Call Transfer vs. Call Forwarding – What Are the Differences?
Marketing Head
Call transfer and call forwarding are important features of any call center environment. While they sound similar, there are distinct differences between both of them.
Let me explain them with examples.
What Is a Call Transfer?
I had a query on my mobile billing. I called my mobile service provider’s customer care number to speak to them about it.
I spoke to an agent, and he was not able to clarify my doubts. So, he transferred the call to his supervisor to handle my query. Here, I had to explain what I needed again to get a resolution.
Here, I had a conversation with an agent, and the agent realized that his supervisor would better serve me. So, he transferred my call.
This was a cold transfer, as he did not inform his supervisor about this transfer. So, I had to repeat myself.
Imagine if the agent had asked to be on hold for a minute and spoken to his supervisor about my query before transferring my call to him. Then, it would be considered a warm transfer.
In this case, I need not have repeated myself as the supervisor would have known my query, and he would have easily handled it.
What Is Call Forwarding?
In the case of call transfer, you talk to someone before your call is transferred, whereas, in the case of call forwarding, you would not even know that your call is getting forwarded.
For instance, you can call the customer care number. Customer care only publishes one number, whereas thousands of customers are calling, and hundreds of agents are addressing their issues.
Here, the call gets automatically forwarded to free agents, or to agents who speak a particular language, an agent in the same location as the caller, or an agent who is an expert in the product that the customer has bought.
Your inbound dialer system intelligently forwards the call to the most appropriate agent based on pre-defined algorithms.
What Are the Differences Between Call Transfer and Call Forwarding?
| Call Transfer | Call Forwarding | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Moving an active call from one phone line to another, either internally or externally, while the caller is on the line | Redirecting incoming calls to another phone number or extension without the original phone ever ringing |
| Usage | This happens when an employee answers a call and understands that another person or department will serve the customer better. | This happens based on pre-defined algorithms like where the customer is calling from, if the customer is privileged, the type of product or service they bought, the time of the call, etc. |
| Control | The agent decides whom to transfer the call to during the conversation. | The calls are automatically routed without any intervention. |
| Call status | The caller is either on hold or waiting for the transfer to be made. | The caller is not even aware that they are being forwarded. |
| Number of steps | It involves multiple steps – putting the caller on hold, dialing the new destination, and completing the transfer. | It is a single action that forwards your call to a pre-defined destination. |
| Call handling | The original agent may introduce you to the new party before transferring your call. | There are no such interactions, and it is pretty straightforward, based on algorithms. |
| Personalization | It is more personalized as the person transferring the call can explain the situation to a new recipient. | It is more automated and less personal, as there is zero interaction. |
| Awareness | The caller is usually aware that the call is being transferred, as they are informed about it. | As a caller, you would not know that your call is being forwarded. |
| Priority | The decision to transfer is based on the caller’s needs and ensuring the caller reaches the most appropriate person. | The decision is based on predefined settings, such as forwarding all calls only when busy, or when unanswered. |
| Availability | It requires the receiving party to be available to take the call at the time of transfer. | It can be forwarded to various destinations like phones, voicemail, or other systems if the forwarded-to number is unavailable. |
While we are talking about the differences between call transfer and call forwarding, they can work together as well.
Let us assume your call is forwarded to an agent based on predetermined algorithms. The agent picks up the call and listens to your needs.
Now, he figures that agents in another department or his supervisor are better suited to serve your needs. He then transfers your call to an agent in the other department or to his supervisor.
Here, both call forwarding and call transfer work in tandem to address the customer’s needs.
Even when you talk about use cases, the differences are not that clear. However, we will attempt to identify the use cases.
What Are the Use Cases for Call Transfer and Call Forwarding?
Call Transfer
Customer Support and Service
You reach an agent in customer support or service, and the agent, after listening to you, decides to transfer the call to someone else to address your query better.
Escalation
You have a billing issue, and you want a few line items to be waived for a particular reason. While the agent understands the reasoning, he is not empowered to make that decision, and he decides to transfer the call to his escalation point (manager or supervisor), who has the authority to make decisions.
Conference Call Setup
During the conversation with the agent, the agent realizes that having another expert join in can help resolve your query. Then, he immediately dials the experts and adds them to the conversation to help with the discussion.
Call Forwarding
Remote Work and Mobility
A professional decides to work from home. So, he forwards all the calls that land on his desk phone to his mobile so that he doesn’t miss out on any calls while working from home.
After Hours Calling
You don’t want to miss any customer calls even after working hours. You either forward those calls to someone’s mobile number or an answering machine so your customers can leave their messages.
High Call Volumes
Thousands of customers and you only have hundreds of agents addressing their issues – your lines tend to get busy. In this case, you will forward your calls to different branches or overflow lines to ensure that your customers don’t have to wait to reach you.
Business Continuity
If one of your locations goes down for a day for some maintenance activity, you don’t want to leave your customers in limbo. So, you forward all the calls you receive at that facility to another branch or a backup facility to help address your customer issues.
While there are distinct differences between call transfer and call forwarding, businesses use both these features to ensure they offer the best possible customer experiences.
They are both important features that serve the needs of customers in different situations. They have to be carefully planned and mindfully used by businesses as well as agents.