Fielding calls
Many people I speak to at business conferences and networking events across Derbyshire and South Yorkshire, use the term ‘fielding calls’. There is frequently an element of frustration attached to this that implies that ‘fielding calls’ gets in the way of us doing our proper jobs. I wonder if the client or prospect whose call has just been ‘fielded’ perceives that frustration in the way they are being dealt with?!
Phone calls are important
My article is going to proceed on the basis that we recognise that incoming phone calls are important for all organisations. Despite email, WhatsApp, Messenger, texting, and social media, the phone remains the most important communication tool for most organisations. In fact, I would argue that the phone is the best way to cut through the sheer volume of ‘noise’ coming from these digital communications channels.
Phone calls matter. They may be from a client, a prospect, a supplier, the HMRC, your family, or the National Lottery! The phone is potentially the most, or one of the most, important touchpoints in your customers’ journey. It’s time to give them the focus and attention they deserve.
Field ALL calls
My belief is that the ethos of your organisations should be that all calls need to be ‘fielded’ or, in more commonplace language, answered. There may be a degree of sales calls, but with a small degree of training these can be easily identified and dealt with politely but effectively.
Do not use an answering machine to hide your ineffective fielding of calls. Few callers leave voicemails these days, and even those that do are far from confident they will receive a reply.
Calls can impact productivity if fielded ineffectively
In many organisations there is a first-line receptionist. They have often been with an organisation for many years, know everybody, and are worth their weight in gold. Sadly, changes in work patterns brought about by Covid have led to many receptionists changing roles or their jobs. This means calls are often fielded by those with little experience in fielding calls. In many cases, the traditional ‘receptionist’ has been replaced by a ‘hunt group’.
Fielding calls: hunt groups
What could be more efficient, effective and democratic than a hunt group? Well, as it turns out, lots of things. Hunt groups often lead to the most conscientious members of the team taking more than their fair share of calls and, consequently, more than their fair share of disruption to those activities they are measured on. Hunt groups often include senior managers who presumably have better things to be doing with their time. Few of those in hunt groups have received any training in how to field calls
Hunt group, used effectively, can be a great way of fielding a call and keeping it within the company. However, the call needs to be dealt with as efficiently as when the receptionist answers it. Training is key.
Fielding calls: how do you do it effectively?
The short answer is planning and training.
Access the data from your phone system and plot call volumes over, for example, a month. Most businesses have a degree of ‘seasonality’ to their phone data. For example, the phone may be busiest on Monday and Friday. There may be peaks at 9 am lunchtime and 4.30 pm. Whatever the trend is, knowing the pattern makes it far easier to plan how to field calls effectively from a resource perspective. Analysing the data will also tell you how many calls have been missed.
Develop a plan – and communicate it – as to how calls are to be fielded in the organisation. If you do have a reception team, plan how you deal with their absence, planned or otherwise e.g. comfort breaks, illness, holidays, doing other tasks.
Ensure that all those people likely to be fielding calls are trained to answer and, most importantly, manage those calls. Simple, polite telephone etiquette can minimise call duration but ensure that the caller reaches the most appropriate recipient. Establish a process for what should happen when the proposed call recipient is unavailable. If it is decided that taking a message is appropriate, what information should be collected, and how should it be communicated to the intended recipient.
Fielding calls: maintaining standards
Once a plan is in place and training has been provided, how do you ensure that calls are being fielded to the required standard?
At Paperclip, as a standard process, we listen back to calls on a random basis to ensure our processes are being followed. We ensure all our team members (all of the Paperclip team are effectively ‘first points of contact’) receive regular refresher training. We also track a series of KPIs that enable us to measure call fielding performance.
Every type of call we field has its own standard operating procedure (SOP) so initial training and subsequent retraining is delivered the same way every time.
Paperclip has created a ‘Telephone Communications Workbook’ which can be downloaded from the Paperclip website. The Workbook asks how effective your organisation is in getting the most from telephone communications, including fielding calls.
Fielding calls: still have questions?
At Paperclip, we are passionate about helping organisations to improve the way they field calls and deliver customer service in general.
If, after reading this article, you are still concerned with your organisation’s telephone performance, I am happy to answer questions on topics such as fielding calls, effective telephone etiquette and KPIs. Contact us on 01246 418181.
Hi, I’m Anne Batty, Managing Director of Paperclip. I am passionate about customer service. I believe enduring relationships are built on being open, transparent and trustworthy.
I love questions. So, if you have a question relating to telephone answering – pricing, technical, scope and more – I would love to hear from you at anne@paperclip.co.uk or 01246 418181.
Paperclip’s clients enjoy working with us. I know you will too.