Few things are more frustrating than being kept waiting on the phone. Vandeputte has always tried to reduce the time you are waiting on the phone to a minimum. Consequently, this summer, Vandeputte has started using an entirely new communication system in Flanders and the Netherlands, namely MS Lync.

MS Lync is a Microsoft program that supports chatting, calling, call conferencing, file sharing etc, but above all, thanks to MS Lync, we can use 'smart' forwarding when dealing with your calls.

What is smart forwarding?

Imagine you are trying to call your usual contact at Vandeputte, but he or she is absent or not in the office. From now on, the phone will no longer be ringing on an empty desk, as the call is immediately assigned to a different colleague. The relevant colleague is not selected randomly, but is selected on the basis of their matching "competences". This way we can ensure that the person you get to speak to will most likely be able to help you with your query. Would you prefer to wait until your usual contact is available? No problem. You will hear a message telling you that you are being transferred.

Advantages for our employees

Lync offers our employees a great many advantages. Thanks to video conferencing, a huge number of journeys between the different branches can now be avoided. In addition to sending an e-mail and calling, colleagues can now also send instant messages and consult each other's availability.

During the transfer, all computers and telephones were replaced by laptops and headsets. This gives our employees the necessary flexibility: they can choose their workplace according to the task in hand, and working from home has also become a lot easier.

Progress on the implementation

As making phone calls with a computer and headset is a totally different experience from communicating over the phone and using a traditional telephone exchange, we decided to first try out the system in one branch in Oosterhout (NL). This gave us the opportunity to verify whether our customers actually received guaranteed contactability, and gave employees the chance to get used to calling with a headset. Both customers and employees responded positively to the switch over, and this immediately signalled the start to implement Lync in our offices in Puurs and in our headquarters in Boechout.

Later this year all the remaining Vandeputte branches will also be making calls via Lync.