remote work

All posts tagged remote work

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Planning the perfect conference call

Conference calls are becoming a far more common occurrence for businesses today, with many executive members of staff taking part in at least one call a day. These calls can prove difficult for assistants to organise – participants are in different locations and people can accidentally dial a different number or forget the pin for the call. However arranging conference calls need not be a stressful experience, below are a few tips on how organisation can ensure the meeting runs smoothly.

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AdminPlanning the perfect conference call
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What’s the best time for marketing calls?

Telemarketing can be an extremely efficient way to increase sales, but it is a method that comes with a whole host of its own, specific challenges. Unlike with things like print ads, generally emails, and even text messages, timing is absolutely crucial. With other techniques, people can come to your content as and when they are looking for it: when they open a newspaper, switch on the TV or the radio, scroll through their Twitter feeds, or check their phones. But when you’re placing a phone call, you have to have some level of confidence that there will be somebody at the other end of the line with the ability, willingness, and time to answer the phone and have a conversation at that moment. Telemarketing also comes with its own laws, and businesses who choose to ignore or flout these regulations put themselves at risk of incurring fines of £500,000 from Ofcom and the Information Commissioner’s Office, telemarketing’s regulating bodies. Make sure you know the telemarketing rules, and avoid fines.

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AdminWhat’s the best time for marketing calls?
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One woman’s quest for a healthy work / life balance and how it could impact you

Everybody in the working world is constantly walking a tight-rope, teetering between leaning too far into their personal life and getting entirely sucked in to your work. Nobody wants to neglect the people and things that they love, but we are also desperate not to sacrifice professional efficiency and performance – in part to even be able to support the people and things we love.

People have different ways of ensuring they are striking this balance in the best way possible. Some carve out particular days on which they shut down all work communication, others have rules about how many extra hours they’ll spend in the office each week, or have morning rituals with their friends or family before dedicating their day to work.

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AdminOne woman’s quest for a healthy work / life balance and how it could impact you
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A guide on how to set up a free conference call

Looking for a quick and easy way to set up a free conference call in the UK? You’ve come to the right place, and it won’t cost you a fortune!

The most trusted, reliable and accessible way to hold group telephone calls is to use a dedicated telephone conference call service and you can get started using your mobile in seconds!

Some mobile and landline phones already have a built-in conference call feature that’s free to use, but these can be clunky and often only allow a small number of callers to connect.

WHYPAY? is a hassle-free conference call service with a focus on ease-of-use and excellent call quality. The service is rated 5 stars on Trustpilot by thousands of savvy conference callers. Unlike many other conference call services WHYPAY? uses an 03 dial-in number, saving you a fortune in unnecessary call charges.

Here’s how our free conference call setup works…

How to set up a conference call for free

  1. Pick up your mobile and dial 033 3443 4567 (UK local rate – included in your minutes);
  2. Press the * key when prompted to receive your free dial-in details;
  3. Share your details with your guests, letting them know the time of your call;
  4. When the time comes, everyone dials in and is instantly connected.

If you don’t have your mobile to hand, you can also generate your free conference details on this website by creating a free WHYPAY? account.

Sign up now to receive your free dial-in details.
 

Frequently asked questions

Absolutely! Once you’ve generated your conference details they’re ready and waiting for you to dial in. Your details won’t expire and there’s no need to pre-book your call with us.

At WHYPAY? we don’t charge you a penny to create your permanent, reusable conference details, and unlike many other conference call providers we don’t add charges to your phone bill either.

When you and your conference participants dial into your conference room, you each make a phone call to an 03 telephone number. Under official Ofcom regulations calls to 03 numbers cost no more than a national rate call to an 01 or 02 number and must count towards any inclusive minutes in the same way as 01 and 02 calls.

Because 03 numbers are included in UK mobile and landline minutes, the call itself is often completely free. Each caller should check whether they have inclusive minutes as part of their phone contract. Note that some networks begin charging the standard call rate after around 50 minutes. This can be avoided by simply hanging up and dialling back into the conference.

This is too good to be true. How does WHYPAY? make any money?

WHYPAY? earns a fraction of a penny per minute from BT for each call supported. Regular WHYPAY? users can also upgrade their free service to a paid subscription plan for advanced call features like custom branding and call recording.

Your conference details are permanent, so you can reuse them each time you need to hold a conference call. You can ask your participants to dial-in at the same time each day, week or month, using the same details. If you need to organise multiple conference calls at one time, or you have multiple colleagues who each require their own ‘conference room’, you can opt for one of our paid subscription plans.

 

Tips for the perfect conference call

You probably want to know more than just how to set up a teleconference. You want to have the most productive business meetings possible. And of course, you want your participants to feel comfortable throughout. We’re here to help. There’s so much guidance and advice on our blog if you want to learn about conference calling.
 

Location matters

The most basic starting point after you’ve set up free conference calls is deciding where you’ll be when your teleconference happens. It might seem minor compared to the meaty content of the call, but your location can make or break the call. Of course, it also depends on the nature of the audio meeting. If it’s something relatively informal, you don’t need to worry so much. For example, if you’re catching up with far-flung family or having a weekly debrief with a handful of colleagues, something like our cafe/cake conference call tour might be suitable.

But conference calls have many uses, and each one has different needs. For some inspiration, you can look at our favourite free meeting locations.

Given you’re setting up a conference call, the crucial thing is what can be heard. Always aim to be in the quietest place possible. Think carefully about whether the silence will last, too. Is it contingent upon your toddler conforming to his or her napping schedule? Might your dog become suddenly ravenous? Does your neighbour have a penchant for midweek mowing?

Obviously, some noise is inevitable and there are factors beyond our control. But if you know you’re unlikely to get peace, move somewhere different. After all, that’s the beauty of being able to set up a free conference call from your mobile!

Create a FREE Teleconference  

Mind your manners

To make sure your participants are at ease, you should get clued up on conference call etiquette. Things that might seem obvious can be easily forgotten, especially when we aren’t face to face, and things that seem minor can make a world of difference. Here are some points on conference call etiquette to remember:

  • Make sure you’re on time – it makes a great first impression.
  • Introduce people as they join the call – including their names, a personal detail or two, and be sure to explain their role.
  • Know how and when to use your mute button – it’s perfect for stopping background noise – just remember to unmute yourself when required!

 

Plan ahead

We all know how important prior preparation is. It’s no different with teleconferences. Planning the perfect conference call can take time and effort, but it will make things so much smoother and more efficient. With our guide, you’ll be able to put together a complete agenda for the conference call you set up. After this, make sure you mind your manners again and share! You’ve put in the hard work to make your agenda, so don’t let it go unseen. Circulate the document to all the participants, so they know what to expect and can themselves plan and prepare accordingly.
 

Stick to the plan

Equally important is actually using your plan. It should have laid out everything from topics to timings, and you should stick to these as closely as possible. You certainly don’t want to overrun, as this really is poor manners, and can mean people aren’t able to stay until the end of the call. It can also be really frustrating, or even anxiety-producing, to not follow the order as it was set out. While new information or unforeseen complications can mean that a change in agenda is necessary – and flexibility is a vital part of business – if you can follow your plan, your participants will thank you for it.
 

Learn to moderate

You might be a natural born leader, and you might be really used to heading up meetings. But conference calls require a specific skill-set. There are more features to think about, and the lack of body language and facial expressions. So learn to hear non-verbal communication, to maintain understanding and control of what’s happening during your meeting. Likewise, make sure you get to grips with different moderator controls that will be at your disposal.

 

You’ve set up a free conference call, but are there compromises?

Once people realise that conference calls really can be free, there can still be hesitation. What holds people back when considering whether to set up a free conference call? Well, people think if it’s free, it must be inferior. People are also reluctant to make changes. That old adage of ‘if it ain’t broke…’ can really hold people back from better things. In the world of telecommunications, it means things like not considering alternatives to obvious choices like PowWowNow.

WHYPAY? shows that free doesn’t need to mean worse. In fact, Trustpilot backs us up on this. if you look at our ratings and reviews, we outperform competitors who are charging for their services. With WHYPAY?, you get quality and reliability without having to part with a penny.

Why not set up a free conference call today? You’ll see just how much it could change your business, and even your life.
 

What do existing WHYPAY? users say about the service?

 
Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

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AdminA guide on how to set up a free conference call
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Free online chat tools with LivePerson

At WHYPAY? we believe that effective business tools shouldn’t cost the Earth, which is why we set out to make the best free conferencing service out there. This got us thinking: if you can get conference calls for no cost, what other great services can you get for free? That’s why we’ve scoured the web to find the best free services to help your business and to bring them to you weekly.

This week we look at how you could add another string to your customer service bow with online chat tool LivePerson.

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AdminFree online chat tools with LivePerson
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Free project management: Organise your working life with Trello

At WHYPAY? we believe that effective business tools shouldn’t cost the Earth, which is why we set out to make the best free conferencing service out there. This got us thinking: if you can get conference calls for no cost, what other great services can you get for free? That is why we have scoured the web to find the best free services to help your business and to bring them to you weekly.

This week we look at a very visual way of organising your work with Trello.

Visual organisation

Trello was originally created by Fog Creek software back in 2011 as a solution to high level planning issues. Officially released at TechCrunch Disrupt in September of the same year it had already amassed 500,000 users by the following summer and had created one adorable husky spokes hound. Now split into its own company, Trello, Inc, has grown from strength to strength and recently hit the 10m user landmark.

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AdminFree project management: Organise your working life with Trello
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Manchester wins £10m for the Internet of Things

Manchester has recently triumphed over 22 entries across 34 cities, winning a government-backed competition with a prize of a £10m government grant to become a world leader in smart-city technology. Innovate UK’s Internet of Things competition aimed to find the best proposal for using smart technology to improve the public service’s within a city. The winner, Manchester’s CityVerve Project, has great plans for the £10m fund, which will propel the UK to the forefront of adoption of Internet of Things technology around the world, hopefully inspiring other cities to follow its lead.

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AdminManchester wins £10m for the Internet of Things
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Free workflow management: Keeping your team on track with Asana

At WHYPAY? we believe that effective business tools shouldn’t cost the Earth, which is why we set out to make the best free conferencing service out there. This got us thinking: if you can get conference calls for no cost, what other great services can you get for free? That’s why we’ve scoured the web to find the best free services to help your business and to bring them to you weekly.

This week we look at a tool to help improve how you track work and come together as a team with Asana.

A digital future for task management

Every company needs a way to manage its projects and optimise its work. Throughout the years, there have been many ways of doing this, from cork board duty rotas to daily team briefings. While these methods are tried and tested, they can be quite time consuming and also limited in their application.

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AdminFree workflow management: Keeping your team on track with Asana
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Free Note taking and sharing: Evernote ensures your information is at your fingertips

At WHYPAY? we believe that effective business tools shouldn’t cost the Earth, which is why we set out to make the best free conferencing service out there. This got us thinking: if you can get conference calls for no cost, what other great services can you get for free? That is why we have scoured the web to find the best free services to help your business and to bring them to you weekly.

This week we look at one of the premier free tools for note taking and information sharing, Evernote.

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AdminFree Note taking and sharing: Evernote ensures your information is at your fingertips
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Free CRM: Look after your customers with Really Simple Systems

At WHYPAY? we believe that effective business tools shouldn’t cost the Earth, which is why we set out to make the best free conferencing service out there. This got us thinking: if you can get conference calls for no cost, what other great services can you get for free? That is why we have scoured the web to find the best free services to help your business and to bring them to you weekly.

This week we look at one of the best ways to look after your customers information for free by using Really Simple Systems.

What is CRM?

No matter what business you are in, you will have to deal with customers or clients to some degree and it’s these interactions that can make or break a company. Along with a decent product or service, a customer expects to be treated professionally and efficiently. While great customer interactions can lead to greater recognition, it’s also true that a poor experience could severely tarnish your reputation. If your business is to excel, you are going to need the right tools.

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AdminFree CRM: Look after your customers with Really Simple Systems