Call screening: How it works and its benefits

Call screening is the process of identifying incoming callers and the reason for their call. This allows you to establish a response and provide the most appropriate solutions for each enquiry.

Below, we explain more about how call screening works and explore the benefits of integrating it into your telephone support processes.

What is call screening?

Call screening is simply finding out who’s calling and why. There are several different ways to do this, including systems like caller ID, which display the caller’s name and phone number on your screen before you pick up.

Another type is Interactive Voice Response (IVR), an automated answering machine that interacts with callers, gathers their personal information and the reason for their call before connecting them to the corresponding department.

• See more: How we answer your calls explained
• See more: 7 business sectors that could benefit from a Telephone Answering Service

You can also implement manual call screening, where a live receptionist answers incoming calls, gathers the caller’s details, and determines the most appropriate course of action. The receptionist can address the query there and then (if possible), transfer the caller to the relevant person or team, or take a message.

The main purpose of call screening is to improve efficiency. By understanding the caller’s intent, you can provide prompt and effective support, filter out unwanted calls, and identify high-priority queries over non-urgent ones, putting your time and resources to the best possible use.

How does call screening work?

Call screening procedures are straightforward. Basic solutions like caller ID display the caller’s name on your screen, allowing you to see who is calling before you answer. However, caller ID doesn’t reveal the reason for the call.

IVR, on the other hand, offers a more advanced approach. This automated system can prompt callers to either state their reason for calling or select from a menu of options using their keypad. Based on their input, the caller is then routed to the appropriate department.

However, IVR systems come with challenges. They can suffer from technical issues, such as difficulty recognising speech, and can feel impersonal to the caller. This is why manual call screening can be more effective.

With manual call screening, a receptionist vets every incoming call. They’ll ask for the caller’s name, contact information, where they’re calling from, and what they need help with. These insights then help them decide how to address each query correctly.

For instance, if a customer needs to track an order, the receptionist may transfer the call to the customer service team, whereas if a client wants to reschedule a meeting, they might simply take a message. This personalised approach ensures that each call is handled efficiently and appropriately.

Benefits of call screening

As a business owner, you’ll know just how important your phone presence is. Whether you own a B2B or customer-facing company, seamless first-line support is essential. Here’s how call screening can help:

1. Saves time – Time is precious for you and your customers. Call screening helps save time on both ends by sending callers exactly where they need to go the first time around.
2. Saves money – Every business owner wants to save money where possible. Call screening can help you cut unnecessary expenses by reducing your staffing needs.
3. Happy customers – Call screening improves the customer experience by reducing wait times, eliminating unnecessary call transfers, and enabling speedy support. As a result, your customers are happier and feel encouraged to return and interact with your business again.
4. Enhances security – Businesses are not exempt from receiving spam calls. But considering how sophisticated they have become in recent years, they can be incredibly hard to spot, putting your business at risk. This is particularly concerning for SMEs, 64% of which had received unsolicited phone calls in 2021, according to a campaign poll by UK Finance. Call screening can help protect your company against fraudsters and block spam callers by vetting everyone who contacts you. That way, you’ll know which queries are genuine and which are dangerous.
5. Boosts efficiency – Call screening allows your business to operate at maximum efficiency. You can filter out unwanted or low-priority calls, avoid passing customers endlessly from one agent to the next, and instead, focus on high-value, meaningful conversations.
6. Improves productivity – Efficiency makes your team more productive. Call screening means they spend less time on unwanted calls, it reduces their workload, and allows them to focus on the calls that matter.
7. Supports scalability – Call screening benefits businesses of all sizes and industries. For instance, if you outsource your call screening to a third-party telephone answering service, your team can expand or downsize as needed without disrupting customer support functions.

Try call screening for free

Ready to integrate call screening into your business? Try it for free with Bizik. Simply let us know what your business goals are, and we’ll give you an instant quote, plus a free seven-day trial.

Our exceptional and experienced team of virtual PAs will screen your incoming calls as per your instructions. Whether you’d like us to transfer urgent queries, take a message, or answer basic FAQs on your behalf, we’ll do it all in your company name. We’ll also keep you updated on the go, so you can stay informed at all times.

Chat with us today by calling 020 3917 7444 or complete our contact form and a Bizik sales agent will be in touch.