In today’s competitive market, businesses prioritizing efficient call handling gain a significant edge by delivering superior customer service and operational efficiency. Indeed, it is no secret that addressing customer inquiries and concerns enhances the customer experience and fosters loyalty and repeat business.
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This blog post focuses on call parking, a call-handling feature many organizations have used for a long time. For those of you who do not know about call parking or have never used it, this blog is for you.
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What is Call Parking?
Call parking is a call-handling feature that allows a user to temporarily hold a phone call in a designated parking spot, also known as an extension, enabling someone else to pick up the call from any location or device with access to the parked call. Calls never have to go to voicemail, and employees never have to run from one end of a building to another to retrieve their calls at their desks.
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For example, the front desk receives a call for Sherry, the product manager. Sherry is preoccupied with a coworker in another department. The call is parked while the front desk asks the department to let Sherry know she has a call at a specific extension. Sherry can answer the call from any device with access to her parked call. For customers, being parked is the same experience as being on hold. They listen to music or announcements until someone picks up the call.
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What Call Parking is Not
Call holding, call transfer, and forwarding are all call management features. Still, they differ from call parking in how they handle and manage phone calls.
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Call holding places a call on hold. The call is held on the same line from which it originated, and it can usually only be retrieved by the individual who placed it on hold. The call on hold cannot be answered from another phone.
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Call transfer is employed when redirecting an active call from your extension to a specific destination. It could be to another employee, department, or voicemail. Suppose you are using blind transfer. Once you redirect the call to another extension, the call is no longer accessible on your line. With an attended transfer, once you consult with the receiving party and transfer the call, it is no longer available on your line. Lastly, with call transfer, a person cannot answer a call on any phone.
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Finally, call forwarding redirects a call to a specific destination. Ultimately, the choice between the different call management features used is dictated by each call.
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The Top Benefits of Call Parking
Although many benefits come with call parking, here are two top benefits. The first is flexibility in call routing. Call parking offers greater flexibility in call routing by allowing calls to be parked at various extensions within an organization and retrievable on different devices. This flexibility is precious in organizations with hybrid and remote employees, complex call flows, and multiple departments. Take mobile or remote workers using the Deltapath Mobile app. They can retrieve their parked calls on their smartphones. When a call is parked, the employee receives a push notification and an instant message with the call parking details. Employees can pick up a call from the dial pad screen where the parked call extension is flashing red or from a speed dial list if one is available. Having the call parking feature as part of a business mobile app is just another way organizations are molding to the modern workplace.
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For customers, one of the top benefits is reduced call handling time. Call parking makes it easier for employees to retrieve their calls, meaning customers spend less time on hold. Reduced wait time reduces call abandonment rates. This, in turn, means more customers’ issues are getting addressed and resolved, positively impacting customer experience. Ultimately, there is a domino effect with positive outcomes when call handling time is reduced.
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Other Nice to Have Functionalities with the Call Parking Feature
Other call parking functionalities may be useful depending on your organization’s needs.
- Park an incoming call if you are already on a call. The next available person can pick up.
- A communal parking spot is useful because multiple people have access to the parked call, which increases the likelihood of the call being answered faster. Communal Parking is common in call centers.
- Call Parking can be part of a routing menu for your Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. Available agents retrieve the parked calls.
- Some calls can be parked with a note for when additional information is needed. The message can, for instance, help others determine which agent group should be responsible for the call.
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In conclusion, although call parking is just another call-handling feature, it can significantly impact organizations. It contributes to increased employee productivity by streamlining call-handling processes. Furthermore, efficient call handling minimizes call abandonment rates, ensuring that potential business opportunities are not lost due to long wait times or customers hitting voicemail dead ends.
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Do You Have Questions?
Contact Deltapath to discuss further how Call Parking can help your organization. If you already use the call parking feature and want to bring it to your employees’ smartphones, check out Deltapath Mobile or contact Deltapath.
