Voice response discussions include a range of topics in the workplace.
- Voicemail is a form of voice response. Employee questions can be asked and answered via voicemail. I even find myself thinking of an action item when away from work and then leaving myself a voicemail reminder to do it. Customer questions can be addressed efficiently when voicemail is used effectively. For instance, use your voicemail greeting to train people what to leave: “You’ve reached Jana Kemp. Please leave a detailed message along with your telephone number so that I can call you back.”
- Voice Response at work and in civic organizations is also referred to as a “voice vote” – meaning that a person needs to speak to be heard and counted. Voice votes are allowed in Robert’s Rules of Order and are recorded in the minutes. Informal settings include voice responses in the form of brainstorming, commenting, problem-solving, and voting. Speak up to be heard, respond with your voice.
- Voice Response company answering systems: Over the last decades, more company phones are answered by a computer system programmed to get us the callers to do the job that a friendly human used to do: get us to the right person who or department which can help us. Now however, even the transfer to the right department includes more voice response mechanisms meant to get us to solve our own problems. Personally, I long for the days of human beings answering company telephones.
The good news is that some of these voice response systems work well and efficiently. For instance, when I recently called Discover to apply my earned rebate to my bill, the voice response system did all the work and even gave me a confirmation number. Well done Discover card!
How are the voice response systems in your company working?
Workplace: Managing the moments of our day-to-day business lives takes work. Together, let’s explore what issues and activities affect us every day (or some days) that we go to work. – Jana