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Phone is the most demanding channel to staff. Five questions to answer before you publish a number, including what your network has to carry.
1. Who answers, and when
A call cannot wait in a queue the way an email can. Either somebody is there or the caller hears something else, and both are decisions.
Be honest about the hours. A number that greets a caller at half past four and then disconnects them does more damage than one with narrower published hours.
2. What happens when nobody is available
Voicemail, a message, or a menu directing them elsewhere. All are reasonable. Configuring none of them is not: with voicemail off and no overflow number, the caller hears your voicemail-off greeting and the call is then disconnected.
Whatever you choose, it should say when they will hear back, and that should be true.
3. How many people you need
Phone is exclusive: one call per agent, no multitasking. Two agents cover very little, because both being on calls means the third caller waits with nobody to reach.
Work from expected volume and call length rather than hoping.
4. Whether you record
Recording helps with quality and disputes, and it comes with obligations: telling callers, storing the recordings, and handling requests about them. Decide before you switch it on, not after somebody asks.
5. Whether the network can carry it
The question nobody asks until the first call breaks up. Zendesk requires 500 kbps per agent providing voice support, dedicated: fifty agents means a 25 Mbps line for voice alone.
Then make everything wired. A wired network with Wi-Fi turned off gives better results, and wired 3.5 mm headsets beat Bluetooth. If your team works through a VPN or a proxy, that needs configuring for voice rather than being left to chance, and on Windows, DSCP tags let voice packets go first.
A practical detail worth passing on: when a call sounds bad, closing the streaming apps is the first thing to try, before anybody opens a ticket. The full list of ports, addresses and browser requirements is in the network article, and it is what your network administrator will ask for.
The honest question underneath
Whether phone is the right channel at all. It is the most expensive to staff and the best for complicated or emotional conversations. Offering it because it seems expected, without staffing it, is worse than not offering it.
Working out whether phone fits your team? Tell us your volumes and hours and we will help you think through the staffing before you commit to a number.
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