So you’re looking for a new phone system for your university?
Maybe because you’re facing one of these problems with your current phone system:
- You feel that frequent engaged tones may be leading to frustrated students.
- You’d like a phone system that links to your student management software, such as SITS, so you can greet students by their name and save time.
- You feel that enquiries may not always be dealt with in the best way so you want to monitor and improve the way your staff interact with students.
If so, there’s hope! Yo Telecom has helped hundreds of universities successfully overcome these challenges. In this short article, we’ll outline the differences between the phone systems that are available.
What is the Best Phone System for Universities?
There are three main types of telephone systems available:
- Digital phone systems
- Internet (VOIP – Voice Over Internet Protocol) or cloud-based phone systems
- Hybrid phone systems (the best of both worlds)
I’ll briefly introduce the three and give you the lowdown on the pros and cons of each system and show you which one is the best for your university.
Digital Phone Systems for Universities
A digital phone system is a physical telephone system that is located somewhere in your university. They are small boxes which are usually mounted on a wall or placed in a cabinet. They connect to your phone lines and all the handsets you have in your building. A benefit of a digital phone system is that it’s very reliable. This system ranks #2 out of the three systems in reliability. However, a disadvantage of a digital phone system is that it is restricted to physical phone lines (digital or analogue phone lines). This means it’s not that future-proof.
Internet (VOIP) Phone Systems for Universities
An internet phone system, also known as a VOIP or cloud based phone system, is a virtual phone system which unlike a digital or hybrid system will not be located in your university. Instead, it will be located in a data centre somewhere in the world. A benefit of VOIP systems is that they can save money on call charges. However a disadvantage of VOIP systems is that if your internet goes down, you will not be able to use your phones – at all.
Hybrid Phone Systems for Universities
The hybrid system is a mixture of a digital phone system and an internet (VOIP) phone system. The system will be located in your university and offers flexibility with your choice of cordless and fixed handsets. A benefit of a hybrid phone system is that they offer more reliability than both VOIP and digital phone systems. If one type of line fails for you, it can automatically route calls in and out from a backup line. Hybrid phone systems don’t really have any disadvantages. They truly are the best of both worlds.
The Hybrid Phone is the Best Phone System for Universities
As well as being the most reliable phone system you can buy. Hybrid phone systems also offer a range of other useful features for your university. You can find these listed below;
+ Whole Building Cordless Phone Coverage
Make or receive calls from anywhere in your university. Whether you’re at the front of campus in the reception or a lecturer’s office at the far end of campus – you’ll have a perfect signal to make sure you can respond to your calls wherever you are!
+ Call Logging
Never let an unanswered call turn into a missed opportunity, bad impression or an upset student again. You may miss calls when you’re busy on the phone, helping students, or even when your reception is closed. With the Yo Telecom hybrid phone system you get an instant notification of any missed calls meaning you can call back straight away.
+ Call Waiting
Rather than getting an engaged tone while you’re busy on the phone, your phone system will automatically greet the caller, notify them that you’re busy on the line and then play them some music or marketing while they wait for you. This keeps your caller interested and on the line If your caller is phoning to enquire about applying to your university, engaged tones will give a negative impression of your university and that prospective student might start looking into alternatives.
+ Call Recording
Make calling your university a positive experience, always, by improving and monitoring the way your staff speak to students. If a caller has a bad experience, it can be damaging to your reputation. With Yo Telecom’s call recording you can listen to any call that has been made or received and use it to guide and help staff to improve. It also comes in handy if you ever need to re-listen to information that is given to you over the phone.
+ Call Transfer
Help callers speak to the person they need to, fast! This feature allows easy call transfer throughout your entire university. No longer will your staff have to trek from the front desk to the back office to pass the phone to the principal. With the Yo Telecom hybrid phone system it’s one simple touch of a button to transfer a call to any other handset (cordless or fixed handset).
+ Professional Voicemail
If you can’t answer a call because your reception is closed or you are busy helping students, it’s important that your voicemail is impressive, professional and helpful. If not, your callers will get a bad and unhelpful impression of your university. Yo Telecom’s professional voicemail messages are personalised and recorded specifically for your university, to help you achieve your goals.
+ Smart Inbound Call Routing
Impress your callers with fast service by smartly sending inbound calls to a phone or a group of phones. If the person who usually answers calls is already busy on the phone or doesn’t answer quickly enough, the call will automatically be sent through to another phone. Saving your callers time, and keeping them happy.
Interested in hearing more about our phone systems for Universities? Simply drop your details in the form below and a member of the team will be in touch!
You can also hear how we’ve helped other business’s, directly from our clients, over on our YoTelecom YouTube Channel.
