You’ve perhaps heard your employees asking “what is TEM?” after seeing this acronym written in technology publications. It stands for “telecom expense management“, and it’s a business practice of managing your telecom technology in one database.
With phone costs continually adding up (including from mobile devices), take a look at how you can better control your phone systems. You’ll see why TEM is a smart business tactic to use throughout the year.
How TEM Works
You can find various TEM services that help you get better organized. The point is to take all your telecom assets and have them available in one place so you don’t overlook hidden costs.
Staying on top of your telecom tech is essential to avoid overpaying for things you don’t know you have. Various examples are available online that show how companies end up paying for phone services they didn’t think were still active.
As an example, landlines can sometimes still charge you, even if you’re not using the phones. This shows you how telecom charges can go unnoticed for years without any realization you’re losing so much money.
Avoiding this occurs through specific steps you should take with aid of a TEM provider.
Conducting Audits
The best TEM services help you do quality audits so you understand exactly what telecom services you have. Most importantly, you’ll know what your expenses are so you can drop things that aren’t helping you grow.
Doing audits gives more cost awareness as a way to tell your employees to better manage their own devices. It’s possible you’ll find devices like iPads, desktop phones, or other mobile products that are just sitting around and not being put to proper use.
Better Management of Invoices
Having all your telecom costs in one database lets you automate all invoices more efficiently. Doing this also helps you catch invoice errors so you can dispute extra charges from carriers. One thing companies don’t always do enough is check their invoices carefully to make sure there isn’t an error. With thousands of invoices coming in, your accounting department may not be able to catch every mistake.
Through better invoice handling, you can optimize telecom subscriptions for each employee based on their use.
Staying Compliant with Government Regulations
The process of staying compliant with private data is an ongoing issue you likely deal with every day. As your employees use more mobile devices to store and retrieve customer data, how do you know they’re keep within the guidelines of government regulations?
If you work in the financial industry, you already know about continually protecting sensitive information. Applying a TEM practice helps keep on top of what data goes into your mobile devices being used in the field. Most importantly, you’ll know who’s accessing that data and whether it could place you in a possible position of paying fines.
Eliminating risk can keep you within your own business policy guidelines so your other employees follow suit.
Why Multi-Location Businesses Benefit
Another benefit to TEM is giving better financial accountability if you have multiple locations in your business. As you grow, it’s likely you’ll have many workplaces in different cities, states, or even other countries.
Differing rates can apply on telecom equipment in other states, and especially overseas. If your employees use mobile devices often internationally, costs could easily overwhelm you without having more scrutinizing records.
By eliminating some costs in other locations, it gives you incentive toward upgrading to better phone systems (like VoIP and PBX systems) that save you money.
