Call routing made simple for law firms
Imagine this: You’re a busy attorney deep in thought and drafting a crucial contract, when your phone buzzes. And buzzes again. Sound familiar? Every call matters, but juggling them can be a huge distraction, eating away at your productivity. What if there was a simple way to sort those calls, letting urgent ones through while the rest are handled in the background without you needing to lift a finger?
That’s where effective call routing, or call flows as we refer to them at VXT, can be extremely useful. VXT’s Call Flow Builder allows you to create and customize great call flows with ease. If you receive calls, you’re already using call flows, whether you realize it or not. VXT just makes managing call flows simple, without needing external IT support or complex setups to get started.
In this article, we’ll explore how VXT’s Call Flow Builder can help you create and customize call flows effortlessly. From basic routing to advanced features like call menus and scheduling, we’ll help you make the most of your call flows.
What is a call flow?
A call flow is basically a roadmap for your incoming calls. It decides what happens when someone rings your phone number. This could mean directing a call to a particular team member, sending it to voicemail, or placing it in a queue.
Every call follows some kind of call flow. It might be a default flow, such as a call going straight to your mobile, or a poorly designed flow, where you’re disturbed by calls at 3AM. Or it could be a great call flow that keeps after-hours calls from interrupting staff while ensuring clients are answered quickly during business hours.
Why do law firms use call flows?
A well-structured call flow can turn a chaotic frenzy into a smooth call routing system, sending your clients’s calls exactly where they need to be, enhancing their experience and increasing your firm’s productivity and revenue.
What’re the benefits of a good phone routing system? Great call flows can:
- Cut down wait time for clients.
- Minimize call transfers between staff.
- Decrease time staff spend on the phone while maintaining client satisfaction.
- Balance your team’s workload more effectively.
- Direct calls to the right team or attorney quickly.
On the flip side poor call flows can result in:
- Frustrated clients who may face long wait times or be bounced between staff.
- Lost productivity as staff scramble to handle misrouted or excessive calls.
- Missed opportunities with potential clients dropping off due to inefficient call handling.
- Financial losses from inefficiencies and poor client experiences.
Call flows, when set up in tandem with receptionists or your admin team, give you the flexibility to handle high call volumes efficiently, without making any sacrifice to the client experience. For instance, you could use a call flow to send callers to voicemail during lunch and outside hours, or send callers into a queue for your receptionist to answer one by one.
VXT’s Call Flow Builder: Your new best friend
With VXT’s Call Flow Builder, creating and customizing call flows is easy. You don’t need an external IT company to start. In just a few clicks you can set up call flows that handle every call efficiently, are perfectly suited to your firm’s needs, and keep your team and clients happy.
Steps in VXT’s call flows
Each step in a call flow represents an action or decision point that determines what happens to a call at that stage. Here are a few steps you can set up in VXT’s Call Flow Builder:
Dates
- This step allows you to set specific dates for call routing. If a caller calls on a date you've set, it will follow the path you've configured for that date.
- For example, you can route calls to a custom audio message or voicemail inbox, keeping clients informed even when the office is closed. This step is particularly useful for holiday periods or unexpected closures.
Schedule
- You can use this step to manage call routing based on specific times, such as during business hours, after hours, or lunch breaks.
- For instance, you can redirect calls to a colleague or voicemail during lunch, ensuring clients aren’t left waiting if their primary contact is unavailable.
Ring users
- This step rings the users assigned to the phone number by default, but you can also select specific users or groups.
- In larger firms, calls can be directed to specific departments, like corporate law or family law, ensuring the right team handles the call.
Send to voicemail:
- This step will send the incoming call directly to voicemail. You can specify which user’s voicemail to use.
- This is handy for after-hours calls or when a particular user is unavailable, ensuring no calls are lost.
Advanced features in VXT’s Call Flow Builder
There’s also a number of advanced features to VXT’s Call Flow Builder, such as:
- Using caller ID to let VIP clients skip the queue and connect directly with you, while routing others through reception.
- Directing calls to the right person or department based on the caller’s location (using their area code).
- Routing calls based on the time of day (pre-set hours), ensuring the right team members are available when needed
- Setting call routes to specific dates, allowing you to automatically send calls to voicemail on public holidays and during office closures.
Getting started with VXT’s Call Flow Builder: Routing calls based on business hours
Here’s how you could tie these steps together to create a basic call flow that routes calls based on your business hours:
- When receiving an incoming call, you could use the schedule step to configure and set your office hours (e.g., 9 AM to 5 PM).
- During office hours, you could set the calls to ring users and then send to voicemail if unanswered.
- For calls received outside office hours you could send to voicemail directly
And that’s it! This is a simple but effective call flow that directs and manages calls based on your business hours.
How law firms manage call routing: 3 real-world call flow examples with VXT
Call routing is clearly a powerful tool for law firms to manage incoming calls efficiently and ensure clients are directed to the right person or department. Below are three detailed examples of how law firms of various sizes and locations use VXT’s call routing to enhance their communication processes:
1. Johnstone and Reimer
Founded in 2015 Johnstone and Reimer Lawyers use VXT to manage calls for over 50 staff across Victoria, Australia. The firm uses different call flows for regular workweeks and the Christmas period:
- Christmas period: Callers receive a special holiday greeting before being sent directly to voicemail.
- Regular work weeks:
- Outside business hours: Calls are routed straight to voicemail.
- Inside business hours: A welcome message plays before calls are queued. If the call remains unanswered after 20 seconds, a second hold message is played, followed by a voicemail option.
This dual call flow approach allows Johnstone and Reimer to adjust its communications with clients based on seasonal needs and ensure they receive timely updates and a consistent experience.
"We love that call flows in VXT are easy to set up, we can do it all ourselves and if we need to make changes, it’s really intuitive and easy to figure out with a few clicks, despite all the functionality and many options available to us!" - Joshua Reimer, Managing Director, Johnstone and Reimer Lawyers.
2. BDN
BDN, one of the oldest law firms in Australia, have 32 staff that provide legal services to Canberra, Queanbeyan and the surrounding regions. The firm takes a structured approach to handle a high volume of calls, with calls sent elsewhere for public holidays:
- Public holidays: An audio message informs callers about the holiday before directing them to voicemail.
- Outside business hours: Calls are sent straight to voicemail.
- Inside business hours (9:00 AM - 5:30 PM): Callers are greeted with a welcome message before being placed in a queue. If the queue is full, the call is routed to voicemail to prevent excessive hold times.
This setup allows BDN to manage client expectations, ensuring smooth communication particularly during busy periods or public holidays.
3. Jorge Munoz
Jorge Munoz and his small team represent families, businesses and entrepreneurs in immigration law matters across the United States. The firm employs a more sophisticated system to serve bilingual clients:
- Outside business hours: Calls are directed to an audio message, then to voicemail.
- Inside business hours: Callers are guided through a menu to select their language preference: “Press 1 for Spanish, Press 2 for English.”
- Based on their choice, calls are routed to the appropriate staff members with a call label indicating the selected language.
- If no staff member answers, the caller hears a voicemail message in their chosen language before being directed to the voicemail box.
This bilingual call flow ensures that clients receive personalized service, catering to the language preferences of their diverse clientele.
Each of these examples demonstrate how tailored call flows can improve client communication, enhance the caller experience, and simplify call routing operations in law firms of different sizes and locations.
Start using call flows today
Call routing isn’t just about managing calls, it’s about improving the way your firm communicates with clients. VXT’s Call Flow Builder makes it simple to create and manage call flows.
The benefits of automated call routing are huge, especially for large, growing or understaffed firms. Good call flows improve client interactions, ensuring no call is missed and that all calls are routed to the right place efficiently. This saves time, minimizes disruptions, reduces transfers, shortens wait times, leaves a great first impression, and boosts overall productivity. Conversely, poor call flows can lead to lost productivity, frustrated clients, missed calls, and inefficiencies that can cost your firm money in the long run.
Great call flows are a win-win. By using VXT’s Call Flow Builder, you can simplify and tailor your call routing, improving your client experience with every call.
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