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What is a telephone system?
In its simplest form a telephone system makes more efficient use of your telephone lines. You don’t need one line per person. The same lines can be shared by multiple users. A business telephone system also controls your incoming and outgoing calls in a way that makes communication more efficient. Basic examples of this are voicemail, groups of phones ringing together and transferring calls. More advanced examples could include mobile phone integration and computer integration.
What is Voice over IP (VoIP)?
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a way of connecting calls over the Internet, rather than traditional ISDN or analogue lines. The main benefits of VoIP are its much lower price and operating costs and greater flexibility. For example a remote worker or someone out of the office could connect to your telephone system using their own Internet connection and call colleagues for free as well as answering their calls as if they were physically in the office.
How do you choose the telephone system you need?
Initially, establish how many users you have and if this number likely to increase. The number of users will have an impact on the scale and cost of your system. If the number of users is likely to increase, you should look for a system that can scale up with the minimum of expense and disruption. Consider how many general handsets you will need and whether some staff can use headsets. Do you need handsets in meeting rooms or kitchen areas?
It’s sometimes useful to categorise your staff and potential users according to the functionality they need to help understand what features you are likely to want in your office telephone system.
- Basic users - just need a phone with a keypad and at most a screen showing the caller’s name or number.
- Power Users - need tools to control calls and get things done more efficiently such as the ability to dial from a central directory or initiate conference calls.
- Receptionists - need point-and-click tools to help them deal with large volumes of calls. They also need “presence” information to monitor the status of all of the other extensions in your organisation when transferring calls.
- Mobile Workers – will benefit from mobile phone integration and features such as receiving voicemails in the form of an email and are likely to “hot desk” when they are in the office.
- Remote or Home-Based workers - users who work from home or remote offices full time, but still want the same telephone functions that they would have if they were based in the office.
If you have more than one site you may consider networking them together using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology which saves call costs and also improves efficiency with features such as shared directories and forwarding calls between sites. In some cases it is possible to operate only one VoIP phone system at a central site.
Do you need voicemail?
The answer is probably yes - almost everybody has a basic voicemail system so that callers can leave a message. If you use voicemail a lot, you may want to consider a voicemail system that allows you to dial in to retrieve messages or one that sends voicemails to your email. This can often be done without adding any cost to your system.
Do you need to log or record calls?
There are a few reasons to log calls. The obvious one is to check for unauthorised use of your phone system, but it can also be used to support marketing campaigns. If you advertise several different numbers in different campaigns, you can use call logging to monitor the effectiveness of a particular campaign. You may need to record calls for compliance reasons or the facility can be useful for monitoring customer service. You can choose to record all calls, or just allow users to initiate call recording when needed.
What sort of telephone lines do you need for a phone system?
A business telephone system could use standard analogue lines, exactly as you’d find in most homes, but for business phones, ISDN lines or VoIP lines are far better. The best kind of line for your particular application will depend on the nature of your business, how much voice or data traffic you regularly send (using fax machines or credit card machines for example) and what your precise needs now and in the future may be.
How many telephone lines do you need?
A normal office will need around 1 line for every 3 people. For a busy office a ratio of 1 to 2 is more appropriate. Call centres usually have at least one line per person and often invest in more lines than people.
Can you keep your telephone numbers?
Yes, you can move your existing numbers to a new system either by continuing to use the existing lines or “porting” the numbers to a new line without any interruption of service. You can add as many numbers as you need. There is no direct link between lines and numbers – you could have two lines with thirty numbers or thirty lines with just two numbers.
What happens if your telephone system fails?
Look for a supplier that has the capability to make sure that your incoming calls are maintained by diverting calls to a back-up number. Then insist that they fix the problem quickly (at least within 4-8 hours) using remote access and diagnostics if possible or coming straight to your site if hardware repairs are needed.