In September 2017 Startel and Professional Teledata (PTD) merged with Alston Tascom (Tascom) to further expand product offerings, broaden markets, and enhance technical resources and expertise. Since then it’s been full speed ahead.
Over the last several months, the combined company has unveiled a new unified brand and revamped website, launched new customer resources, welcomed a new chief customer officer, formed a unified product advisory board, and successfully completed a HIPAA assessment.
These initiatives support the combined companies’ commitment to deliver greater value to their customers, employees, and the contact center industry.
Greater Value through a Unified Brand
Startel, PTD, and Tascom revealed their new unified brand and revamped website to users at their first combined user group conference in April.
The new branding follows Startel’s 2015 merger with PTD and 2017 merger with Tascom. The new brand is visually represented by uniting all three company logos and includes the addition of “Powered by Startel” to the PTD and Tascom logos.
In conjunction with the new visual branding, content previously found on three separate company websites is now located on a unified site: startel.com. The website includes all product information, a timeline of the combined companies’ history, and an overview of the three user groups.
Startel, PTD, and Tascom’s president and CEO, Brian Stewart, believes the new unified brand will go a long way to reinforce the company’s unity and communicate their efforts.
Greater Value through Unified Customer Service
Appointment of a New CCO: Startel, PTD, and Tascom proudly announced the addition of a new senior-level management position in May when Renita Dorty joined the company as chief customer officer (CCO).
Dorty is responsible for all aspects of the company’s customer service strategies and will provide a comprehensive view of the user experience to create initiatives focused on maximizing customer retention, developing more efficient processes, and facilitating client communications.
Dorty has more than thirteen years of experience in the contact center and telephone answering service industry, most recently as the executive vice president of Nationwide Inbound Inc., a full-service customer contact center that provides telephone services and live customer support for businesses across North America.
Having worked with Dorty at Nationwide Inbound, Stewart knew that her unique qualifications made her the perfect fit for this new role. “She is a highly skilled management and operations professional and has a strong background in the customer service industry. We are thrilled to have her join the team at this exciting time in the development of the unified companies,” continued Stewart.
Since joining the team, Dorty has standardized the company’s process for call handling, implemented a new monthly Tech Tips newsletter for customers, and is leading the charge on unifying departments, projects, and procedures.
Launch of a New Marketing Resources Center: The combined company recently launched a Marketing Resources Center, making promotional materials available to its customers. The Marketing Resources Center is a web-based repository housing a variety of promotional videos, flyers, infographics, and user guides that can be branded for use by the companies’ clients to promote the solutions and services provided by their contact center.
The Marketing Resources Center came to fruition by request of customers. After receiving requests for assistance to help them sell their services and provide them with tools to assist them in doing so, Startel, PTD, and Tascom are thrilled to offer this needed and value-added service to all its customers.
Launch of a New Customer Portal: The combined company unveiled a new customer portal, The Customer Spot (TCS), at the user group conference in April. TCS allows Startel, PTD, and Tascom clients to open new support cases, track existing cases, and view the status of all cases associated with their account. Users can also access a knowledge base of product information, manage their account, and stay current on company and product updates.
Stewart believes that sharing the company’s resources and knowledge is the key to helping its customers achieve greater success with their software solutions. “Given the nature of the contact center industry and the fact that the company’s customers are located around the world, it is essential that we provide users with one central platform that they can access 24/7 at their convenience,” said Stewart.
Since its launch, several hundred Startel, PTD, and Tascom customers are now taking advantage of TCS. The company plans to further expand The Customer Spot’s self-service functionalities to ensure that its customers have everything they need to be successful.
Greater Value through a Unified Product Strategy
Startel, PTD, and Tascom have formed a unified Product Advisory Board (PAB) consisting of twelve individuals selected to represent each of the company’s respective user groups. The primary responsibility of PAB members is to provide input related to the combined company’s strategic product planning.
“Our vision of the PAB is to have customers share how they are using our products in the real world and for the company to share with PAB members our current plans and future directions,” said Stewart.
Startel, PTD, and Tascom are working with the unified PAB to help set future product direction. Feedback generated from the PAB will assist the company in building the next generation of products.
Greater Value through Unified Security Measures
In April, Startel and PTD successfully completed their HIPAA assessment. This marks Startel’s fourth and PTD’s first assessment for HIPAA compliance which reinforces the companies’ commitment to protecting consumer data and privacy.
SecurityMetrics, a global leader in data security and compliance, performed the third-party compliance assessment. Following an evaluation of Startel and PTD’s office locations, data centers, and software solutions, SecurityMetrics determined that the companies’ implemented policies and procedures fulfilled their obligations under HIPAA and HITECH. Both companies received scores of 100 percent for compliance posture of administrative, physical, and technical safeguards as well as organizational requirements. Next year’s HIPAA/HITECH assessment will include Tascom and its operating environment, data center, and solutions.
“HIPAA security and compliance are top priorities for us,” said Stewart. “We look forward to continuing to deliver contact center solutions and services that help our customers grow their business and safeguard electronic protected health information.”
What’s Next for the Combined Company?
In July, the company kicked off a four-part webinar series focusing on providing its users with an overview of the strengths and unique features of each company’s platform. Each presentation includes perspectives from users as well as product experts from the respective company. The fourth and final webinar of the series, which is scheduled for mid-September, focuses on what’s next as the companies continues to work together on a unified product roadmap.
The theme of unification will carry on as the combined company delivers on its commitment to provide greater value across the board to its customers, employees, and the contact center industry.
To discover more about Startel, PTD, and Tascom solutions, visit www.startel.com or call 800-782-7835.