Business communications are vital for companies to talk to their employees and customers. The more effective the communication method, the more time it saves. Business communication can take many forms: emails, text messages, even chatbots. As technology progresses, businesses are looking for more and more ways to keep in touch with their customers and employees. This helps to keep them engaged, make them feel like they’re a part of something, and boosts the company’s brand. However, sometimes a simple text, email, or chatbot exchange isn’t enough. Sometimes businesses need to schedule appointments with their employees or customers to get more information. Businesses then manually check schedules to find suitable times or they call customers at times when they can’t answer the phone. Adding embedded scheduling into business communications means that businesses can schedule follow-up calls or appointments without end users needing to leave the software. It’s a faster, twenty-first century approach to scheduling that makes everyone’s lives easier. Let’s take a look at some of the ways scheduling can work with business communications to provide the best experience for everyone involved.
Send surveys
Surveys don’t require people to meet face-to-face and can be used to collect qualitative data that they can use to compare different people’s experiences and look for patterns. However, sometimes they need further information. What can they do in these situations? If the employee or customer wants to expand on their answers, they can be offered the chance to schedule a call based on the real-time availability of a representative. Any appointments added to the representative’s calendar sync with the software automatically and vice versa. This ensures that they never find themselves double-booked, no matter how many meetings they have scheduled in. Customers can book an appointment at their own convenience, based on their own schedule, instead of awaiting a phone call and it inevitability ringing when they’re unable to take the call. This gives a more customer-focused impression, meaning that even unsatisfied customers may be more likely to return. The Slot Picker can be embedded into chatbots, allowing appointments to be chosen from within the software. The more steps someone has to do to take action, the less likely they are to do so. Offering them the chance to book an appointment from within the conversation reduces this risk of inaction. It also saves them time because everything they need to book the appointment is already onscreen.
Schedule training sessions
Business communications can be used for more than just receiving feedback and scheduling calls, though. They can also be used for employees to book themselves on to training sessions. Without needing to leave the HR software that they use every day, they can be offered lists of locations, days, and times that are available, each option based on their previous answer. Training slots can close once enough people have registered using Bookable Events, which tracks the number of people registered to an event. This ensures that no event is ever over capacity, even if two people fill in the form at the same time. Everything updates in real time. If the employee is connected to the HR software, the training session can be automatically added to their calendar. It can even work out the best times for the employee to attend the training session based on their current schedule, ensuring that they’re not offered a training session when they have a meeting.
Book paid time off
Paid time off is vital for employee health and wellbeing. However, many employees don’t take advantage of their entitled vacation days because it’s too complicated to book it and they think they’re being discouraged from doing so. When their calendars are synced with their HR software, they can schedule it without leaving their HR software. Anything that involves their schedule can be booked via the HR software that they use. This could be in the form of a chatbot, a booking flow within the HR software, or even an embedded calendar. The dates can then be sent to their line manager to approve. This could also be done from within the HR software, saving the line manager’s time, too.
Medical appointment scheduling
Effective appointment scheduling is imperative for doctors’ offices and hospitals. The traditional method of patients calling to schedule an appointment is time-consuming for everyone involved. Allowing them to book their appointment online is both faster and allows them to schedule an appointment at their own convenience, even if that’s outside of operating ours. Before booking their appointment, they could speak to either a chatbot or a staff member in a chat window about their symptoms. Based on their symptoms, they can be advised on what to do next, whether that’s schedule an appointment to speak to a doctor, pick up a prescription, or get some rest. Since this is more discreet than booking appointments and discussing symptoms over the phone, patients may be more upfront about why they wish to see a doctor, something which some people may be reluctant to do over the phone in case they’re overheard. This helps healthcare practitioners to offer more accurate advice to the patient, helping them to get answers faster.
Conclusion
No matter how much technology progresses, business communications will always be a part of running any organization. Adding effective scheduling into business communications makes it better for employees and customers alike – they can get answers to questions sooner, book appointments based on their schedules, and avoid any double-bookings or miscommunications. Businesses, meanwhile, have a direct line to their employees and customers so that they always have the latest information and are seen as accessible and honest. The easier it is for someone to communicate with a business, the more their know, like, and trust factor increases. It’s therefore important for businesses to do everything in their power to improve this.