KALAMAZOO, MI, June 08, 2021 /24-7PressRelease/ — Answer United, an industry leader in telephone services, announces that it is now providing an innovative Automated Absentee Service in addition to its Live Absentee Service and other call center solutions. For companies that rely on personnel being present in the workplace to do their jobs, absences can lead to downtime and decreased productivity.
A USA Today analysis of federal labor market data revealed that more workers called in sick in 2020 than at any time in at least two decades. This scenario resulted in administrative nightmares for companies that need to track worker attendance. Workers were uncertain who to call, managers were left unaware, and Human Resources personnel scrambled to keep up with the underlying paperwork. The Answer United service automates a solution to all of those headaches.
Based on its experience helping over 1200 customers automate their telephone challenges, including hundreds of absentee clients, Answer United realized that a state-of-the-art, 24-hour, flexible, call-in solution was needed. Taking the lessons of its Live Service to the next level, the Automated Absentee Service allows employees to call a dedicated phone number from a card they received.
The company is asked to provide an up-to-date employee roster. The Automated attendant then takes the caller through a step-by-step process that requests and verifies pertinent information. The employee is prompted to state whether he/she is late or absent, and also provide an absence reason. Return date, work location and shift information are optional. A Verification Code is given to the employee and the appropriate manager is notified via email or text.
Answer United’s Automated Absentee Service is designed to save the company time, money and reduce disputes that can often lead to costly litigation. State-of-the-art technology is used to streamline the process and document every pertinent detail. It also has the ability to automatically manage a high amount of call-ins, which might occur due to weather or other emergencies.
“We created our Automated Absentee Service offering after seeing a bigger need in the Absentee Service category,” stated Answer United CEO Scott Gignac. “This streamlined service offers efficiencies and scales well for larger organizations, making it very cost-effective. We are excited to offer our customers this innovative technology; we are very proud of this offering.”
In addition to saving substantial amounts of money and minimizing manager time on mundane details, the service costs just pennies per employee per day. Additional features of the Answer United Automated Employee Call Off Service include 24/7 availability, robust reporting, no call limits, and support of 24+ languages, as well as a text broadcast and voice broadcast option.
Answer United is an award-winning, U.S.-based answering service that requires no long-term commitments. As an alternative to the Automated Service, the company’s Live Absentee Answering Service offers a higher level of customization for employers with more specific needs, such as backfilling or using a more customized script. Although the Automated Absentee Service saves you quite a bit off the price of the Live Absentee Service, some customers still prefer the personal element of a live representative. A unique capability for Answer United is that it can anticipate and automatically switch from Live to Automated if call volume should surge for some reason. This means that employees will not receive a busy signal.
“The ultimate goal at Answer United is to provide cost-effective solutions that enable businesses to be more efficient and more productive,” concluded Gignac. “We believe that the Automated Absentee Service is merely the next step to improved compliance, reduced litigation and increased efficiency. Many Fortune 500 companies have us answering their employee call off lines for these very reasons.”
Just a few of the industries that Answer United supports include factories; hospitals and medical, dental and veterinary offices; property management firms; consulting and counseling companies; home health care; professional and home maintenance services; attorneys and accountants; and government offices.
About Answer United: Located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Answer United is a national leader in telephone services that has provided quality answering services and web-based call center support solutions for almost 60 years. In addition to the new Automated Absentee Service, the company offers 24/7 professional call answering, call center and virtual receptionist services. Visit Answer United’s website or call 800-937-5900 to request a quote or schedule a demo.