VoIP Phone Features – Explained

Conference bridge is a common VoIP feature that allows users to hold audio meetings with dozens, sometimes hundreds, of participants through computers, smartphones, or any internet-connected device with a microphone. Conference bridge is fantastic for remote teams, as it lets them work collaboratively even when they are physically apart.

Video chat is a valuable business phone feature that lets multiple people join virtual meetings to both hear and see each other.  On top of that, most solutions allow for screen sharing, which is useful for sharing important documents and other information with team members.

Many remote teams use video conferencing to stay in touch every single day. However, if you want to hold video conferences over your VoIP system, it’s worth noting that you will need a fast, stable internet connection to accommodate all of that data.

Whether you are looking to change services or you’re in the market for a new system entirely, we recommend trying out our free VoIP speed test tool. Check out our in-depth VoIP speed test article for more details.

Short message service (SMS) features allow you to send and receive text messages on your business phone. Having this additional channel is helpful, as many of today’s customers prefer to communicate over text because it is quick and discrete. It is also useful for any business that wants to set up text marketing campaigns.

Hot desk (also known as hoteling or share device) is a popular telephony module in which users log into a shared desk phone to access personalized profiles and configurations. It’s a useful way to let employees access their own voicemail and other features from any office phone, and it saves you the cost of having to invest in individual hardware. It is also suitable for environments where individual staff have low personal call volumes.

Call monitoring empowers your managers to listen in on conversations. This functionality helps for training and data-gathering purposes, and it also empowers your managers to know more about how each conversation is handled.

Call whispering empowers you to listen in on your agent conversations and whisper in their ear when they need a little help. Only the agent can hear your whisper—not the customer on the other end of the call. This feature helps you train employees or guide underperforming agents by reminding them about best practices or ongoing promotions.

If you’re monitoring an agent’s call and the whispering alone isn’t doing the trick, you can enter the conversation and start communicating with call barge-in. This feature can be disruptive, but sometimes it’s necessary to undo a wrong or prevent a sale from falling apart.

Call analytics help you collect, store, and analyze real-time and historical call data. This data can help inform you about agent and call performance so that you can make data-backed decisions to improve your program or call center.

Call parking is a popular feature that enables you to place an active call on hold so that you can continue the conversation on another phone extension. This functionality allows you to switch devices, transfer the call, or give yourself some time before answering a call.

Music on hold empowers you to play generic or custom music for your customers who are waiting for an agent.