Why the Desk Phone is Alive and Well

For decades, the desk phone was a staple in office life. Now that the smartphone has taken up the mantle of modern communications, many people believe the desk phone has finally reached the end of the line. If you’re part of this group, there’s no reason to think otherwise.  After all, with texting and email at our fingertips, video conferencing via Zoom, plus messaging apps like Slack - there is no shortage of communication methods when the desk phone is out of the picture.

Not so fast…

Yesterday’s landline might be out, but desk phones continue to provide more utility and modern features than ever.

Before we lose you, let's go over a few of the benefits you’ll get from giving the desk phone a second look.

Today's Phones Offer More Features Than Ever

People think of the desk phones as becoming obsolete, but often, they’re not considering the full scope of what today’s desk phones can do.

With features like live call data, in-depth menu options, call recording, and call monitoring - phones are no longer a standalone solution. Today's desk phone is a critical element of your strategic technology stack.  

When your company installs a telephone system, you’ll have access to more than voicemail, caller ID, and call forwarding. Your desk phone becomes part of a much more comprehensive cloud solution that enables you to integrate with other devices, locations, and software applications.

Desk Phones Provide Service You Can Count on

Smartphones almost have us covered, but we’re not entirely out of the woods when it comes to dropped connections or poor call quality.

These things are unacceptable in a business setting, meaning, like it or not, a desk phone offers a certain level of insurance against calling disasters. The fact of the matter is, the connection and resulting call quality is more reliable from a desk phone than from a mobile device.

Another thing to keep in mind is battery life. When the cell phone is the central hub of business activity, there’s a lot of demand on the machine, and employees are left jockeying for outlet access or dealing with dying batteries.

Related Article: How to Prevent Downtime on Your Phone System During a Power Outage

Desk Phones Boost Productivity

Our mobile phones are distracting. An understatement, to be sure.

What starts as a quick client call can turn into a rabbit hole of checking email, social media, and scrolling through the news.

And, they don’t even need to be turned on to eat into your productivity.

According to The Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, even when turn our phones off, their mere presence can keep us from thinking clearly.

By providing workers with desk phones, you can cut back on the amount of time spent fighting the siren song of the smartphone.

Desk Phones Work With Other Communication Tools

The modern workplace supports several working styles—like flexible hours, remote work, travel, or ditching the assigned seating.

Some business owners might say, “why should I waste money on a desk phone my employees won’t use?”

But using a desk phone isn’t an either/or situation.

Workers often prefer using a desk phone when conducting longer calls when they’re in the office, due to the reliable connection and comfortable headset.

When employees are not in the office, they’ll need a system that allows them to use their office phone number to stay in contact, no matter where they are.

Today’s PBX systems let workers use their work number and voicemail that syncs with all devices.

We don't deny that social media, email, and chat haven’t changed the communication game. It’s just hard to make the case that the desk phone is irrelevant only because it now shares space with all of these other options.

A business phone, in 2019 and beyond, must work across devices and locations. When you take the desk phone into the cloud, you bring all communications into a centralized, internet based platform.

Centralized communications are becoming the norm. With Telzio you can read all your voicemails from your email inbox, get missed call notifications in Slack, and automatically download call recordings onto your Google Drive.

The benefits of cloud based phone systems are numerous, and include the following:

•    Increased transparency enables everyone is on the same page

•    Collaboration is accessible from anywhere - providing context that helps teams build relationships

•   Time saved that would otherwise be spent switching between applications and devices

•   Prevention of siloed information by department - instead, presenting a 360-degree view of business activity

Integrations Add Even More Value

Whoever said that desk phones are on the way out hasn't seen what they can do these days. And, one of the most useful features you'll find with a cloud-based VoIP system is their ability to integrate with a wide range of workplace tools.

You might opt to sync your phone system with a CRM or G Suite. This interconnectivity allows employees heightened visibility across multiple channels - so they never lose track of where they left off with a colleague or client.  

You can log calls and store recordings in a CRM, view analytics over time, and share insights via email.

What's more, integrations allow employees full functionality no matter where they are - this means empowering workers who head to the office on Monday, go to a conference for a few days, and finish of the week working from home.

It’s Time to Rethink the Desk Phone

At Telzio, we believe that the desk phone can still play a vital role in the modern business. What people get wrong about office phones is that all they do is make and receive calls.

Modern workers still need the reliability of a desk phone, but also the mobility and call routing features that enable them to do their job from anywhere. The Telzio Mobile App and The Telzio Webphone brings together the desk phone, mobile device, and computer. And, a user-friendly web interface presents a dashboard view of all activity and Call Flows.

Workers can text through the app on the go, then switch to SMS in the web browser when they're back in the office.

While everyone has their own preferred set of communication tools, the desk phone's use as a flexible hub makes it an underrated office MVP.