By Heather Radtke
The technology industry is constantly working to innovate the phones, computers, and other electronic devices that we use daily. The phone systems we use to conduct business today have come a long way from the phones we used just a few years ago.
Unified Communications has given business phones many convenient features that provide you with greater mobility, and allow you to be more efficient than ever before. It can be hard to keep up with all of the available features, but here is a list of five things your phone can do to make you more productive.
Voicemail to Email
With old phone systems, all you had to notify you of a voicemail was a red blinking light. There was no way of knowing how many messages you had. If you were out of the office, you may have had to call into your voicemail box to retrieve your voicemails. Now, if someone leaves you a voicemail, it can also be delivered to your email. As long as you have access to your email, whether it’s on your smart phone, tablet, or laptop, you can listen to your voicemail anywhere.
Find-me, Follow-me
Find-me, follow-me allows you to receive calls made to your direct line on your cell phone. If you are frequently out visiting customers or job sites, but still need to be connected to your office, this feature will ensure that you never miss a call. Depending on your phone system, this feature can be activated by pressing a button on your phone before you leave the office. Find-me, follow-me helps you save time by eliminating phone tag, and allows you to respond more quickly. Unanswered calls will go back to your direct line’s voicemail.
Mobile Number Privacy
New business phone systems work in conjunction with mobile apps that pair your cell phone to your direct line. When you call someone via the mobile app, you are actually calling through your business phone system. The phone number the person you are calling sees is your extension, DID, or your office’s main number, and not your cell phone number.
Call Manager
For someone who makes a lot of phone calls, call manager software will make the task more efficient. You can use your computer to control your desk phone or as a standalone “Soft” phone. One of the best features of Call Manager is the ability to “Hot Dial.” This allows you to highlight a phone number in any document and email, or on any website with your mouse, and then click to call. Call Manager logs every incoming and outgoing call made to your phone, and also gives you the ability to store more phone numbers, easily answer and transfer calls, see which employees are available, and work remotely while still having access to your direct line.
Call Record
Most modern phone systems are equipped with the ability to record a phone call. You will have the ability to pause and resume throughout the call so that sensitive information can be left out of the recording, and encrypt and store recordings. Any phone conversation you record will be sent to your email as a .wav file. Call Record allows you to monitor call quality and evaluate employee performance, record verbal agreements made over the phone, and record good news and positive testimonials to share with your staff. Before you enable Call Record, check local laws to make sure you are in compliance.
These five features will allow you to remain connected to your business and your customers no matter where you are, while increasing the productivity of you and your staff.
Heather Radtke is the Vice President at Speros. Speros provides technology solutions for businesses, offering telephone systems, IT services, surveillance systems, web design and branding solutions, and cloud computing. Radtke can be contacted at 912-790-5107 or HRadtke@speros.com
