Audibene/Hear.com Creates a Connected, Collaborative Hearing Care Organization

Finding the right hearing aid can be a difficult process, and Audibene leads the industry in making that process as smooth and efficient as possible. Founded in 2011 by Dr. Marco Vietor and Paul Crusius, Berlin-based Audibene and its U.S.-based brand hear.com were created to help those with hearing loss navigate the complex process of finding a hearing aid that meets their needs and fits their lifestyle.

With more than 3,000 audiology partners and access to over 1,000 hearing aids on the market, Audibene/hear.com coordinates over 1 million hearing aid consultations each year and helps thousands of people better understand the world they live in.

A gap in collaborative communications

Audibene/hear.com works with an extensive list of partners all over the globe, and with a large portion of its team working remotely, the organization requires clear, effective communication and collaboration. But its legacy solution didn’t have the necessary functionality needed to create a collaborative communications experience.

Without the ability to see all meeting attendees in real time, the teams at Audibene/hear.com felt that they weren’t getting a top-tier communications experience. “We were using Skype, but we had requirements that Skype just couldn’t fulfill,” said Rainer Schmitt, Head of Internal IT Operations at Audibene. “Our leadership likes to be able to see all the attendees on the screen at once, and with Skype, we couldn’t do that.”

When the decision was made to find a communications solution with greater functionality, the teams at Audibene/hear.com faced another challenge. They needed to transition to a different communications solution without buying new hardware to run it, which meant finding a service that could readily integrate with the technology they had on hand.

Many of the video tools on the market have specific hardware requirements, and because they are not hardware-agnostic, Audibene/hear.com would have to buy an entirely new hardware setup to run them.

Key benefits: Gallery View and device integration

The teams at Audibene/hear.com began evaluating alternatives to replace their legacy solution. However, Zoom’s platform was one of the only solutions available that met all of the organization’s functionality and flexibility needs. With Zoom’s Gallery View, they could see up to 49 video participants on a screen at one time, and the platform’s flexibility ensured Audibene/hear.com could implement Zoom without significant investment.

“In the end, one of the main reasons we decided to go with Zoom is because our employees could see everyone’s faces with the Gallery View,” Schmitt said. “We also went with Zoom because it integrates with Polycom. We still had plenty of Polycom devices, and it was very important that the solution worked with those devices.”

Once the teams had implemented Zoom’s platform and Zoom Rooms into their communications infrastructure, they noticed that Zoom significantly improved their communications experience, especially with their remote teams, which comprise 60% of the company’s workforce.

“Our customer consultants who work from home use a Windows tablet with the Zoom software on it that runs a permanent meeting,” Schmitt said. “Zoom allows them to see the entire team in Gallery View so they can talk to each other, ask the team leads questions, and feel more connected to the team.”

Deeper on-site, remote connections

By switching to Zoom, Audibene/hear.com improved the quality and effectiveness of its internal communications while providing employees with a valuable collaboration experience. Zoom also helped provide its remote workers with a deeper connection to its on-site employees.

As Audibene/hear.com continues to grow, its IT teams plan to implement more technology that improves their communications and provides further opportunities for deeper collaboration between offices and remote workers.

“Zoom has been a great meeting solution for us and a great collaboration tool,” Schmitt said. “We are working on equipping all of our meeting rooms with 85-inch digital whiteboards for additional collaboration capabilities.”