Researchers have proven that telephone conversations of managers, employees and specialists take from 4 to 27% of working time. With all that, the phone is one of the most basic technical irritants in the service. It is necessary to be able to use the office (work) phone in order to fully realize the opportunities that the phone provides and at the same time minimize the damage to other work processes. The culture of telephone communication is an indispensable and obligatory element of a person’s business qualities. First of all, it concerns business conversations. The culture of telephone communication must and can be learned.
Here are some recommendations of a socio-psychological nature on how to use the phone in professional activities:
one. If you are doing very urgent work that cannot be delayed:
a) do not answer calls at all;
b) pick up the phone and politely answer: “Please, call me after so much time. I’m busy with urgent business”.
2. If there is only one telephone for an office in which several people work, then it will be most correct if it is rearranged one by one on each desktop. This will distribute the “burden of communication”, will greatly reduce the nervousness with each new call.
3. Many people reflectively raising their voice when the interlocutor is poorly audible on the phone and prevent other employees from working. In this case, you need to ask the person who called you to speak louder, and also ask if he can hear you well.
four. When answering a phone call, it is necessary to replace reviews of a neutral nature such as “Hello”, “I’m listening”, “Yes” with more specific and informative ones: “Russian Post”, “Sidorov”, “HR Department”, “Pribor Plant”. This saves time, as it eliminates possible errors and confusion and immediately sets the tone for business communication.
5. If the caller needs an employee who is absent at the moment, then you should not simply answer “he is not there”, but give a more specific answer: “He left, call back after so much”, or “He is not. It will be then. Can you give him something??». If you are asked for something at this moment, then you need to write down the request on paper and put it on the table, the absent colleague, without relying on your memory.
6. Always write down the phones you need for work indicating the surname, name, patronymic, address of the institution, its name, business that needs to be done related to this phone, organization or person. In this case, you must adhere to the following rules: you can not delay the interlocutor and make an entry in the calendar. After that, after finishing the conversation on the phone, transfer this entry to where it should be; any phone number, address that occur several times should be entered in a notebook; about once every six months, review your notebook and cross out unnecessary addresses and phone numbers; it is necessary every year or two to change the notebook, the old one, at the same time, do not throw it away.
7. If you need to conduct responsible phone conversations (with senior management, long-distance, etc.).d.), then be sure to think over and write down a list of questions so as not to get confused and not to forget important points in a hurry or excitement.
eight. It is better to call the subscriber after lunch (in the afternoon), if another time is not known. Do not knock it down from the rhythm of work (it is in the first half of the working day that all the main problems are most successfully solved).
9. Be ethical when talking on the phone. They prescribe that before starting a conversation, always identify yourself, even if the interlocutor initially knows with whom he will communicate.
ten. Telephone conversations should be conducted in a polite and friendly manner. A rude answer given in a tactless form (even if it is complete and exhaustive) harms the authority of both the employee and the organization in which he works. All this has a negative effect on the essence of the matter.
eleven. If you are a leader and have your own secretary, then oblige him to remember the circle of organizations and persons with whom you need to be connected at one time or another. The secretary must know the nature of those issues that are within the competence of the head, other employees of this organization and direct the subscriber to the appropriate employee.
12. If the recorder is connected to the phone, then this accelerates the record of the telephone messages and avoid errors.
