Though many small, home-based enterprises can get by with just a cellular phone, growing companies will eventually have to adopt a full-fledged business phone system to meet their communication needs. These days, contemporary enterprises are beginning to move away from traditional premise-based phone systems in favor of innovative new technologies. Cloud-based business phone systems are becoming especially popular due to their relative affordability, flexibility, and reliability compared to traditional phone lines.
Given the number of emerging digital software solutions and other business communication technologies available today, choosing the right business phone system can be tricky for companies. Besides determining how much you’re willing to spend on a phone system, you may also want to identify helpful features that can help your business run more efficiently.
If you’re looking to upgrade your company’s current business phone system, you’ll want to look for one with the following helpful features:
Mobility Features
Mobility is one of the biggest requirements today’s workforce needs from its business communications technology. It’s critical for modern businesses to give their workers ways to communicate quickly and effectively whether they’re at their desks, at home, or even on the road. Some business phone systems, for instance, enable users to transfer calls seamlessly from their desk phones to their mobile devices. Other features like on-phone corporate directories and click-to-call dial controls can give employees the flexibility needed to work their best anytime, anywhere.
Video Calling
If your business depends heavily on face-to-face interactions between employees, clients, and other relevant parties, you’ll definitely want to invest in a phone system with integrated video calling features. It’s best to look for systems that support video calling on a variety of devices, such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and tablet computers. Support for multiple operating systems is also a must.
Instant Messaging
Many business phone systems today come with built-in instant messaging platforms in addition to voice and video calling capabilities. Instant messaging facilitates instantaneous text-based communication that’s ideal for fielding quick questions and resolving small concerns. This feature also allows you to view colleagues’ and team members’ availability in real-time, so you can easily find out whether a particular co-worker is available to speak with you, in a meeting, or otherwise occupied.
Unified Messaging
Unified messaging delivers email, voice messages, SMS messages, and other types of communications into a single consolidated inbox. An example of how this works in practice is that an incoming voicemail on a particular user’s office phone can also be delivered to their email in the form of an audio file. It’s also possible for such systems to send users notification alerts via SMS whenever a new message enters the unified inbox.
Unified messaging is especially useful to workers who find themselves on the road frequently. This feature enables such users to bypass the inconvenience of inputting access codes and navigating other aspects of the voicemail system in order to listen to their messages. Some business phone systems even include voicemail transcription capabilities, so users in a hurry may even elect to simply read the emailed transcript if they don’t have time to listen to the attached audio file.
Group Directory
A group directory lets any user search through your company’s directory from their handset, cutting out the amount of time your team members spend looking up extension numbers and other contact details for other departments. While this is a fairly commonplace feature of modern phone systems, its value for expediting internal communication and boosting operational efficiency can’t be overstated. Some phone systems will even have a group directory built into their instant messaging platforms, allowing users to transition from text-based chats to voice calls with just a few clicks.
Administrator Portal
Web-based administrator portals give authorised users the power to manage the company’s communication system in real time, from any location. Businesses without administrator portals typically need to communicate desired changes to providers through ticketing systems and then wait for the providers to implement those changes. Because responses from providers can be slow and unpredictable, using traditional ticketing systems may ultimately impede company productivity.
On the other hand, administrator portals allow users to reset passwords, change call routing, and perform other important modifications on their own. This feature also allows companies to bypass providers’ add, move, and change fees, which can be costly especially when they accumulate.
Call Recording
Call recording features can come in handy for many purposes, including employee training and meeting legal requirements. Call recording gives you a reliable means of confirming customer and order information, particularly on hectic days when you and your employees may forget to write down certain important details. This feature also grants your business a measure of protection from liability issues, as you have verbatim records of any oral discussions, agreements, and other conversations you might have with clients and business partners.
The above items are just a few of the productivity-enhancing features you’ll want from a good business phone system, so don’t hesitate to do further research and explore your options in depth. Be sure to link up with an experienced and reputable service provider to get the best possible business communications experience.
