talkbase Blog

It's December and Christmas is just around the corner. But business never sleeps. And nor does your company's telephone system. For it always has to be "on duty". Whereas most employees take time off over the holiday season, it's business as usual in some places.

It depends on the industry. Say, industry A closes for the holiday season, industry B reduces operations but still has to be reachable by phone and industry C has to stay open for business. But let's have a closer look at the individual situations using examples.

The telephone plays a key role in everyday life. Whether for private or professional reasons, we speak to others on the phone several times a day. The focus is always on making a good impression. It is therefore important not to forget yourself when on the phone, simply chatter away or make the other person on the phone aware of your bad mood. The trick is to always come across as positive, irrespective of whether you have achieved your own objective or that of the caller or not. Only then will you be considered a trustworthy contact person on the phone for future calls. In this way, you not only do yourself justice, but also the reputation of the company is at least not impaired due to a negative attitude on the phone. It can only be improved. This applies in particular to receptionists or telephonists at the switchboard. This is precisely where it is important - also in today's digital age - to make a professional impression and to quickly handle and put through the call in the queue. 

The digital age is becoming apparent in more and more areas of everyday life and of course also influences communication, i.e. telephony and call handling. Let's look at the telephone switchboard. Incoming calls in a queue can still be calculated using analog means. At the same time, the technology for call acceptance answers calls fully digitally and provides workflows for handling incoming calls as quickly as possible in order to ensure shortest possible waiting times.

How have the requirements to be met by an attendant solution changed as a result of this digital transformation? Let's look at four aspects in this regard:

You are aware of the advantages of Unified Communication and have decided to integrate a UC solution in your company. You are convinced that this communication solution enables better structuring of internal and external business processes and a more efficient integration of mobile and locally operating employees. The result: increased company-wide productivity. 

Like I said, you have selected your future UC solution. The software application meets the requirements in terms of price, technical specifications and individual features. The manufacturer's corporate presentation was also good. But now the question arises: Is a test installation useful or not?

In the queue of a switchboard everyone wants their call to be answered as quickly as possible. If a queue forms, the calls are handled one after the other. Whoever has been in the queue for the longest time is displayed right at the top and is the next to be dealt with. So the principle “first-come first-served” applies in this case. However, there are different situations in which this basic rule does not apply. At the same time there are different approaches for reducing a caller's waiting time and therefore making call handling more efficient.

There comes the day when it's time to get a new phone. Telephone systems have switched to VoIP and good old analog telephone sets can no longer be used. But what type of phone should you choose?

You know it from experience: when calling a company, the first contact is crucial. The voice of the receptionist will determine whether or not you will continue the call with a positive feeling or not. It is simple, a positive attitude will create positive impressions.

That is why your receptionists are, at that moment, the most important contact within your company. Your receptionists will be more relaxed if an attendant console helps them handle incoming calls. Therefore, calls will be managed in a very friendly and professional manner, ensuring a warm welcome to your customers.

Of course, everybody can have an off day but if in addition the attendant solution does not work, a friendly receptionist can soon get stressed out and your customers will most likely notice it - a bad first impression of your company. The fact is that every single call is an opportunity to enhance customer relationships and your image.

Are you experiencing unexpected peak periods at the attendant console? Make use of the support of employees working from home!

You know how it is: We cannot always predict short-term fluctuations in call volume, yet waiting times and potential losses must be minimized. For nowadays, companies are reliant on the smooth operation of call handling. This means also having to answer and distribute every call in periods with high call volumes. To support attendant operators in this task, home-based staff could also be used. An optimum, cost-oriented solution for the company, which increases both customer and employee satisfaction.

Yes, what is it? Well the profession of the telephone operator is no news to this world. Already decades ago people tried to connect with each other through phone calls and a profession called “Telephone Operator” was born. The technical capabilities were extremely limited and as you can see in the picture below life was pretty complicated. It took a while before organizations started to add their own switchboards and receptions to take advantage of having a technology that helped them manage their inbound call traffic.