Businesses need to be reachable whenever and wherever their customers are. That’s where remote call forwarding comes in.
With remote call forwarding, that call can seamlessly be routed to an employee’s mobile phone, their home office, or any other location they’re working from. This keeps your business connected 24/7, ensuring customers always get the help they need. It makes sure that every call is answered professionally, no matter where your team is based.
This guide will explore the concept of remote call forwarding, its benefits, and best practices. Additionally, we will discuss the top five remote call forwarding providers.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Remote call forwarding ensures that users can redirect incoming calls or unanswered calls to alternative numbers for seamless communication.
- It provides numerous benefits, including preventing missed calls, enabling remote work, and enhancing customer service and availability.
- Some of the best practices of remote call forwarding include highlighting your brand, creating short IVR menu, and keeping timeout value.
- KrispCall, Five9, Nice CXone, Talkdesk, and RingCentral are some of the best remote call forwarding software providers.
What is remote call forwarding?
Remote call forwarding is a feature of a phone system that forwards inbound calls remotely to different phone numbers when the first dialed number is unavailable. This feature is especially used by businesses to ensure that no call is missed, allowing businesses to stay connected with clients and customers through various agent locations.
Remote call forwarding provides uninterrupted service by transferring customer phone calls to mobile phones and home devices, including voicemail boxes. This provides a seamless experience and customer support for both agents and customers.
This feature is most useful for businesses when their agents are unavailable, during high call volumes, or for after-hours service. It forward calls from any location to accessible support staff within a given time frame.
Benefits of remote call forwarding
Call forwarding can benefit various organizations, from small startups to large enterprises and extensive call centers, as it enhances operational capabilities and boosts productivity.
Here are some of the key benefits of call forwarding that a business can use:
1. Prevents Missed Calls
Remote call forwarding reduces customer waiting time and prevents missed calls. It ensures that if a customer is making a call and the agent is unavailable, the system will quickly direct the unresolved calls to alternative remote call-forwarding numbers or agents.
2. Improves Customer Satisfaction
Remote call forwarding enhances agent accessibility while shortening wait times. This allows customers to reach the right support agent quickly and resolve their issues, which significantly enhance customer satisfaction.
3. Increases First Call Resolution
The system efficiently routes calls to agents whose expertise aligns with the nature of the queries, ensuring that customers receive solutions in their first interaction. This approach significantly enhances the chances of resolving customer issues during the first call, thereby increasing the first call resolution rate.
4. Reduces Call Back Requests
Remote call forwarding ensures that incoming calls are instantly redirected to an available agent, reducing missed calls and the need for customers to call back. This improves customer satisfaction by providing immediate assistance without delays. As a result, businesses experience fewer follow-up requests, enhancing efficiency and responsiveness.
5. Supports Remote Work
This feature provides agents with remote access to calls with constant accessibility, even if they are working on-site or remotely. It ensures seamless business operations and customer connectivity, regardless of how far employees work.
6. Better Availability
This feature enables prospects to reach your business at any time. Your business can maintain instant customer assistance by directing calls to available agents or specific office locations.
How to activate remote call forwarding?
Activating remote call-forwarding is a very simple process that can be done through your business phone system interface, whether it’s a mobile app, softphone, or browser-based platform.
Once it is activated, you can select the numbers you want to forward, including personal ones, which helps protect your privacy while maintaining communication efficiency for your business.
Here are some of the ways to activate remote call-forwarding:
1. Choose Your Call Forwarding Service
The first step to activate this feature is to select a VoIP service provider that offers remote call-forwarding features. Make sure that your device supports the call-forwarding feature, whether it is your mobile, office phone, or other device.
2. Access Your Account
After choosing and purchasing a VoIP service, log into your service provider’s website or mobile app. Go to the setting and look for the call-forwarding section.
3. Select Call Forwarding Option
Once you have access to your account, tap on the “Remote Call-Forwarding” or “Call Forwarding” option from the menu. Some services provide a toggle button to activate it.
4. Set Forwarding Rules
The main feature of call-forwarding is to set forwarding rules. It means that you can set some rules or situations where the call will directly route to other numbers, such as immediate forwarding when a call is not answered or time-based forwarding (e.g., after business hours).
▶️ Note: Calls can be forwarded only if you remember to add the phone numbers to which the calls should be forwarded. (e.g., mobile phone, home phone, or voicemail).
5. Test the Setup
After setting up the call forwarding features and rules, test the setup by calling the number designated for forwarding. Verify that the call redirects as intended to the selected device and under the specified conditions.
6. Monitor and Adjust
To ensure smooth connectivity, regularly monitor and adjust call forwarding rules to route calls efficiently. Some services offer real-time management of call forwarding through their app.
What are the best practices for remote call forwarding?
The best practices for remote call forwarding depend on the requirements and size of the companies. Implementing remote call forwarding should follow best practices to maintain the brand’s value, ensure smooth operations, and improve the customer experience.
Here are some essential best practices for remote call forwarding:
1. Highlight Your Brand
Different businesses have voicemail greetings that include their brand name, hours of operation, contact numbers, and addresses, which highlight their brand. To maintain brand consistency, it is important to keep these greetings the same for all numbers in your call-forwarding system so that every caller feels valued and included.
2. Create Short IVR Menus
IVR (Interactive Voice Response) menus are important tools for companies that handle large volumes of calls. These menus empower customers to navigate the system and serve themselves by routing calls efficiently to the appropriate departments or agents. Every business should keep IVR menus short and simple.
3. Keep Timeout Values Short
Avoid setting long wait times for calls directed to other numbers. If the customer has to wait too long, they might hang up the call out of frustration. Ensure that the calls are answered quickly, which will reduce wait times and provide better customer service.
4. Keep Your System Up to Date
It is important to keep your system up to date, particularly if it uses IVR systems, voice bots, or auto attendants. If there is any outdated information in these systems, it can create confusion for contact center agents. It will lead to increased customer frustration and dropped calls, which can affect your business reputation.
How to use remote call forwarding in case of emergency?
In an emergency, turn on remote call forwarding using your phone or VoIP provider’s settings. Forward calls to another number, like a backup office, mobile phone, or another team. Let key staff know about the change so they can handle urgent calls.
Set up an automated message to inform callers about the situation and response time. Test and update the forwarding settings regularly to keep communication smooth. This ensures your business stays running with minimal disruptions.
Top Providers Providing Remote Call Forwarding
Various business requirements have prompted leading companies to offer dependable remote call-forwarding solutions for their clients.
These providers offer advanced features, such as automated call routing, voicemail management, and seamless integration across multiple devices.
The following table outlines the top 5 providers offering remote call-forwarding solutions.
| Provider | Key Features | Starting Pricing |
| KrispCall | IVR, CRM integrations, Real-time analytics | Starting at $15 per user/month |
| Five9 | Automatic call distribution, IVR, and CRM integrations | Contact sales |
| Nice CXone | Omnichannel routing, AI-powered analytics, Workforce optimization, CRM integrations | Contact sales |
| Talkdesk | AI-powered analytics, Workforce optimization, CRM integrations | Contact sales |
| RingCentral | Mobile integrations, Voicemail, Team messaging | Contact sales |
1. KrispCall
KrispCall is an AI-powered call center software designed to enhance customer interactions. Its core strength lies in its robust remote call forwarding capabilities, allowing agents to seamlessly handle calls from anywhere.
This flexibility improves agent productivity and empowers businesses to maintain consistent service levels, even with remote or distributed teams. KrispCall integrates with various CRMs, enabling agents to access customer information and context within the call flow.
⭐ Key Features
- Automatic call distribution
- IVR
- CRM integrations
- Real-time analytics
💰 Pricing
- Essential: $15 per user/month
- Standard: $40 per user/month
- Enterprise: Custom Pricing (Contact sales teams)
2. Five9
Five9 is a leading cloud contact center platform that offers robust remote call forwarding capabilities. Its platform empowers businesses to connect with customers seamlessly, regardless of agent location. Some of the key features of Five9 include skills-based routing, interactive voice response (IVR) systems, and predictive dialing, all designed to optimize call flow and improve customer experience.
Five9 integrates with various CRMs, providing agents with a unified view of customer data and enhancing their ability to personalize interactions.
⭐ Key Features
- AI-powered call routing
- Omnichannel support
- Real-time analytics and reporting
- Voice Channels
- Call Forwarding
💰 Pricing
- Contact the Five9 sales team for pricing.
3. Nice CXone
Nice CXone enables organizations to efficiently route their business calls across different locations through its AI-driven functionality. The system enhances the consumer experience by routing incoming calls to the right customer representatives through AI assessment.
This platform helps businesses to reduce the waiting period and improve call success during first interactions.
⭐ Key Features
- Omnichannel routing
- AI-powered analytics
- CRM integrations
- Workforce optimization
💰 Pricing
- Contact the Nice CXone sales team.
4. Talkdesk
Talkdesk is a cloud-based contact center platform that specializes in omnichannel customer experience. It offers advanced remote call forwarding capabilities, enabling businesses to route calls intelligently across various channels, including voice, chat, email, and social media.
Talkdesk leverages AI and machine learning to analyze customer interactions and provide real-time insights, allowing businesses to optimize agent performance and improve customer satisfaction.
⭐ Key Features
- Remote call forwarding
- Omnichannel routing
- AI-powered analytics
- CRM integrations
💰 Pricing
- Contact the Talkdesk sales team.
5. RingCentral
RingCentral is a unified communications and contact center platform that offers flexible remote call forwarding solutions. Its platform enables businesses to seamlessly route calls to agents working remotely, in the office, or on the go.
This platform’s key features include call queuing, voicemail, mobile integrations, and team messaging, all designed to improve communication and collaboration within teams and with customers. Its platform also integrates with various business applications, making it a versatile solution for businesses of all sizes.
⭐ Key Features
- Call queuing
- Voicemail
- Mobile integrations
- Video conferencing
- Team messaging
💰 Pricing
- Contact the RingCentral sales team for pricing.
Conclusion
Remote call forwarding is a critical tool for businesses seeking uninterrupted communication and maximizing customer satisfaction. By enabling seamless call routing and flexible work arrangements, it minimizes missed opportunities, reduces call abandonment rates, and ensures the fastest response times for clients.
With the right technology and best practices in place, businesses can leverage remote call forwarding to deliver exceptional customer service that exceeds expectations, regardless of location or time constraints.
FAQs
How does remote call forwarding work?
Remote call forwarding works by redirecting incoming calls to alternate numbers, such as mobile or home phones. When the first agent is unavailable, the call is transferred to agents who are available and can provide the necessary support.
Can I set call forwarding remotely?
Yes, you can set call forwarding remotely via mobile apps or browser platforms, allowing you to configure forwarding numbers from anywhere.
What is *21 used for?
*21 is a code that is used to activate call forwarding, sending calls to a designated number when you’re unavailable.
