WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 29, 2018 – The push to achieve company goals and meet the bottom line can seem overwhelming for small–and medium-sized enterprises. ULTATEL’s CEO Amr Ibrahim addresses the hidden costs of onboarding and training employees, hiring non-productive workers and best practices to increase workplace productivity.

Business growth is the ultimate goal of any entrepreneur; however, with additional growth comes a need for more employees. In the quest to recruit, screen, and train new personnel, small-to medium-sized businesses are spending between $4,129⁽¹⁾ and $7,645 ⁽²⁾ per employee. Despite the high costs of the hiring process, actual productivity is on the decline.⁽³⁾ ULTATEL’s CEO, Amr Ibrahim, says the strain of onboarding employees can put on a company’s budget can be offset by maximizing workforce output.

Reports show that the average cost of a poor hire can equal 30% of the individuals first-year potential earnings−$7,000 to replace a salaried employee, $10,000 to replace a mid-level employee and $40,000 to replace a senior executive.⁽⁴⁾ Per Ibrahim, employees who underperform can have irreversible effects on the bottom line: one bad hire can change the scope of how a business operates or potentially put them under for good depending on their financial situation. A recent report found that that 27% of employers who reported a bad hire said they cost more than $50,000.⁵

“The productivity of new employees doesn’t match the time and effort spent by companies searching for the right talent,” explains Amr Ibrahim. “While training and careful recruiting are important, business owners must look for additional ways to boost efficiency among new employees in order for them to properly organize, delegate tasks and meet company goals.”

Ibrahim points toward remote workers to strengthen productivity results for small businesses. Research shows that working remotely is a rising trend with 39% of all employees performing some of their tasks away from the office. Remote workers often perform above their office-based counterparts by putting in longer hours, being more engaged in work projects, and feeling more connected to their companies.⁽⁶⁾

But there is a caveat: remote work is often accompanied by innovative technology designed to replace standard office communication; remote employees can’t stop by a neighbor’s desk to ask questions. While telecommunication technology can help remote employees stay connected, new employees can face productivity lags when they do not understand how to work with updated technology. Ibrahim suggests that entrepreneurs provide a cloud-based phone system that bundles phone services such as voice, SMS, fax, conference calls, and voicemail. “With cloud-based phone systems that allow employees to ‘bring their own device’, remote work becomes more of a possibility as employees can perform tasks both at the office and at other locations,” Ibrahim adds.⁽⁷⁾

Despite efforts to raise employee productivity, it remains a fact that new recruits will need to undergo some job training before becoming contributing members of the workplace. Ibrahim explains that businesses can seek to save money to focus on the hiring process by switching to a VoIP set up for small businesses. By implementing these systems as opposed to traditional PBX setups, businesses can save as much as 40-80% on monthly costs and up to $1,000 on individual handsets alone.⁽⁸⁾

About ULTATEL

ULTATEL is a leading provider of cloud-based phone system solutions. Through its unified communications platform, companies can have all of their voice, video, fax, SMS and audio conferencing services on one affordable system. ULTATEL Business Clarity, with more than 40 enterprise grade features, helps companies operate from a single location or multiple locations seamlessly using desktop phones, soft phones or mobile apps. ULTATEL’s Contact Center solution satisfies the need for call center features such as advanced interactive voice response (IVR), call queuing, skilled/time-based routing and advanced call analytics. ULTATEL’s vision is to completely change how companies conduct business by delivering the most comprehensive suite of unified cloud-based telephony services that dramatically improve responsiveness, increase productivity, enhance globalization efficiencies, and reduce operating costs so that businesses can most effectively compete both today and in the future. Visit https://www.ULTATEL.com/.Sources

1. SHRM. “Average Cost-per-Hire for Companies Is $4,129, SHRM Survey Finds.” SHRM, SHRM, 19 May 2017.
2. “Distribution Hiring Process: The $7,645 Letter.” Industrial Distribution, 17 Dec. 2015.
3. Irwin, Neil. “Why Is Productivity So Weak? Three Theories.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 Apr. 2016.
4-5. Cardenas, Rebekah “What’s the Real Cost of a Bad Hire,” HR Exchange Network; April, 2, 2014.
6.Gallup, Inc. “Remote Workers Log More Hours and Are Slightly More Engaged.” Gallup.com, 12 July 2013.
7. “The Top 6 Benefits of Moving to a VoIP Telephone System.” Atlantech Online.
8. “How Much Does a Phone System Cost for Small Business?” Atlantech Online.