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Top 10 Telephone Skills
Help your staff build great telephone skills
using these Top 10 tips
-by Cathy Warschaw
Great telephone skills are the building blocks of every practice and it is easy to see why. Many of the important experiences that your existing, new, and potential patients are having are based upon the level of customer service they are receiving from your staff while on the phone. Staff that can use their telephone skills to effectively deliver excellent service will grow and maintain a thriving practice.
Top 10 Skills
1. Telephone Responsibility – It is important to identify and clarify whose role it is to answer the phone to avoid confusion and chaos.
2. The Greeting – It is much more than a “hello” or “good morning.” Use your greeting to warmly welcome existing and potential patients to your practice.
3. Telephone Etiquette – It’s not so much “what you say,” but “how you say it,” that truly matters to your patients – continue to provide important information but focus on the delivery.
4. Scheduling Appointments – Make sure your staff knows how to schedule those appointments – don’t take it for granted that they already know!
5. Placing Callers on Hold – Establish a customer-friendly manner to place callers on hold without offending the customer.
6. Transferring Calls – Don’t leave the caller hanging: let him or her know when and why you are transferring their call to another staff member.
7. Leaving and Taking Messages – Identify what an appropriate message is to leave for a patient, as well as, how to gather all the necessary information when taking a message for other staff.
8. Handling the Unhappy Caller – It is important that staff keep their own cool when talking with an unhappy caller and work towards a mutually acceptable answer to the caller’s concern.
9. Handling Tough Questions – Recognize how much information is okay to provide and when it is time to seek the assistance of a more seasoned staff member.
10. Personal Calls – There really is no time that is acceptable for staff to make and receive personal calls. This behavior communicates to the patient that staff time is more valuable than the customer’s – a big put-off!
In Short…
Do not ignore the significance of a staff that possesses great telephone skills. Review the Top 10 skills with your staff on a regular basis and train new staff as a part of their employee orientation. Your practice will continue to thrive with every ring of the telephone.