Navigating a telephone call can be a challenging and intimidating exercise. As a medical office administrator, placing and fielding calls is an important part of the job. You may have to book, cancel, or reschedule an appointment with a client; deliver a message on behalf of your office; or take a call from another department in the same building.
Regardless of who is calling, appropriate telephone etiquette must be maintained. An administrator serves as a liaison between the medical office and many other people, including patients and doctors. Your ability to effectively maintain and manage communication helps bolster the medical office’s reputation and ensures that it runs smoothly.
But what exactly is telephone etiquette? Read on for some practical tips!
Hold the Phone, Am I Doing This Right?
Telephone etiquette might sound like an ambiguous expression. So, for clarity’s sake, let us define it: telephone etiquette is attitude and mannerism projected by a person during a telephone conversation. If you want to become a medical office administrator, you’ll have to develop good telephone etiquette so that the medical office operates efficiently and those calling remain satisfied with the service your office provides. Remember, as a medical office administrator, you are quite literally the voice of your place of work. By being polite on the phone you help improve the reputation of the entire medical office and make patients feel understood and respected.
Understanding good telephone etiquette is important for administrators
A Few Tips You Might Learn in Medical Office Administration Training
There are many ways that a person can develop and improve their telephone etiquette. Here are a few that you can try:
1. Smile! This is definitely counter-intuitive. However, while you are not visible to the other person on the line, your facial expression has considerable influence over your tone and inflection. So, let them hear you flash those pearly whites!
2. Again, in the same way that your smile can inform your tone, your posture can affect the levels of energy that you project. You might want to sit up and straighten your back now.
3. Some syllables get lost in telephonic conversation. And although being incapable of hearing precisely what a person is saying is frustrating, it is also rather embarrassing to have to ask someone to repeat themselves. So, ar-ti-cu-late!
4. The follow-up. Yes, the phone call you’re having is the most important one, but never undermine the importance of following up a conversation, especially if you suggest that you will do so. Being unreliable is against good telephone etiquette policy and it reflects poorly on the entire medical office.
5. Know when the conversation is over, but be professional. Ask the person on the other end of the line if they have any questions and make sure they know how to reach you. Then, simply thank them for their time and say goodbye.
With these tips and more, you can improve the quality of your services after medical office administration training and help build the reputation of your place of work. And remember, many of the people who are calling a medical office may be feeling unwell. You’ll have to be patient and try to display some compassion for them. Similarly, you could be talking with many older individuals who may be hard of hearing. In such situations, take the advice above and enunciate clearly and speak at a higher volume if necessary. If the person on the other end of the line asks you to repeat yourself, do so in a friendly and patient manner.
Remember, people don’t usually call a medical office if all is well…
Are you interested in becoming a medical office administrator?
Contact KLC College to learn about our vocational training programs!