Sharing Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) circuits is one typical area of saving money. By combining all the telephone lines from several offices into one shared pool of circuits (typically a PRI), companies may save hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars each month. However, these benefits may come with work force safety and corporate liability exposure.

For 911 services to function properly, each office must minimally have its own unique telephone number that is transmitted to the PSTN when 911 is dialed. That unique number must be associated with the address of the office dialing 911 and the Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) must be able to route the call to the appropriate 911 center. All these pieces are more than likely NOT in place. Frequently, it is an issue of the LEC not being able to match unique addresses to multiple DID numbers on the same circuit and connect the calls to the appropriate 911 center for each address.

Unsuccessful 911 calls may cause many problems for an employer. First responders may go to the wrong address which could jeopardize life and property damage. Health issues, amplified by slow response, may place the employer in legal peril. Employees may feel unsafe or expendable, damaging employee goodwill.

Fortunately, SIP trunks from Hosted PBX and other Hosted VoIP providers solve this problem. SIP trunks can be the primary connection to the PSTN for a telephone system. They can also serve as back-up trunks or remote office 911-only service.

Ideally, the telephone system should have an alternate outbound Caller Identification for each extension should it dial 911. The CID number matches to the physical address for that extension. Hosted PBX and Hosted VoIP providers will route the call to the appropriate 911 center for the address. First responders can act efficiently and quickly when the call reaches the 911 center with the correct address which may minimize damage to life and property while reducing corporate liability.

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As companies cut back to respond to current economic times, receptionists are burdened with even more responsibility. Managing multiple calls and greeting visitors at the door diminishes the patient attention they are expected to give. Stress from the additional responsibilities may change their tone from kind and motherly to “I need to get you out of my way.”

Here is a list of 7 ways the telephone system improves a caller’s experience and give the receptionist more time for other duties:

1. Calls to departments should be transferred to Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) Groups and distributed to the next available or longest idle representative. Receptionists frequently perform the same functionality as an ACD which can be time consuming and perceived poorly by the caller. An example is the service department at a car dealership. The caller calls and asks for service. The receptionist places the call on hold while she pages and hunts for a service representative. She frequently returns to the caller with words similar to “Let me page for them again.”

ACD automatically stacks callers like a teller line at the bank and efficiently distributes them to the longest idle or first available representative. The receptionist simply transfers the call to the ACD group and is done.

2. Give the most frequently called employees and departments Direct Inward Dialed (DID) numbers. DID numbers are 10 digit telephone numbers that can be published or private. By dialing the “Direct” number, callers skip the receptionist and go straight to the person or department of their choice. DID numbers remove call volume of the company’s most frequent callers from the receptionist and enhances perceived customer service to the caller. DID numbers are affordable to any company of any size. Even small companies can economically benefit from DID numbers with VoIP services such as SIP Trunking, Hosted VoIP, Hosted PBX and Virtual PBX services.

3. Use voicemail system for taking messages. Taking handwritten messages is time consuming and tedious work for the receptionist. Most callers prefer leaving messages in voicemail system as they can give more information, know their message will be accurate and believe it will be promptly delivered. Voicemail systems actually improve a caller’s perception of the company assuming the caller can “zero out” to a live person as needed.

4. Combine multiple office locations into one communications system. Companies with multiple office locations employ primary call handlers at each location. Using Hosted VoIP, Hosted PBX and VoIP telephone systems, all offices can be unified behind one single communications platform. Call handling can be centralized. Individual offices no longer need to employ their own receptionist.

5. Use station status indicators such as Busy Lamp Field (BLF). Station status indicators tell call handlers who is busy on the phone, saving them valuable time in locating personnel.

6. Answer primary or secondary numbers with Automated Attendants. Automated Attendants can answer primary published number or secondary numbers allowing frequent callers to self-direct to the party of their choosing. Automated Attendants can relieve 50-75% of the call traffic from the receptionist.

7. Use Mobile PBX to complete calls to mobile employees. Mobile PBX links desk phones and mobile phones together through Hosted PBX and Hosted VoIP services as well as some VoIP telephone systems. By seamlessly completing calls to employees on their desk phone or cell phone, the receptionist will take fewer messages and callbacks. More importantly, customer service will improve dramatically.

As companies trim staff and reduce expenses, receptionists must juggle more calls, visitors and duties. Implementing one or more of these communications services can reduce the burden on the primary call handler, improve customer service and frequently reduce telecommunications or other expenses.

SIP trunking is not limited to newer telephone systems that can accept them directly. Older telephone systems can use a SIP trunk with the aid of an integration box. Here is a list of SIP trunk benefits that most any telephone system can take advantage:

1. Direct Inward Dial (DID) DID is a telephone number that rings directly to a desk phone or a department. The number can be published on business cards, the Internet and directories or it can be private. Older telephone systems require expensive circuits or telephone lines for DID. Newer digital systems can handle DID with the use of a Primary Rate Interface (PRI) circuit. Although PRIs are an efficient way to take advantage of DIDs, they can be costly for telephone systems of 20 phones or less. SIP trunks can provide DIDs economically for very small phone systems.

2. Publish Local Numbers in other Market Areas The 10 digit telephone numbers that point to SIP trunks are not limited by geographical areas. A telephone system located in Dallas could have local numbers on its SIP trunk from Dallas, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. Someone calling the local Chicago telephone number would have no idea that they are talking to someone in Dallas.

3. Stop Guessing at the Required Number of Telephone Lines Most businesses with older phone systems almost always guess at the number of telephone lines that they need. The penalty for guessing wrong is paying too much for too many lines or losing business and frustrating callers with too few. Although many SIP trunk services are priced base upon the number of concurrent calls that they will pass, the price point for each path is significantly less than traditional service. In addition, many SIP trunk providers can advise on whether a business has the correct number of concurrent call paths.

4. Back-Up Circuits Companies that experience periods of heavy call volume or cannot afford to be without telephone service can employ SIP trunks as back-up. SIP Trunks affordable price makes them a better alternative than other options. If the Internet provider is a cable company or wireless ISP, SIP trunks can also offer a diverse cable route into the building since they are delivered over the Internet.

5. Disaster Recovery SIP trunk providers deliver their service from ‘soft’ switches that are far more flexible than the large hardware central office switches of large telephone companies. Beyond providing a diverse cable route into the business, many SIP trunk providers can automatically re-route calls to other 10 digit telephone numbers including mobile phones in the event they lose contact with their customer. Further, they can process calls through automated attendants and voicemail at their Point of Presence (POP).

6. Unlimited Long Distance SIP trunk services are delivered with a wide variety of price packages. Businesses can easily find a package that will meet their needs. Some packages include unlimited domestic long distance within the Continental United States. SIP trunks can be used for outbound long distance calls only, turning exorbitant long distance bills into a flat monthly rate.

7. Quickly Re-configure Service to Meet Changing Needs The ‘soft’ switch architecture of SIP trunk providers allows them to be agile in meeting a changing customer’s needs. They can quickly add and subtract features and concurrent calls paths within hours and without sending a service technician on-site.

SIP trunks can add value and enhance the features of any telephone system including old legacy systems. They adapt quickly, control costs and offer features not available from standard telephone line service. With the aid of integration boxes, any business can start taking advantage of VoIP and its many benefits without changing out their complete telephone system.

Softphone client software is often used with VoIP providers and VoIP business telephone systems.  Many Hosted PBX service providers and IP-enabled CPE hardware systems support softphones using SIP standards as well as proprietary signaling standards.