Timonium, MD – June 27th, 2016-- Helion Automotive Technologies announced today it has received a UCSE Tier 1 Support Certification from ShoreTel, a leading provider of business telephony and Unified Communications (UC) solutions. As a certified ShoreTel partner, Helion is authorized to work with auto dealers to design, program and implement custom UC systems, provide support for day-to-day operations and perform high-level troubleshooting.

"More than half of car shoppers use mobile devices in their search for a vehicle, which in recent years has led to a significant increase in the volume of phone calls coming into dealerships," said Erik Nachbahr, President of Helion. "ShoreTel's UC platform offers an affordable, state-of-the-art solution that supports auto dealers' efforts to improve phone processes and call handling." 

ShoreTel's UC system offers business application integration, collaboration tools, reporting and call center applications that contribute to increased workplace productivity and employee communications.

ShoreTel Connect is a collaboration tool that enables instant communication between employees across multiple devices, from computers to phones and tablets. Similar in function to instant messaging, Connect shows personnel the availability state of other employees, so they can see if someone is on a phone call, away from their desk or out of the office. Personnel can use Connect to send notifications and ask questions, increasing responsiveness to customers and greatly reducing incidents of phone tag.

Connect is integrated with Microsoft's Active Directory, Exchange and Office, so employees can tap seamlessly into the power of collaboration with no extra effort.

ShoreTel's custom Call Flow design options allow dealers to adapt the system to their individual phone processes. Call flow defines rules such as which phone numbers ring into different areas of the dealership, how many times the phone rings before it goes to voice mail or gets routed elsewhere, and what happens to phone calls after hours.

"Call flow is one of the most important, yet overlooked technology features in auto dealerships today," said Nachbahr. "When customers are placed on hold, 62% will hang up within the first minute, so proper call handling is critical. Many dealers don't have a thorough understanding of how their inbound calls get routed, how long wait times are and what the resulting impact is on the customer experience."

Helion's advanced technical support team is experienced in mapping custom call flow solutions for auto dealers that improve call handling and customer resolution for a greater percentage of inbound calls.

Additionally, ShoreTel's UC system includes the following features:

• Visual voicemail allows employees to access and listen to their voicemails via email, eliminating the need to call into a phone system and greatly increasing responsiveness to customers and fellow employees.

• Find Me allows users to control where their phone calls get routed when away from their desk. If the phone rings at an employee's desk and doesn't get picked up, the system will try calling a couple other numbers such as a cell phone or another extension.

• Call reporting provides dealers with helpful insight into their call handling performance. Reports deliver data such as the number of calls into sales, service, parts or the BDC, as well as the number of missed calls. Dealers can use this information to determine whether they are properly staffed or if their call flow mapping is working.

• Auto attendant ensures that all calls get routed to the proper department, freeing up the operator/receptionist to spend more time interacting with in-person customers and delivering better customer service to phone customers.

"The ShoreTel system offers dealers a lot of visibility into how calls are handled, where their calls are going and what their weak points and strengths are," said Nachbahr. "It's also flexible and adaptable, allowing changes to be made to the system very quickly without a lot of complicated programming."

For more information contact Helion at 443-541-1500 or visit http://www.heliontechnologies.com.

About Helion Automotive Technologies

Helion...Putting Your Dealership in the FAST LANE! Helion Automotive Technologies is a leading IT solutions provider, providing auto dealers with faster, more efficient networks and secure data protection. From managed services to IT assistance and service desk help, Helion offers both short-term IT fixes and long-term planning so dealers can focus on what matters most: selling more cars. Helion has specialized in IT for more than ten years and works with 650+ auto dealers nationwide. Dealers can request a free assessment of their IT needs at www.heliontechnologies.com.