The last thing a call center needs is to have a phone system that is not good enough. As this is the way that customers will contact the business, getting this wrong will be a disaster. If there is nothing else you concentrate on, focus on this. If you are using a plain, standard business phone system, your call center will be providing a poor service regardless of the best efforts of the staff.

Call Center Software

It is through the call center that customers get to speak to the correct department. There is software available that can be adapted to suit the requirements of the users. The types of software available include:

• Browser-based

• Cloud

• Hosted

• On-premises

All business phone systems will all have their own good and bad points and you need to decide which one will benefit you the most. You could look at what other similar businesses are doing in your industry or talk with a phone service company to see what the pros and cons are to their solutions.

A Good Phone Plan

A good phone plan will be one that can be set up quickly. It will also allow you to determine the workflow of staff. It should be easy to understand and allow call answerers to be able to send the caller to the right person instantly. Features that are required can include:

• Predictive dialing — This allows more talk time and less trying to get in touch

• IVR builder that sends calls the right way

• Real-time analytics — Call handlers can get a picture of the people they are dealing with. It also allows you to see who the call handlers are, who is an asset, and those who may need a little extra training.

• Call recording — This is another way to monitor call handler performance but can also be invaluable if there is a discrepancy between the view of the customer and your employee.

• Call monitoring — Ideal when staff are new as they can be helped when things get a little hard for them.

Finding the Right Company

Now that you know what is available, the final stage is to find a company that can supply it. This is your business, so don't be afraid to speak with a variety of suppliers, like BTPVoice, and give yourself the chance to find the right company to work with regarding your business phone systems.