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Maintaining Positive First Impressions.
We're all familiar with the importance of making a good first impression. And those
people, such as attendants and receptionists, whose responsibility it is to answer
the phone often have an immeasurable impact on the perception of a company by its
customers and prospective customers. A courteous, cheerful voice; a professional,
helpful attitude; and a smooth interaction may significantly contribute to a positive
experience for the caller.
Regardless of the ability of callers to reach company representatives directly,
there will always be a certain number of phone calls directed to a centralized answering
location. Calls for general inquiries, callers who don't have a specific phone number,
and callers who need urgent assistance but are unable to reach the appropriate company
representative -- all of these are directed to an attendant or receptionist.
This person must manage multiple phone calls with typical queries such as, "What
are your office hours?", "Where are you located?", "Who is your sales manager?",
"Since Mr. Jones is busy, who else could help me?" or "Mr. Adams is out of the office?
When will he return?"
The attendant or receptionist must have appropriate tools available in order to
quickly and correctly direct each call. NEC calls this type of call handling Attended
Call Management.
In addition to processing various types of phone calls, most receptionists and some
attendants have other assigned responsibilities. Many businesses assign clerical
business tasks such as sorting mail, maintaining calendars, handling travel arrangements,
and basic word processing and bookkeeping. Other businesses may assign tasks related
more directly to their type of business.
For example, in health care facilities, receptionists may gather patient information
and direct patients to the appropriate waiting area. Regardless of the type of additional
duties assigned, maintaining focus and priority on answering phone calls must be
given a high priority.
The availability of powerful, yet flexible technology and applications to manage
call flow and work flow is imperative to the success of an attendant or receptionist.
Telephones must provide information about calls and callers; directory systems must
provide information about departments and individuals; and most of all, applications
must be able to react to changing conditions. The opportunity to accept a new phone
call must be presented to a receptionist regardless of what other activity may be
present.
The expansion of technology solutions such as unified messaging is decreasing the
overall number of attendants and receptionists needed; however, those that are successful
will be able to demonstrate a wider diversity of skills. Two market factors also
place requirements on the tools provided for attendants and receptionists.
According to the U.S. Government's Occupational Outlook Handbook, about 30% of all
receptionists work part time. And even more importantly, this occupation experiences
a high turnover as receptionists transfer to other occupations or leave the work
force altogether. This establishes a requirement for tools with interfaces that
are quick and easy to learn, in addition to providing the wide range of functionality
provided for Attended Call Management.
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