subject: Choosing an Answering Service [print this page] Choosing an Answering Service Choosing an Answering Service
Most small businesses and medical offices feel overburdened, when it comes to office support and reception duties. Phones are constantly ringing, and customers expect to be able to communicate with a representative at any time of the day, not just during regular business hours. One solution that more and more businesses are turning to is that of a third-party answering service. Rather than trying to juggle too many responsibilities in house, there is the option of handing over a large amount of your office admin workload to an external company that specializes in doing just that. This is especially common in busy medical offices, where there is too much work for the current admin staff but not enough to justify another full-time hire.
How do you choose an answering service that's right for your company? There are a few variables that make all the difference, and it's worth keeping these in mind. You'll want to know whether you are billed on an as-needed basis or for 24/7 coverage, whether the company has met the best possible certifications, and whether they outsource their assignments.
The first of those three factors is simple to understand: if you already have reception staff who work daytime hours, you probably don't want to be paying another company during those hours to handle your calls. You want to be charged only for the hours that you aren't already providing for your own telephone answering needs. As a result, you'll want to find an answering service that will work on an as-needed basis, rather than providing a mandatory 24/7 coverage package.
As the people answering your calls say a lot about your business, you want to make sure that any third party organization you work with only has the most professional and courteous people answering phones on your behalf. One thing to look for is what level of certification the organization has, and what guarantees of quality control they have for their workers. If you're a medical office, you'll want an answering service with HIPAA certification. This is the best in class, when it comes to medical answering services.
Finally, it's important to know whether a given company uses its own call receivers, or outsources calls to another company. If your calls are being handed over to a company who them turns around and hands them over to yet another company, you're paying an unnecessary middle-man and losing quality control. Make sure that the service you hire uses in-house staff exclusively.
