2018

Very Helpful in Team Cooperation During Acquisition

Reita Silvis | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Google Voice

We use Google Voice to collaborate between departments. With offices all over the Eastern and Southern United States, it is important that we are able to work together, especially as over the years many new employees are being on-boarded with all of the new acquisitions being made. Voice has made it easier to keep in contact as we adjust or help others adjust to the new environment under our parent company.
  • Ease of doing business - makes working together synchronously easier
  • Ease of contact - makes it simple to get in touch with each other rather than worry about having to set up conference calls
  • User-friendly - not much of a learning curve, from those who were using Skype or the like before
  • Better audio quality - sometimes things cut out short, or go quiet
  • Customized or personalized ID/ phone numbers that match closer to the department/ business numbers
  • Saves time during acquisition and adjustment periods
  • Helps keep projects moving in a timely fashion
  • Builds teams virtually
It is more affordable than Skype for Business was. It is also more user-friendly as we have an older employee base.
It works particularly well for one-on-one collaborations, but not as well for group projects. When for example, you work with the VP of IT on implementing a new solution for the department, it's great, but when you talk to her entire team, it can be convoluted as everyone is trying to put in their two cents.

Google Voice Feature Ratings

Hosted PBX
Not Rated
Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
8
User templates
9
Call reports
9
Directory of employee names
7
Answering rules
7
Call recording
8
Call park
Not Rated
Call screening
8
Message alerts
8
Video conferencing
9
Audio conferencing
6
Not Rated
Mobile app for iOS
Not Rated
Mobile app for Android
Not Rated

Using Google Voice

100 - Accounting, Analytics, Issuance, IT, and HR mostly use this software, but sometimes we have used it to help with marketing, constant contact with agents, and insureds/brokers who have immediate or urgent questions that need answered and we must get in touch with someone more familiar who may be based in another state.
5 - Someone who has patience is a good fit to support the software and its implementation. It isn't necessarily a tool that requires tech savvy but at times when things get fuzzy, it does help keep everyone calm to be patient with it and know how to seamlessly fix the issues at hand
  • Team Collaboration
  • Team On-Boarding
  • Easier Long-Distance Communication
  • Impromptu meetings with remote workers/offices
  • Ease of getting advice from a writer who is more familiar with the coverage a client is requesting
  • We could possibly use it to directly contact brokers or their insureds to save time on waiting for information
It can definitely help us in a lot of ways, especially concerning customer care and new employee adjustment when we acquire a new office far away, but I don't think we use it to its full potential just yet.

Evaluating Google Voice and Competitors

Yes - We replaced Skype for Business as it was too expensive and this is a great affordable alternative
  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
  • Product Reputation
  • Prior Experience with the Product
  • Vendor Reputation
The single most important factor in our decision to move from Skype to Google Voice was price. We're trying to cut down on unnecessary spending so that our employees benefit more each month through our profit-sharing
We probably would have just gone with Google Voice to begin with, but at the time Skype seemed the most popular

Google Voice Implementation

It is a pretty seamless program to transfer to, even for people who either have little experience with these programs or people who were stuck on Skype
  • Remembering to use GV rather than Skype

Google Voice Support

The support staff are experts at what they do - not only this, but they have wonderful people skills and are a joy to work with!
ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Problems get solved
Kept well informed
No escalation required
Immediate help available
Support understands my problem
Support cares about my success
Quick Initial Response
None
In one of our newer offices, they were able to help some of our older staff get set up. Rather than getting impatient with the members who needed help, they were very compassionate towards them, understanding that they had limited experience.

Using Google Voice

It's very easy for someone who is not familiar with these types of programs, and it's just sophisticated enough to cover what we need it to do without needing to go to another vendor
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Familiar
Requires technical support
  • Adding another person to the conversation
  • Calling between departments
  • Managing Conference calls (more on our end than Google's)