When setting up my home office, I realized selecting the right telephone for my home office would be critically important. With all of the choices out there, I had to know which telephones would be right.
So, how to select my work from home phone? Your initial telephone contact with a new client or employer will be one of their first experiences you have together, so making a good impression is very important. In addition to reliability and sound quality, important features are call forwarding and conference calls, as well as others that help improve your job performance.
Some companies will provide home workers with equipment. However, most will allow you to select what works best for you, provided it satisfies their particular requirements. Some companies do not require any phone line because the connection is all done through the internet. However, this article discusses the phone you will need in the office, as you will need to satisfy multiple clients.
7 Features Needed in a Work from Home Phone
- Caller ID
- Speed Dial
- Conference calling
- Call Forwarding
- Voicemail to Email Transcription
- Do Not Disturb
- Telemarketer Block
Every potential client for your work from home business may have specific needs. When setting up your home office you will need a dedicated landline. Some will require a corded phone, so that is another potential consideration. If you are making or receiving calls directly from your computer rather than a telephone network you will need a softphone, which provides that ability. Depending on the quality and features you choose, a work from home phone may cost under $30 to several hundred dollars. No matter which phone you choose, the most important features will include:
Caller ID
Although most phone these days have caller ID, a few still do not. Make certain your office phone has caller ID. Preferably, you should have a phone with a large screen that will allow you to easily read the incoming telephone number.
Speed Dial
Another feature that many, but not all phones have is speed dial. While this is another simple convenience on your home or cell phone, it becomes a major time saver when you are making a huge number of calls while operating your business. You may find out to your chagrin if the office phone you just purchased lacks this simple feature. Even a few seconds of saved time per call eventually adds up when you work from home.
Conference Calling
Being able to speak to more than one person at the same time is an important way to save time and connect with multiple locations. This is much easier than setting up a conference bridge, which is one of those dial-in conferencing numbers. A good conference calling system can connect to more than three numbers simultaneously.
In addition to conference calling, make sure your office phone has a good speaker to allow you to move around the office while remaining connected. Although many phones have a speaker, make certain you have a good one has a good quality speaker. A poor-quality speaker phone is not only very frustrating, it will also leave a bad impression on your callers.
Call Forwarding
The useful convenience of call forwarding can become very important if you are not in the office and would prefer to speak to someone rather than have them leave a voicemail. There are also sometimes calls which are too urgent to leave a message.
The call forwarding feature works by automatically forwarding calls which come to your business phone line to a pre-set number, which would most likely be your cell phone. It can also be set to forward the call to your home phone. A good call forwarding system can be set to more than one alternate phone number. The call will then go to voicemail if you do not answer the alternate number.
Voicemail to Email Transcription
If you should miss a phone call, or are engaged in another important conversation when a message is left, a very convenient feature known as voicemail on email transcription can come to save the day. Instead of having to check your voicemail, which you obviously cannot do when you are on another call, voicemail transcription will use its state-of-the-art voice recognition technology to convert the message to text and then send it to your e-mail. This allows you to read the message right away or later when it is convenient. It is also a time saving device. Instead of having to listen to an entire string of messages until reaching the important one, voicemail to e-mail transcription allows you to move immediately to the message you were waiting for. It also beats notepaper when organizing your messages and keeping the desk neat.
Do Not Disturb
One of the many advantages of working from home is that it can be less distracting than the office. But unfortunately, this freedom to concentrate is far from absolute. The only way to prevent being disturbed by an unwanted call at a particularly inconvenient time is with a do not disturb setting on your phone. When you activate this feature, the telephone will automatically send all incoming phone calls directly to your voicemail, allowing you to concentrate without any interruptions. Do not disturb is infinitely better than just turning your ringer off as it is much more caller friendly by immediately transferring to voice mail and will also be another touch that makes your home office seem even more professional.
Telemarketer Block
You find yourself very annoyed when telemarketers call you at home, but it becomes truly infuriating when they call your home office. The way to avoid this problem is with a telemarketer block feature. This automatically blocks those incredibly annoying computerized sales calls. It recognizes a robocall on the first ring, hangs up automatically, and blocks the number. This prevents future interruptions from that particular source. The millions of robocalls not affected yet will also not bother you as your telemarketer block frustrates all of those potential disruptions.
Another very important feature on every work at home phone is the ability to attach headphones if needed. Make certain your office phone has this capability, and purchase a good pair of headphones.
VOIP Phones
Another option for a business phone is known as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP). This technology allows you to make voice calls using an internet connection rather than a regular phone service. Some VOIP services only allow you to speak to others who use the same service, but others allow you to call any telephone number. Some services require you to use your computer or a special VOIP phone, others allow you to use a regular phone if it is connected to a VOIP adapter. If you use your computer, you will need some software and an inexpensive microphone. Special VOIP phones plug directly into your broadband connection and operate largely like a traditional telephone. If you use a telephone with a VOIP adapter, you’ll be able to dial just like a regular telephone.
One of the advantages of using VOIP is you may also be able to avoid paying for both a broadband connection and a traditional telephone line. However, a major drawback is not all VOIP services allow you to connect with traditional phones. VOIP also may not allow you to connect directly to 911 and may not offer directory assistance or telephone book listings. Additionally, not all businesses will allow you to use VOIP.
Related Questions
Is a Landline more reliable than a Cell Phone?
The most important differences between a landline and cell phone involve both reliability, security, and sound quality. Landlines are better because:
- Landline phone calls sounds better than a cell phone
- Landline offers enhanced security
- You might not save much when you drop home-phone service (bundled services)
- Landline phone can improve your cell reception
Landlines provide a much better user experience and have greater reliability. You certainly do not want to drop a business call or be concerned about poor signal quality.
The Company Says It Provides Equipment. So, Why Do I Need A Landline?
Some companies will provide home workers with equipment. This would seem to answer the question about whether your own landline is necessary, but that is not always so. Most likely, you are not going to have only one employer for your work at home career, so why limit yourself? Many people who work from home have more than one client at a time, so it may not even be a question of waiting until you switch jobs to get your own landline office telephone.