Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number: What you need to know for your system
In July 2020, a potentially life-saving law was signed into effect to help prevent suicides. The three-digit emergency number is 9-8-8. It’s a wonderful idea and will hopefully help many people.
In July 2020, a potentially life-saving law was signed into effect to help prevent suicides. The three-digit emergency number is 9-8-8. It’s a wonderful idea and will hopefully help many people.
However, 988 is also a prefix for many area codes including local numbers in our 530 and 707 area. How does your business acclimate?
9-8-8 vs 988
Because 988 is a prefix for several locations, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated 10-digit dialing NATIONWIDE. Ten-digit dialing starts on April 24 and will be mandatory by October 24, 2021. At that point, a call will not be completed unless the full 10-digit phone number is used. 988 goes live July 16, 2022.
What you need to do
Modify speed dials/call forwarding. Anyone using one-touch buttons, speed dial bins or programmed offsite forwarding will need to adjust to include the full 10-digit number.
Modify ARS. Sites with PRI or SIP Trunk programs will need to be adjusted.
Modify existing phone systems. Many phone systems have been programmed to send seven-digit local numbers, dropping the area code. Now the area code is needed.
Test with your Carrier. Some carriers will also need the +1 added. We have seen this in Sacramento, California, where 10-digit dialing has already been activated.
Expand your emergency numbers list. Gaynor Telesystems recommends that your company considers adding 9-8-8 to the list of emergency numbers that automatically trigger notifications to the authorities. In fact, Mitel is planning on adding this number to the default database.
Gaynor Telesystems is available to help with whatever support you may need.
Please contact us for additional information.
For more information, review these resources:
The 3 Cs Of An Effective Business Phone System
Have you ever paused to think about your phone system, its purpose and contribution? It’s hard to get philosophical and reflective about a communication system because often it’s just another tool we take for granted to help us do our jobs.
Have you ever paused to think about your phone system, its purpose and contribution? It’s hard to get philosophical and reflective about a communication system because often it’s just another tool we take for granted to help us do our jobs.
Business phone systems traditionally haven’t been considered much beyond their ability to connect callers. For most businesses, telecom is a line item on an expense budget—no thought is given to how the technology can actually help improve your company’s bottom line.
The truth is, your business phone system should be considered one of the most important assets in your company. It’s not just a tool for connecting calls; it’s a tool for creating and building relationships and for improving productivity.
When choosing the ideal system for your company, look for the three Cs: communication, collaboration and control. Each are important elements and should be considered carefully in your purchasing decision.
Communication
It’s not just dial tone or voicemail. An effective system will have robust calling features that enhance the user experience, such as personalized call handling and presence, conferencing, voicemail to email, interactive voice response voicemail access and more. Integration with third-party business systems, such as integration with CRM systems, can further enhance the user experience and create a top-notch customer experience as well.
Above all, the system must be simple to operate, so your employees can get the most out of their communications environment.
Collaboration
A good system also includes collaboration tools that are not only seamless to the communications experience but also easy to use. Instant messaging, web and audio conferencing, peer-to-peer video chat, desktop sharing and file transfer capabilities can increase your employees’ productivity by giving them the tools they need to communicate beyond voice, effectively and easily.
Control
For some businesses that don’t want to manage their business phone system, a cloud system is a good option. ShoreTel has the same robust functionality in one platform whether for cloud or for onsite, or even a combination of both. Both the CLOUD and ONSITE solutions are end-to-end, as ShoreTel provides the phones, system software and applications. ONSITE is perfect for companies that like to control their apps in-house and have the IT resources to do it, while CLOUD is geared to companies that no longer want to manage their phone system or are light on IT resources.
Your employees need more than just dial tone to communicate effectively. Discover what an onsite unified communications and collaboration environment can do to enhance their productivity. ShoreTel Connect ONSITE is a feature-rich yet cost-effective option that also provides a future path to the cloud while leveraging your onsite investment.
If your current business phone system is missing one of the three C’s, it’s time to see how a new system can help improve your company’s bottom line.
Benefits Of Having Multiple Offices Connected By A Single Office Phone System
Business is booming and your office phone systems are having trouble keeping up. This of course, is a good problem to have, but sooner or later it’s going to catch up with you and your staff. Your company is on target to open up three new locations this year and you don’t want your customer service to suffer. You need to prepare now and move beyond the point of relying on one specific person at a desk.
Business is booming and your office phone systems are having trouble keeping up. This of course, is a good problem to have, but sooner or later it’s going to catch up with you and your staff. Your company is on target to open up three new locations this year and you don’t want your customer service to suffer. You need to prepare now and move beyond the point of relying on one specific person at a desk.
A good place to start is learning the benefits of upgrading your office phone systems to help integrate your multiple-site locations and have the look and feel of one company, instead of feeling like several individual businesses.
Streamlined Communication for Customers
You want the customer experience for your callers to be as seamless as possible. This starts with the ease of having one number to call for your company. An auto attendant feature on your office phones systems can answer each call with a friendly and professional greeting, even when there’s high call volume. It will also provide a phone tree list of options the caller can choose from. The caller will then be routed to the appropriate department - even if it’s at a different site location - and their service won’t be interrupted. Some systems can even be programmed to transfer to other departments when there is high call volume so that the caller speaks to an actual person. Having a single office phone system also allows you to have a centralized voicemail and provides consistency for the company.
Better Interoffice Communication and Accountability
If your company is going to continue to grow, you need communication between all your sites to be as easy as possible. One feature that will help your staff communicate more efficiently and possibly even save you some dollars on your phone bill, is extension to extension dialing. This will allow your staff the ease of dialing an extension to talk with each other when they have a quick question or need to be brought in to a meeting. It also gives staff the ability to easily transfer customers to another department offsite, but be able to give context to the other staff member before they talk to the customer.
Office phone systems that have call recording and accounting features provide you with valuable information on how your phone system is being used – or misused. You might be a company that wants to record calls so you have accurate records for each call in case a dispute happens; or maybe you need to record calls for legal reasons. You might be looking for a way to better evaluate your sales team; or be able to clearly identify how employees are utilizing their time for both business and non-business purposes.
Centralized Management
Nobody will be happier about the ability to maintain and service your office phone systems from one central location than your IT department. All of your applications, such as centralized voicemail, call center activity, and call recording and accounting, can be implemented using a single source of technology instead of paying for service at each individual site. This will be more cost-effective for your bottom line and keep your business running as efficiently as possible.
Each business has its own multi-site challenges and at Gaynor Telesystems we work with you to understand your options and make sure you’re partnered with an office phone systems vendor who will help you work toward a solution, meeting your needs today and setting you up for continued growth tomorrow.