Still Using Voicemail? That's So 2014!

Will there be voicemail in our future – or should it be put out to past-ture?

When was the last time you communicated with an old friend via snail mail? You probably can’t even remember, right? In this world of rapidly changing technology, where new innovations, such as instant messaging and email, have enabled us to interact in a matter of seconds, it isn’t surprising that old methods of communications such as letters have become obsolete. Similarly, if there is a new tool available to speed up work and enhance productivity, isn’t it natural that you wouldn’t want to stick to the old tools? If yes, then should you still be using voicemail?

More and more corporations are abandoning voicemail these days for more expedient methods of communication. Last December, Coca-Cola shut down its office voicemail in order to simplify communications and increase productivity. Callers trying to reach the company are now politely asked to use “an alternative method” to communicate – text, email or anything else.

For a while now, the younger generations, as well as some older folks, have been using “missed calls,” especially on mobile devices, as a virtual signal to “call me back.” This saves the initial caller the trouble of leaving a voicemail, and saves the recipient the labor of listening to it. Let’s face it, when we call back, the person that called us is probably going to repeat everything s/he said in the voicemail anyway!

Many workers in organizations large and small no longer have the time or inclination to spend half an hour going through multiple voicemails at the beginning or end of each day. More and more people are losing patience with the process of laboring through the entire voicemail introduction, and tedious prompts, before having access to the messages in chronological order. And what’s more, many of us don’t have a single person in our organizations who even use voicemail effectively! Even though voicemails are near-obsolete tools which often hamper productivity, some folks still leave voicemail messages for their co-workers who are thereby essentially forced to retrieve them.

So, what’s right for your organization? That of course depends on a number of factors. For one, who are your clients? Are they older folks who still prefer to use voicemail? Is yours a high-touch business, where you try to answer calls with a receptionist (another sadly dated nicety)? If so, in the cases when a receptionist is not available, you probably would do well to make voicemail available.

I’m inclined to think that most companies should reduce, if not eliminate, the use of voicemail for interoffice communications, but still enable voicemail for their customers. That said, sometimes voicemail has its uses for interoffice communication, so consider not throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Studies show that “tone” in emails is misinterpreted more than 40% of the time! So, if you’ve got something sensitive, or potentially sensitive to communicate, using voicemail (or simply asking your co-worker to call you back), is much safer than trusting that your tone will be properly interpreted in an email.

One technology that helps with the management of voicemail is enabled by tools like Google Voice, which will transcribe your voicemails and send them as text or email messages. This makes it much more efficient – if someone labors on in a voicemail before getting to the point, you can scan and skip to what you need. And, if something seems sensitive, you can always go and listen to the actual voicemail audio to hear the sender’s tone.

Consider having both an internal and external focus group to see what co-workers and clients would most appreciate. You may discover some hybrid solutions that help to increase productivity without sacrificing a more personal touch.