April 22nd is Earth Day and HOLDCOM would like to recognize this event with some helpful reminders about recycling. Whether at home or the office always remember the principle 3Rs:

Reduce - the amount of trash you create. Reducing waste saves both materials and energy, and removes the need and expense of disposal. You can reduce waste by not buying disposable items, choosing items with less packaging, refusing unnecessary shopping bags, and stopping junk mail.

·  Don’t buy heavily packed goods
·  Buy ‘loose’ food rather than pre-packaged
·  Cancel delivery of unwanted newspapers, donate old magazines to waiting rooms
·  Use your own shopping bags when visiting the supermarket
·  Take a packed lunch to work or school in a reusable plastic container

Reuse - items such as shopping bags & lunch boxes. Reusing reduces the need to buy new items and so saves resources. You can reduce by choosing reusable containers rather than disposable ones, giving old clothes and bric-a-brac to charity shops and jumble sales, and taking your own bags for shopping.

·  Reuse scrap paper for writing notes & shopping lists
·  Reuse envelopes – stick labels over the address
·  Donate old computer and audio visual equipment to community groups or schools
·  Buy rechargeable items instead of disposable ones, e.g. batteries and cameras
·  Buy things in refillable containers such as washing powders
·  Buy concentrated products which use less packaging
·  Look for long-lasting (and energy efficient) appliances when buying new
electrical items – ensure these are well-maintained to inc rease product life cycle

Recycle – all items your municipality collects. Recycling saves valuable raw materials, and cuts down waste collection and disposal costs. You can recycle paper, glass, cardboard, cans, textiles, books, oil, scrap metal, batteries, and garden waste. Set up bins to keep items separate in your home or at work.

·  Choose products in packaging which you know can be recycled
·  Compost – lots of kitchen waste can be composted. Contact your local council for details of local composting schemes and details of any compost bin sales
·  Buy products made from recycled materials. Most supermarkets now stock a
wide range of these items
·  Recycle all items your municipality collects

Want to learn more or get involved in a local group? Check out these websites for more information:
http://www.sierraclub.org/
http://www.earthday.net/

With a few simple daily exercises, you too can make Earth Day Everyday!

As technology continues to nurture the inverse relationship between expanding markets and a shrinking world, more and more businesses are addressing the challenges and opportunities of globalization. Many HOLDCOM clients recognize the need to provide multi-lingual communication to a diverse audience, domestic and abroad. As a result of this growing trend, HOLDCOM has reinforced its voice talent and translation resources to “answer the call of enterprise” in a variety of languages, both common and “exotic”. Multi-lingual projects requiring Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, and the various dialects found throughout Europe and Asia are required regularly at HOLDCOM. Our producers have also recorded less common languages, such as Urdu and Tamil.

Whether for telephonic (Message-On-Hold, IVR Call Processing) or Internet applications, HOLDCOM’s multi-lingual solutions help businesses communicate across the “cultural divide”, enabling them to gain market share within the international community. An ever-growing number of Call Centers are implementing foreign language versions of their once exclusively English automated attendants, menus, and engine prompts, and bi-lingual Message-On-Hold scripts are becoming more common. The Internet, due to its inherent global reach, has particularly driven the need for multilingual website adaptations. And, as the trend toward rich media site design accelerates the use of audio across the Internet, HOLDCOM will continue to expand its roster of authentic foreign voice talents to fulfill the demands of globalization.

Anniversaries
Karen Toerock – 1 year at HOLDCOM

Birthdays
Donna Pompeo – April 6th

Your Message-On-Hold program is an integral part of your marketing strategy. Just like the sign on your building is for people passing by, your Message-On-Hold program is your billboard for callers onhold. As a marketing service, the technology behind Message-On-Hold is often overlooked. In this month’s issue of the HOLDCOM Voice we take a look at new technology as well as the tried and true.

Message-On-Hold is a customized marketing service designed for individual businesses. But how does it work? Where does the program come from? Twenty years ago, when we first started offering this service to clients, that was an easy question to answer. A cassette player was plugged into your phone equipment, which played the program over and over. As the industry expanded, so did the technology. Cassette players were replaced by digital announcers, which held the program in RAM
memory repeating it over and over without any loss or degradation to program quality. New, improved, and easier to use digital systems continue to be introduced to market. Below is a list of the most popular systems on the market today offered by HOLDCOM.

CD Autoloader: Just as CD’s populated your album collection, so too have they infiltrated the Message-On-Hold industry. Convenient and easy to use, the CD Autoloader offers a one step operation: Simply place your Message-On-Hold CD into the unit and close the lid. That’s all that is required to change your program. The system records and stores the program into its internal flash memory and plays your program back continuously. Another great feature is the unit’s flash memory, which holds the program during power outages, eliminating the need to reload the program.

MP3s: Get on any bus or train during a regular commute and you will see fellow passengers wearing the all too familiar white earbuds of an IPOD. The same technology that is driving yet another revolution in popular music is also available in your Message-On-Hold equipment. HOLDCOM now

features several MP3 digital announcers, which hook up to your computer – similar to a digital camera – via a USB drive. HOLDCOM can email your program update as an MP3 file, allowing you to simply drop and drag the audio file onto the MP3 player or flash drive. This technology is ideal for the tech savvy!

VoIP: Voice Over Internet Protocol has generated a lot of buzz in the Telecom Industry… and some misinformation. Free calls over the Internet or just plugging in a modem to make calls are all VoIP myths. However, Message-On-Hold for VoIP is simple. THAT’S true. If your organization is planning on making the move to this technology, you’ll be glad to know HOLDCOM has been supporting clients utilizing this equipment since its inception. Depending upon your application, your existing Message-On-Hold equipment can be installed on the new system without any alteration in services. In other VoIP applications,
HOLDCOM formats specific audio files, which are then up-loaded onto the clients Message- On-Hold Server or on the physical equipment at each location.

Remote-load: Since 1996, HOLDCOM has offered remote-load digital announcers that continue to offer convenience and security. These modem and IP based systems are installed on phone lines or sit on your computer network featuring hands -free implementation. Once your new Message-On-Hold program is produced, it’s remotely loaded to your system(s) and begins playing on-hold. It’s perfect for clients with many locations, alleviating the need to distribute tapes and CD’s to location managers located at various facilities. It’s also ideal for clients who update on a more frequent basis. Save yourself the legwork from installing and changing programs – go Remote!

At HOLDCOM, we understand each client has individual needs, which is why we continue to support multiple Message-On-Hold formats to suit each user’s application and comfort level. If you’re interested in learning more about any of these systems or want to upgrade your current equipment, contact your Client Relations representative. They will help you decide
which format suits your business best.