A professional switchboard is a key component of a business’ communication strategy.

It keeps calls moving, connects customers to the right people quickly and can set the tone for your whole customer service.

It also helps you avoid using automated call answering and machines to deal with customer enquiries, which can easily leave them frustrated when they think they’re not being dealt with like an actual person.

And with remote workers becoming more popular in many businesses, your switchboard is even more important to connecting people across different locations quickly and efficiently.

So, with so much riding on your switchboard, you might think it’s the kind of function you want to bring in-house.

But outsourcing your switchboard management can actually make more sense and even save your business money.

Why outsourced switchboard management could be right for you:

1 – It can save you money

When most people think about outsourcing they automatically assume it will cost more than bringing the work in-house because they’re hiring a specialist skill.

The reality of outsourcing your switchboard is different.

This is because you only pay for the service you use and can usually scale your resources up and down to meet the demand you have. That’s compared to hiring in-house switchboard operators, when you’ll have to pay a fixed amount regardless of how busy you are.

It’s also harder to scale in-house and you can easily end up with a bloated team with nothing to do.

2 – Stay open longer without the excess hours

As a business you may make more sales outside the normal 9-5 work hours.

Especially when your customers don’t have time in the day because they’re at work.

But you also don’t want to be working every hour of the day trying to serve customers outside your normal hours.

By outsourcing your switchboard, you can extend your opening hours (and even add weekend phone cover) without committing all your time.

With Face For business for example, you can increase your weekday call answering hours to 8am-8pm, on Saturday from 9am-5:30pm and on Sunday from 10am-4pm.

This means your business can continue to operate for longer hours, while you can still spend time at home.

3 – Benefit from a professional service

The majority of employees don’t receive any training on how to use phone systems, even when it’s a key part of their job, according to a recent study we conducted.

This can lead to a number of problems.

Customers might get transferred to the wrong person, they might get cut off altogether by accident.

All these mistakes leave a black mark against your customer service.

Not to mention your employees might not always answer the phone in the right way, or take accurate messages when they’re rushed and stressed.

With an outsourced switchboard, you get consistency in call answering and customer service.

This ensures you maintain higher levels of service while ensuring customers always get to the person they need to talk to, or that messages are taken and delivered accurately.

4 – Scale your resources faster

When using an in-house switchboard, it’s not easy to scale your resources.

To add resources you have to publish job ads, interview people and go through a potentially long selection process. And during all this time your needs might be growing even more.

Then in quieter times, after you’ve hired more people, what do you do when they’re not as busy, but you’re still paying them the same amount. Now you’re paying staff when you could be investing the extra money elsewhere.

On the other hand, by outsourcing your switchboard, you can simply upgrade your services to get more resource when you need it, and then bring your services down again.

It all happens quicker, and means you’re only ever paying for the services you need.

5 – Invest more in growth

When you have employees who are being pulled away from their jobs to answer the phone, every call is essentially removing them from tasks where they could add value.

Not to mention that dealing with phone calls can be stressful, and when employees are rushed they might not answer calls properly.

By removing the need to answer calls and having employees focused on their jobs, you can invest more of your time and effort focusing on the tasks that will grow your business.

In the long-term this can have far more benefits than bringing your switchboard in-house.

6 – Get access to better systems

Unless you’re a switchboard company you likely don’t keep on top of the latest tech trends and developments that improve call management – you’re too busy staying on top of your own industry.

For your in-house call management, this could mean you’re missing out on systems and technology that could further improve your management, and reduce your investment.

Outsourced switchboard providers on the other hand are constantly on top of the latest tech and developments, so you know your switchboard will always operate at an optimal level and be as efficient as possible.

Transform your switchboard management with Face For Business

Outsourcing your switchboard can make your call management more effective, efficient and professional.

At Face For Business we’ve helped hundreds of businesses set up a professional outsourced switchboard with our team of expert call handlers.

We can help you remove the strains and stresses of call management so you can focus on your business and helping customers.

Want to know more?

Why not get a free consultation and trial and see how an outsourced switchboard works up close