Call Forwarding vs Call Transfer (Definition, Types and Use Cases)
Business call centres are designed to handle the complex needs of customer communication. To
handle the high-volume calls, they come with advanced features for effective call management - IVR, parallel
routing, analytics, tracking and much more. Some of the most valuable features that call centres offer are call
forwarding and call transfers. They may sound the same, but there's a difference between these two and each
solves a different problem. In this post, we'll explain how the two are different.
What is a Call Transfer?
A call transfer happens when a call is transferred from one agent to another after speaking to the caller
first. This means that an agent first speaks to the customer and after speaking to the customer, the call is
transferred to another agent/department.
What is Call Forwarding?
A call forward means diverting a call from one number to another directly, without the occurrence of any
conversation. The caller may not even notice that the call is being forwarded to another number.
When is Call Forwarding used?
Call forwarding is used both by businesses and consumers. A consumer may use it to forward important calls to
another, more accessible number/device. This is done to avoid missing any important calls.
Businesses use call forwarding for many reasons:
1. To maintain a single publicized number as the primary point of contact. They may get thousands of calls to
this number per day and all of these are forwarded to one or more call centres.
2. To ensure that no calls are missed in case an agent is unavailable, or if the phone lines are busy.
3. To avoid missed calls due to insufficient network coverage.
Conclusion
Both call transfers and call forwarding are important features of any business telephone setup. Each plays a
pivotal role in helping customers connect with a business to get their issues/queries resolved as soon as
possible. If you're just figuring out the differences between features and need help setting up your business
phone system, you can reach us here to book a consultation slot.