IVR in the Workplace

IVR, or Interactive Voice Response, is a very popular feature in business today. Let’s face it, businesses sell things and they need a communication system capable enough to handle many different functions. IVR in the workplace is essential in business commerce and can be the difference between growing your business or not.

IVR in the workplace is already common in most large companies. Many people don’t realize that they already use these systems on a daily basis. Each time you call your credit card, phone, insurance, cable or water company an IVR system kicks on to gather information from you to determine where you need to go. These systems also make it possible for you to update information, choose different services, and be connected to a live person. Companies that need phone handling typically have business units or groups such as:

• Customer Service
• Accounts Payable
• Accounts Receivable
• Loan Center
• IT Helpdesk

It is essential that these groups get their calls routed to the appropriate parties. Also, many people today feel comfortable with processing things themselves through IVR in the workplace. This makes these business units more productive – thus, gaining more profits for the business!

These IVR systems in the workplace are stored on servers that:

• Automatically route calls to associated groups
• Handle multiple incoming calls to one phone number
• Provide voicemail services for clients
• Have call forwarding features
• Have capabilities for conference calling and transferring calls
• Provide self-service processing for callers without having to speak to anyone

Companies can and will benefit greatly from services available for IVR in the workplace. When a company realizes that they have too many incoming calls that they cannot handle the volume, they need to then switch to an IVR in the workplace system. These systems can make it easier for the employees of the organization as well as cut down on costs associated with downtime, slow production, large staff, and loss of business due to missed or lost calls.

IVR is very complicated and needs to be installed and maintained by professionals. The business that sells the IVR in the workplace system will gather all information from the buyer: what features do they need, what features do they not need, and what volume of calls will be coming in and where do they need to go. Also, these companies providing these IVR in the workplace systems will typically hold their clients’ hands through every step of the process.

Another great benefit of IVR in the workplace is capability to measure and manage statistics. Many organizations, especially service oriented organizations, have a certain service level they need to maintain. With IVR in the workplace, all statistics such as lost calls, dropped calls, abandoned calls, calls that were disconnected by the employee, total number of calls daily, weekly, monthly, and annually, are tracked and analyzed. With this feature, the employer will have intimate knowledge of just how their employees are maintaining production numbers.

Back to Articles.