Have you tried a telecom audit in the past only to be underwhelmed by the results? We have talked to major corporations, hospitals, private equity firms and a slew of other businesses who are a bit jaded about telecom audits. Sadly most telecom audits do not always produce sustainable savings, but it’s usually for the same reasons. Below are the top 5 reasons we see “band aid” solutions being used for issues that are in need of “urgent care”.
Firms not reputable
Many companies who call themselves Auditors/Consultants are really telecom agents who get paid by carriers for new business so they do nothing more than look for services not under contract that can be switched. This not only allows the firm to “double dip” (paid by client for savings and by Carrier for new business), but the firms objectivity is often clouded by the best bonus promo being offered at the time of the audit.
Firms not thorough
Many firms only look for the “low-hanging fruit” and do not truly do an in depth audit. We often see audits that were focused only on future savings and that did not catch billing errors so the incorrect charges continued to be charged. Audits which do not examine every billing line item leave room for significant waste to slip through the cracks.
Firms who focus on results, not reasons
If the root cause is not remedied the outcome will repeat itself continuously. Firms who plug leaks instead of figuring out WHY there is a leak to begin with will leave behind a client whose issue is destined to reoccur. Procurement policy is often the culprit of telecom billing waste and if no policy change is addressed the pattern of breakage is destined to repeat itself and yield the identified savings unsustainable.
Firms with short term focus
With a limited pay out period for realized savings, many firms will do what is best for their own pay and not for the clients’ long term best interest (think pump “today’s” stock price without care for “tomorrow”). An audit which does not review long term contract strategy is nothing more than a house of cards, yet many audits do not address this issue as what is best long term often comes at a cost to the short term.
Firms who do not understand cutting edge telecom technology
A firm without this knowledge can only look at reworking what is currently in place, even when new solutions can sometimes yield more significant savings. Even worse, re-contracting old services often ties a client to old technology not just today, but for the coming years, especially if proper attention is not devoted to the terms and conditions within the agreement.
If you’ve had a telecom audit in the past that didn’t produce the savings you thought it would, it is very likely that it was because of one of these reasons. But just because an audit hasn’t worked in the past, that does not mean that you can’t see better results moving forward.
[author_bio username=”Ken” name=”yes”]
