Every organization has different needs, challenges, and styles of working. That’s why at Marco, we don’t do cookie-cutter solutions for almost anything. That’s also true for voice solutions. However, when I work with schools that are trying to modernize their communication tools and get more capabilities on a budget, there are a number of features that tend to accomplish those goals well.
In this blog, I’ll explore what I usually recommend for education clients and why.
My Top Recommendations for VoIP Phone Systems for Schools
Above all else, if you’re a school, your phone system absolutely needs to be reliable — even during an emergency. Your system should also help administrative staff save time while remaining attentive to parents. And that system shouldn’t blow your budget or require any heavy lifting from an internal IT person.
Those are my non-negotiables. Now, here are my “nice to haves.”
10 Cloud Phone System Features To Look For
Cloud-based phone systems (also known as VoIP or hosted voice systems) have a number of features that are tailor-made for schools and their needs.If you’re starting to research a new phone system, I’d be specifically looking for these features.
1. Intercom Integration
Many cloud phone systems can integrate with your intercom system, which means you can simplify announcements and communicate more quickly during an emergency.
2. Call Recording
Think of call recording as your school's communication safety net! You can get a reliable record of parent and staff conversations, protecting everyone involved while providing valuable training examples for your staff.
3. Call Analytics
Call analytics can help you identify important patterns, like peak calling times or frequent parent concerns, so you can allocate your resources more effectively or answer more common questions online.
4. Caller ID
Caller ID sounds like a small detail, but it can be surprisingly transformative. Your staff can quickly greet parents by name and start accessing student information before the conversation really begins. And if your staff is busy, caller ID can help them prioritize more urgent calls.
Having caller ID can also help you enhance your security by helping staff screen unknown numbers and identify any concerning patterns of communication.
5. Simple Audio and Video Conferencing
Many cloud voice systems make it much easier to host audio and video conferences. Yes, that’s also a nice option for most businesses, but imagine what it could do for you in terms of hosting virtual parent meetings and collaborating with other colleagues.
Yes, these features make it easier on your staff, but they can make all the difference in the world for parents who’d like to be more involved in their child’s education but who have scheduling or transportation challenges.
6. Real-Time Chat
Talk about meeting families where they’re at — this is a big one! Chat tools make it easier to provide lightning-fast answers to simple questions without the need for phone calls or in-person visits. Both parents and staff members can also multi-task as needed while chatting in real time.
Chat tools are also useful for breaking down language barriers with the help of advanced translation features.
7. Advanced Call Routing
Advanced call routing and transferring features ensure that calls are directed to the appropriate person or department. This enhances efficiency and ensures that inquiries are handled promptly.
8. Voicemail to Email
Listening to and responding to voicemails can take up a lot of time in the morning. The voicemail-to-email feature makes it easier to triage what needs a quick response and what can wait.
9. On-Hold Content
Hold times aren’t ideal, but we don’t live in a perfect world all the time. Hold times can be made less frustrating — and more helpful — by offering on-hold music and school announcements.
10. A Virtual Receptionist
Create a professional first point of contact, even when you’re at your busiest. Your virtual receptionist can make sure every call is answered promptly and is routed where it needs to go during school hours.
After school and on weekends, your virtual receptionist can also tell callers about upcoming school events, weather closures, and more.
Education Communication Solutions That Make the Grade (and Then Some)
Most cloud voice tools will offer you some or all of these features, along with the ability to add or remove them at any time as your needs change and as students leave for summer.
However, one newer communication platform that’s getting a lot more interest from organizations post-pandemic deserves a mention, and that’s unified communications (UC). Just like the name sounds, unified communications unites all forms of communication (voice, video, chat, email) into one platform and also meets important collaboration needs, like file-sharing, project management, and simplified meeting scheduling. And as it turns out, uniting everything into one simple, user-friendly platform can give your staff back over an hour in their day.
It’s not the right solution for everyone, but if saving time is your biggest goal, it’s worth having the conversation.
We do offer a number of cloud voice solutions. If you’re curious about UC, take a minute and check out our offering — Marco’s UnifiedCollaboration.
