Since we began our work-from-home journeys last year, one communication mode has taken the spotlight: video. It’s often cited as one of the biggest reasons companies survived the pandemic. After all, face-to-face is the best form of collaboration, right?
It’s hard to deny all of the positive impacts video has had on building human connections. The ability to see faces behind a computer screen has tremendous impacts on building relationships and teamwork.
Yet, human connections in a hybrid world requires more than just video meetings. For starters, meetings with video are often planned and scheduled—like weekly check-ins, for example. But what about urgent and impromptu requests that don’t require video? And what when endless meetings cause video fatigue?
In many scenarios, phone calls still reign supreme. Whether you need a quick response from a colleague or want to check up on a client, phone calls are the easiest way to connect in a lightweight way we’re all familiar with.
But phone calls aren’t just a thing of the past. In RingCentral MVP, our phones do much more than make calls. They include several enterprise-grade features that help you work your way.
Here are a few features to check out:
1. Click to call from a conversation
Team messaging is a quick and easy way to get a colleague’s attention, but oftentimes those conversations turn into something that requires a more in-depth discussion.
In RingCentral MVP, switching from a messaging conversation to a phone call is just a click away. Every conversation in MVP has a phone icon to call the colleague you’re chatting with. Clicking the icon calls the colleague and opens up a new window with several meeting controls.
When phone calls are just a click away, there’s no need to switch apps to dial a colleague. All of your messages and calls are done within one unified platform.
2. Switch from a phone call to a video call
What about when a phone call requires deeper collaboration than simply using audio? Maybe a quick project update turns into an impromptu screen share, or maybe you simply want to turn your cameras on.
In the middle of a phone call, you can switch from a phone call to a video call—also with a single click. The Video button instantly converts the phone call into a RingCentral video meeting, complete with all of the features of a regular video meeting.
3. SMS/MMS text messaging
We’re accustomed to sending text messages from our personal smartphones, but for many reasons, that won’t do in a business setting. For example, users want to use their business numbers to communicate with colleagues and clients.
In RingCentral MVP, you can send SMS/MMS messages directly from your RingCentral apps and across all devices (desktop, mobile, tablet). Each text message can contain up to 1,000 characters and uses your own unique business phone number to send and receive messages.
All of your information—text messages, multimedia, fax, contacts list—are grouped together, allowing you to stay within the RingCentral app experience.
4. Visual voicemail
Many of us are glued to our work phones every day juggling colleagues, clients, and partners. Answering every call is simply impossible. That’s when our voicemails pile up with audio messages—sometimes to overwhelming amounts.
Visual voicemail automatically converts the audio into text, giving you the option to read instead of listening to an entire audio clip. Think of it as turning your voicemail messages into SMS texts, where you can easily scan through all of your voicemails in an instant.
5. Call Flip
As we increasingly work from anywhere, it’s vital that our phone calls travel with us—wherever we go. Say you’re on a phone call on your laptop at home but need to head to the office. Do you disconnect your call and redial from your phone?
In RingCentral MVP, Call Flip lets you switch devices with a single click—without ever disconnecting the call. The option becomes available once you’re in a phone call and have two devices with the RingCentral app open. Simply click on the popup menu and you’re good to go.
Originally published Oct 21, 2021, updated Jan 18, 2023
