Sequential ringing is one of the many advanced features that a call center might make use of to increase the efficiency of communications, and to help ensure that important phone calls are not lost due to mishandling. Many companies choose to have their telephone service outsourced to a prime telephony company like VoxSun, especially since your phone provider can offer so many advanced features and technologies which present a professional, sophisticated appearance to your callers. If your company is establishing service with a new provider, sequential ringing is definitely a feature you should consider having installed and used at your call center.
How it works
When you have sequential ringing installed at your call center, incoming calls are automatically forwarded to a list of numbers which were previously set up. When the first number listed does not pick up, the call is automatically directed to the second number on the list, and the process continues until one of those predetermined numbers actually responds to the call.
If no one on the list picks up, the call is sent to voicemail so the caller will have a chance to leave a message which can be acted upon later. Sequential ringing can be fairly sophisticated, and can be very customizable in terms of the rules by which it functions. For instance, all incoming calls can be matched against a set of programmed specifications or rules, such as the time of day or the day of the year, and actions can be taken which correspond to whatever has been programmed to happen.
Customization possibilities also include supplying a preferred type of music, pre-programmed messages to be played situationally, and messages can be developed to inform the caller about the current length of wait time.
How you can use sequential ringing
If you’re an individual user, one useful way to set up sequential ringing is to have your publicly listed office number be the first number on the list to be dialed, and you can have the second number on the list be your cell phone, for those occasions when you’re on the road. This will allow you to maintain mobility if that’s a common requirement of your work, while still being able to take all incoming phone calls without fear of missing anything important. On days that you aren’t in the office at all and are doing work from home, you can also have your home phone number be included on the list.
In a business environment such as a call center or an office where many employees are active, you can have any number of different employees listed in the queue for sequential ringing. When one person is unavailable for any reason, the call will simply advance to the next number in order, and so on until the last number is reached, and the caller is directed to leave a message in voicemail.
One of the real advantages of sequential ringing is that it can be set up for a small business even for one person, or for a very large business with many employees – the service is scalable to any number of business personnel.
