When employees are going away on business trips and holidays, there’s usually time to put cover in place and inform customers. But when sickness strikes, continuing to run a business smoothly can prove more challenging.
Whether absence is planned or unexpected, the ability to adapt and respond to calls can make all the difference when it comes to customer service. In reality, it’s not always so easy; unless someone else is ready and able to man the phone or the number is manually diverted, chances are the customer will have no other option than to leave a voicemail and wait.
However, that assumes the old rules of a traditional phone system are in place. A move to cloud telephony can open up a whole new level of flexibility.
As all calls are handled via an online interface, appropriate cover can be in place with just a few clicks. Let’s explore some of the options for cloud-based absence management:
- If there is one person that can cover his/her absent colleague’s calls, the absentee’s number can simply be redirected to that person.
- Where a range of people are able to respond to calls, each of their phones can be set up to ring, either in a set order or simultaneously.
- If the absent person is part of a department, it’s easy to assign additional department members online. That way, when customers ring that department, the calls are covered and they won’t be left waiting.
- All voicemails and messages left for the absentee can be redirected and handled by others. Customers won’t have to wait for the absent person to return in order to get a response.
The cloud offers complete call handing flexibility. Because calls don’t immediately go to a fixed destination, they can easily and rapidly be redirected.
Therefore, absenteeism no longer has to stand in the way of getting business done.
Originally published Dec 26, 2013, updated Aug 07, 2020
