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The blog for Global Call Forwarding has articles on the latest customer service trends, telecommunications technologies, and business news.
start a business in mexico
20th August 2020 blog, Business Insights

How to Start a Business in Mexico as a Foreigner

A photo of bring your own device policy byod essentials
17th August 2020 blog, Sales Management

8 Key Points That Any Bring Your Own Device Policy Must Have

An image of a woman using best practices in her work from home call center.
10th August 2020 blog, Call Center

Work From Home Call Center: 4 Best Practices [2025]

Photo of BYOD bring your own device
3rd August 2020 blog, Sales Management

BYOD: What is Bring Your Own Device?

Best practices for international business expansion in 2025.
30th July 2020 blog, Business Insights

11 Global Expansion Best Practices to Enter New Markets

International call forwarding benefits
29th July 2020 blog, Business Phone Numbers, Call Management

5 Top International Call Forwarding Benefits

international toll free numbers
27th July 2020 blog, Business Phone Numbers

Comparing All Types of International Toll Free Numbers

virtual team communication tips
23rd July 2020 blog, Business Insights

Virtual Team Communication: 10 Proven Tips for 2025

Call Center Performance Management
22nd July 2020 blog, Call Center

What is Call Center Performance Management? [2025]

How to Start a Business in Mexico as a Foreigner

20th August 2020 blog, Business Insights

Starting a business in a new country can be intimidating and confusing when you don’t know where to start. If you are looking to expand your company to Mexico or start a business in Mexico as a foreigner, here are some useful resources to help you enter the market successfully.

Starting a Business in Mexico as a Foreigner

When starting a business in a new country, there are a few things you need to pay attention to. For example, registering your business, tax information, business phone numbers, marketing to locals, and more.

Here are a few helpful steps to guide you when starting a business in Mexico as a foreigner.

1. Decide on a Company Name

First, choose a name for your company. Research local company names to get a sense of the way locals name their business. Then, find one that is most suitable for your business. Keep local slang in mind and consider the use of translation.

2. Create a Deed of Incorporation

Next, draw up a Deed of Incorporation; that is a deed for business entities. To do so, you will need a notary public. You may work with a Corredor Público, a type of attorney that specializes in deed formation. You can register your business as a:

  • Sociedad Anónima de Capital Variable S.A. de C.V. — a regular corporation
  • Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada S. de R.L. — an LLC
  • Sociedad Civil, S.C. — an LLC or PC, or
  • Asociación Civil, A.C. — a non-profit

When signing the Deed of Incorporation, ensure you have the following:

  • All owners are present and mentioned in the Deed
  • Owners’ Identification — official ID for Mexicans; passports and proof of legal presence for foreigners
  • CURP number (like an SSN)
  • RFC number (tax ID)
  • Proof of address

3. Register the Business

You must register your business with the National Business Information Registry (SIEM). Then, register its address by obtaining a Domicilio Fiscal — a registered address. This is the location where you will receive notifications from the government and carry out your business operations. Lastly, you will also need to register with the Mexican Tax Authorities (SAT) through any of their local offices or online.

4. Register with the Foreign Investment Register

An important part of starting a business in Mexico as a foreigner is registering with the Foreign Investment Register. If the owner is a foreigner without a permanent address status, then they have to register here.

5. Get a Mexico Phone Number

Next on the agenda is getting a Mexico phone number. Virtual phone service providers like Global Call Forwarding can help you get Mexico virtual phone numbers so you can get started on your business from wherever you are located. We offer Mexico toll free numbers and Mexico local numbers for different locations within the country.

Mexico toll free numbers let local Mexican residents contact your business for free while local Mexico numbers charge callers local calling rates. You can have these calls forwarded to any number or location of your choice. This way, even before you open field offices in Mexico, you can start communicating with locals through these numbers by having calls forwarded to your office or smartphone wherever you are located.

6. Start Advertising & Marketing

Finally, once you have your business registered, you can start advertising and promoting your business and its products and services. You can use international SEO, paid advertising, social media advertising, as well as promoting your business in local directories, etc.

Get Mexico Numbers with Global Call Forwarding

We offer business phone numbers for companies looking to expand locally and globally. Our plans come with advanced virtual communication features that help with call management and improve productivity within the office. To learn more, speak with one of our experts today!

8 Key Points That Any Bring Your Own Device Policy Must Have

17th August 2020 blog, Sales Management

The rise and comfort of remote working have led to employers considering the different ways to allow remote working without losing employee productivity. In this post, we will look at Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Policy and what important elements to include when creating one.

Building an Effective BYOD Policy: 8 Key Points

A Bring Your Own Device or BYOD policy refers to the work policy of allowing employees to use their own devices instead of company-sponsored ones. This policy is known to make employees more productive and efficient as they would be using devices and applications they are familiar with. Furthermore, such a policy paves the way for an easy switch to remote working, if need be. Lastly, it can also help companies save on yearly costs that would otherwise be spent on purchasing and maintaining equipment.

Here are some important elements and rules to keep in mind when creating your own Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy, as suggested by IBM Security:

1. Create Policy First: Then Purchase Technology

The first step is to start creating your BYOD policy before purchasing any technology, even mobile device management or MDM tech. BYOD policies affect almost every team or department in the office: IT, HR, legal, security, and employees using the devices. Therefore, rules of use should be determined beforehand.

The Most Important BYOD Policy Factors to Consider:

When creating your BYOD policy, consider the following factors:

  • What devices will be supported and accepted for use? Who determines device use, employer or employee?
  • Who will pay for data usage? Will there be a stipend or will the employee be responsible for expenses?
  • What security measures will be implemented?
  • What apps will be allowed and which ones forbidden?
  • What resources and services can employees access on their devices?
  • What data will be collected from the employee’s device?
  • What will your Acceptable Usage Agreement (AUA) consist of?

2. Plan to Keep Personal Info Private and Separate from Company Data

Since a BYOD policy allows employees to use their own devices and apps, it is important to pay attention to privacy. Big data is so large that it’s raising privacy and ethical issues for major corporations around the world. In this case, keeping personal information private and separate from the company’s data is necessary.

Make your privacy laws easily accessible and help your employees and users understand what data will and will not be collected from them. For example, personal emails, contacts, text messages, call history, etc. Furthermore, help them understand why you are collecting what you are collecting and how it benefits them.

The next step is to keep personal and professional data separate. Important and valuable corporate data, documents, and other files must be protected by your IT team. This is helpful in the case of an employee leaving the company; IT can quickly wipe information from the employee’s devices and keep company data safe.

3. Decide How to Manage Data Usage

Whether or not you are paying for the plan, you will want the managers or the users to be able to track how much data they are using. Furthermore, you will want to be upfront about in-network and roaming charges while also tracking them or providing warnings for excessive use.

Make sure users understand how the data plan works and how to effectively use data. There should be a system of checks and balances. Use data to elevate employees, not penalize them. Help them understand the importance of WiFi and to use it whenever available.

4. Make Enrollment Simple

Use technology that is user-friendly, simple, and does not involve complex procedures. Include instructions and troubleshooting advice in your emails or text messages. Also, let them know who they can connect with in case they encounter an issue.

Make the enrolling of devices and users secure and easy to follow. For example, users may receive an email or text link. When they click on this link, they will be led to a webpage where they can register their MDM profile for a device. Here, they will also be able to read and accept the user agreement.

You want to be able to quickly enroll devices — even in bulk — while providing users the ability to enroll themselves. You can add a layer of security by enabling a basic one-click authentication method.

5. Offer Self-Serving Options

One of the main advantages of a BYOD policy is the ability to reduce the time spent on troubleshooting or contacting the help desk. For this, you want to help your employees or users help themselves. Easy passcode recovery, geo-locating for locating lost devices, being able to quickly wipe a device to protect corporate data, and so on, are a few ways to help employees as well as your business while ensuring efficiency throughout the processes.

6. Enable Easy Configuration

An important part of successfully running a BYOD policy is being able to configure devices quickly and easily. The best solution is configuring devices over-the-air for optimization. Your platform or system should give the employee everything they need such as access to email, contacts, WiFi, VPN, relevant documents, apps, virtual phone numbers, etc. You may even make a note of applications that are unacceptable or include data usage warnings.

7. Monitor Devices for Usage

Now that you know how much data will be allowed and the stipend or budget allotted for usage, monitor your employees’ usage to ensure they do not go beyond the allocated amount. Furthermore, monitor how they are using their data. Some circumstances to watch for:

  • Attempting to disable management
  • Attempting to jailbreak or root a phone to get paid apps for free
  • Not complying with the security policy
  • Using apps that are not allowed or unaccepted within the policy

Some ways to battle devices that do not comply with your BYOD policy is to use your MDM solution to selectively to wipe their devices or to send warning messages. You may also choose to make additional adjustments based on what you are seeing.

8. Using Call Forwarding for Communication

Lastly, BYOD policies work very well along with call forwarding. A call forwarding service allows users to use their devices to make and receive business calls. You can use call forwarding to keep your team or office connected even when they are working from home or traveling. This way, your employees are reachable through inexpensive communication while continuing to be productive.

Create Your BYOD Policy Now

Keeping the above points in mind, take time and consideration when creating a Bring Your Own Device policy for your workplace. For call forwarding services or to learn how call forwarding can support BYOD, call us or chat with our experts today!

Work From Home Call Center: 4 Best Practices [2025]

10th August 2020 blog, Call Center

With the rise in work from home as an option, more and more employees demand flexibility in hours and location. This has given rise to the possibility of a home-based call center that does everything a regular call center does, however, running entirely from home. Here we will highlight 4 best practices that can help ensure your work from home call center runs smoothly.

How to Make a Home-Based Call Center Work Effectively?

Agents and employees prefer to be employed at a work from home call center because it offers flexibility and convenience that can directly impact the quality of their work. With remote or virtual call centers, employees do not have to worry about commuting or work their location. They can work from the comfort of their homes while still doing their job well.

But as a call center manager, virtual call centers may seem like an unproductive alternative as you are not able to keep a constant eye on your agents. So, what are some ways to improve work from home call center productivity that can keep managers and agents happy? Here’s a look.

1. Invest in Virtual Call Center Software to Improve Productivity

Unlike on-premise call centers, virtual call centers comes equipped with necessary call center tools to let your remote and work-at-home agents perform well. Here are some of the top features included:

  • Virtual phone numbers (toll free, local, and international numbers) — To improve local and international calling at cheaper rates.
  • Call forwarding and routing — Direct and route calls based on location, time, skills needed, etc.
  • IVR systems — An automated response that interacts with customers when agents are occupied.
  • Extensions for different departments and call transfer — To improve connectivity and collaboration between teams and departments.
  • Call recording — To record business calls for quality assurance.
  • Outbound calling — Includes a web dialer and customizable caller ID capabilities to make local and international calling easier.

2. Choose Useful Project Management Systems & CRMs

To ensure that employees are doing their jobs well, it is important to have reliable systems in place that track projects, progress, and more. Here is where project management and customer relationship management systems come into play. With the right systems, your teams can create and manage tasks, update customer information and interaction, and more from any location. And you can keep track of their progress, review recordings of calls, and offer ways to improve.

3. Get Outbound Calling Features

An outbound calling service can be very helpful when running a work from home call center. Outbound calling makes local and international calling from any location easy and inexpensive. You can get outbound calling through your VoIP service provider along with your selected local, toll free, and international virtual phone numbers.

With this service in place, your remote employees can call local and international customers by displaying local or toll free caller IDs instead of a random, unknown number. For example, when calling Florida, they can display a Miami local number or US toll free number. And when calling Dubai, they can display a Dubai local number or UAE toll free number. Customers are more likely to answer and even return the call of a number they recognize as local or if it is a toll free number. An international or “unknown” number is much more likely to not get answered.

Plus, the web dialer makes it quick and easy to place and answer calls on any device it is installed on; such as a computer, laptop, smartphone, etc. You can store customer contact information and interaction in the dialer, as well as check voicemails. All of this makes an outbound calling service a work from call center must-have.

4. Track Call Center KPIs

Finally, track performance through call center KPIs. Software such as your CRM or VoIP phone system will help you get call reports and analytics. Here you will find information about:

  • How many calls were answered
  • How long the agent took to answer the call
  • Duration of the call, and more

Common work from home call center KPIs to track include:

  • Average time in queue
  • Average response time
  • First call resolution
  • Average handle time (AHT)
  • Customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores

Increase Productivity and Accountability for Your Virtual Call Center

Feeling more confident about running a work from home call center? There are plenty of tools and practices that can make virtual call centers work effectively. The trick is to find what works best for your needs. Call us at 1 (888) 908 6171 to learn more about how our services can improve your call center.

BYOD: What is Bring Your Own Device?

3rd August 2020 blog, Sales Management

Interested in creating a more productive and employee-friendly office environment? You may want to consider adopting a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy. Here we will explain what a BYOD policy is and how to create one.

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD): Definition

BYOD or Bring Your Own Device is an IT policy that encourages employees to use their own devices such as laptops and smartphones for work. Other terms for such a policy include Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT), Bring Your Own Phone (BYOP), or Bring Your Own PC (BYOPC). With this policy, employees can use their personal devices to access office-related items such as email, documents, etc.

A BYOD policy generally entails access to the following 4 options:

  • Personal devices
  • Personal devices, apps, and data, but with IT control
  • Non-sensitive information and data
  • Personal devices with limited or no ability for local storage of data

A Bring Your Own Device policy should be implemented carefully while understanding the risks involved.

Why is a Bring Your Own Device Policy Important?

The Covid-19 pandemic led to a rise in remote working. And because of this, it is becoming increasingly important for businesses to consider BYOD as a work practice. The main reasons to adopt such a policy include:

  • Cost-savings for the business
  • Increasing employee productivity and efficiency
  • Growing remote working trends

Forbes put together some important BYOD-related stats:

  • About 61% of Gen Y and 50% of workers over 30 years of age find that their personal tech tools can help increase work-life productivity.
  • Approximately 60% of workers use their smartphones or tablets for work-related tasks.
  • BYOD-friendly businesses save about $350 per year, per employee annually.

Keeping these statistics in mind, one can see the appeal for a comfortable working environment where employees can use tools and apps they are familiar with. Additionally, businesses adopting a BYOD policy can reduce costs while still ensuring employees continue to do quality work.

How to Build an Effective BYOD Policy

An effective BYOD policy looks at and includes a few different and necessary factors and elements. When building your BYOD policy, consider these useful tips outlined by IBM:

  1. Keep enrollment simple and secure.
  2. Offer self-service options such as PINs, passwords, etc.
  3. Help them keep personal information private by explaining privacy policies and providing functions to protect their information.
  4. Use a Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution to keep personal and professional data separate.
  5. Define parameters for technology use and consider important factors such as — what devices will be accepted and supported? Who will be responsible for the payment? What will be included in the privacy policy?
  6. To maintain professionalism and productivity, monitor devices that are non-compliant.
  7. Invest in technology that will make communication easy such as a cloud phone system, management, and storage systems.

Related: 8 Key Points That Any Bring Your Own Device Policy Must Have

BYOD and VoIP: Benefits

Remote working is gaining popularity due to the coronavirus forcing millions to work from home. But what does that mean for businesses that need to maintain business-related communications such as collaborating between teams, generating new leads and sales, and more? The answer is simple: a BYOD with VoIP policy. So, how does BYOD work with VoIP? It lets your employees connect from any device and any location. This allows them to use their own devices for work-related processes such as:

  • Checking email
  • Communicating with teammates
  • Communicating with business contacts, clients, customers, vendors, and leads
  • Accessing work-related documents

But how does BYOD work with a VoIP phone system? A voice over IP business phone system lets users connect through any device from any location. This location could be the main office, home offices, remote locations, and so on. And so, a BYOD VoIP policy lets users connect from their devices irrespective of their location. This way, remote workers or traveling agents can still complete their work and stay connected with the rest of their team.

Here are the top 5 benefits of having a BYOD VoIP policy:

1. Stay Connected Always

Remote working trends are on the rise as many employers and employees are realizing the benefits of working from home during the pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated that working from home or remotely is not a far-fetched possibility. However, not all businesses were able to easily switch to remote working.

With a BYOD VoIP policy, you can easily transition to work from home or other remote locations. No time or money is wasted. Employees simply use their own devices to log into the business’ VoIP system and continue to work as usual.

2. Save Communication-Related Costs

VoIP services are growing popular with businesses that spend a lot of time and money on inbound and outbound calling. With a Bring Your Own Device and VoIP phone system set-up, you will reduce your monthly phone bill while still offering services professionally. This way, you will be able to save on phone costs.

In addition, employees will be able to make outgoing calls while masking their caller ID and showing your business phone number instead. This helps employees safeguard personal information while unifying your outbound calling efforts through a business phone number.

3. No Need for Additional Equipment

Furthermore, to use BYOD VoIP, you do not need any additional equipment. Users can access their VoIP services with their own devices without worrying about installing or maintaining new hardware. Most providers will offer you a VoIP service that is compatible with the most commonly-used SIP-ready devices. This lets you save on hardware and IT costs.

Related: The Ultimate List of BYOD Policy Pros and Cons

4. Increase Employee Satisfaction and Productivity

Since employees get to use their own devices and applications, they are more likely to use those that improve their productivity. BYOD gives them the opportunity to use tools, apps, and services that keep them organized and thereby increase efficiency.

5. Hire Internationally

Finally, you can expand your reach and hire remote workers in different locations. Yes, even in different countries. This lets you provide customer support in local time zones and languages, helping your business gain more international recognition.

So, is BYOD for VoIP Right for You?

Remote and virtual office set-ups are becoming more and more common. Employees appreciate the option to work from home and not having that option can deter some away from your business. Here’s an opportunity to maintain communication over different devices. With the ease and convenience of work from home, it is a smart decision to prepare for circumstances where your employees may need to work remotely. Therefore, considering BYOD for VoIP may open up new opportunities for your business and its employees. Call us today to find out how our VoIP service works!

11 Global Expansion Best Practices to Enter New Markets

30th July 2020 blog, Business Insights

Is global expansion on your next business meeting agenda? Any business aiming for success will consider entering the international market at some point. Expanding beyond your immediate location can help increase sales and credibility. But how do you make such a big decision and ensure it doesn’t fail? Here are some best practices and tips when going global in 2025.

11 Global Expansion Best Practices to Enter New Markets

Considering global expansion for any business can seem like a daunting task. However, plenty of tools and resources are available to make this transition as smooth as possible. Here, we outline best practices to consider when expanding internationally. These practices are divided into different stages:

  • Planning
  • Presence
  • Follow-Through

Stage A: Planning

The first step to any business’s global expansion strategy is thorough planning. This includes choosing which countries to target and how to target them.

1. Which Markets to Target
Conduct market research and gather data and intelligence to help you determine which regions are prime for your business. Create new buyer personas and study different demographics. Research customer behavior, preferences, patterns, and local trends. Consider the demand for your product and the purchasing power of your buyer persona.

2. How to Target New Markets
You can start small by test-selling specific products or services in these markets to see how they respond. You may even consider using research and small business tools made available by the governments in those areas.

3. How to Offer Sales and Support in These Markets
Open lines of communication between your main office and the new areas you want to target. Standard options include contact forms, live chat on the website, social media accounts, and local phone numbers. This way, you can sell and provide follow-the-sun service to entities located in these new markets.

4. International Payment Methods
An essential aspect of global expansion is to make processes easy for customers and clients in different states and countries. One of these processes includes setting up international payment methods. You must research the local buyers’ preferred methods to decide which payment methods are helpful. Additionally, ensure that this payment method has a reputation for security and is credible.

Stage B: Presence

Once you’ve decided which markets to enter, the next step in global expansion is creating and maintaining a local presence in them.

5. Global Marketing with Partnerships
Start by establishing connections and partnerships with local experts and business contacts. A local partner with access to the right network of customers, employees, and contacts will prove beneficial. You can quickly enter the market, access the right audience, and create your local presence. You may also consider starting on existing online marketplaces like eBay, Amazon, etc. You can test the demand and make the necessary changes before selling with full force.

6. International SEO
Next, you want to optimize your online presence with international SEO strategies. International SEO is like geo-targeting, optimizing your website for different countries and languages. It helps search engines identify the countries you want to target. Then, it provides the tools to support your marketing efforts. For example, it may offer different languages you may use or show users local results before international results, etc.

7. Global Sales Development
Now, it’s time to start making calls. Once your partnerships are set up and your website optimized for different markets, the next step is to increase brand visibility and awareness in these local markets. To do so, you can use phone sales. A business phone service can support your sales development strategy by letting you call your local, long-distance, and international customers. Furthermore, you can use international SIP trunks to display a local phone number instead of one they don’t recognize. This way, you can establish connections virtually while taking your time to open a field office.

Stage C: Follow-Through

Once you’ve prepared your markets and established partnerships and communications, the next step in global expansion is to start making sales and offering customer support. There are several different ways to do this. The best way is to buy international virtual numbers and talk to your business contacts over the phone. Here are the most important tools to consider.

8. International Toll-Free Service
An international toll-free number is a toll-free number for different countries. In other words, each country has designated toll-free numbers that customers from within this country can call for free. Global Call Forwarding is the most trusted provider of international toll-free numbers. Your business can get international toll-free numbers for each country in which you want to do business.

9. 24/7 Customer Support
Another important global expansion best practice is to offer 24/7 customer support on different channels. This includes phone, email, live chat, SMS, support tickets, and more. You can offer after-hours service by developing an efficient automated self-service system that resolves common queries. Most commonly, businesses will facilitate global customer support using an ITFS number. Workers in remote locations and different time zones often handle customer support.

9. Regional Offices and Infrastructure
Ultimately, your business will need to open regional offices and colocation centers after reaching global revenue targets. Regional offices will host local staff in each region. In addition, your critical infrastructure will be hosted at colocation centers. You can find co-working spaces and regional data centers by quickly searching online.

10. Local Phone Numbers
Local numbers have specific area codes that distinguish them from other areas. Local calls are charged local rates instead of long-distance rates. This is why businesses choose to get a local business number so local customers can contact them without any hesitation. When driving international growth in 2025, convenience is more important than ever. Your business should aim to provide a convenient experience as part of your follow-through.

11. Universal Freephone Numbers
A UIFN is a single, universal toll-free number accessible from 60 countries. However, this list of countries is predetermined and cannot be altered. If most of the countries you want to do business with fall under this list, you search for a UIFN to streamline your inbound calls.

Start By Setting Up International Communications

We at Global Call Forwarding can set you up with local, international, and toll-free numbers to manage your international communication. Start by signing up for our global inbound service or porting your existing number on our homepage. For more information, call us at 1 (888) 908 6171.

5 Top International Call Forwarding Benefits

29th July 2020 blog, Business Phone Numbers, Call Management

International call forwarding is used by tens of thousands of businesses worldwide, as there are many associated benefits. Here we outline the top 5 business call forwarding benefits that an international or remote call forwarding service brings to any business.

5 Benefits of International Call Forwarding for Small Business

International call forwarding helps your company do business internationally, by forwarding or rerouting calls made to a virtual phone number to a destination number, or multiple destinations anywhere in the world.

For example, calls made to your virtual number can be forwarded to your smartphone, remote employees, or office PBX system. This makes it possible to receive free phone calls from any location in the world. It also gives your business credibility. So how can international call forwarding benefit your small business?

Related: How International Call Forwarding Works

1. Make Your Business Reachable

With international call forwarding and toll free numbers, your business can provide international and long-distance customers and contacts a free way to connect with your business. Customers in different countries can call your international toll free number for that country for free and get the support they need. Meanwhile, you can forward incoming calls to any device or line that is convenient for you.

Making your business reachable and accessible is an important part of doing business internationally. Customers trust a company that responds and resolves issues quickly. If they struggle to get a hold of you, then your customers will take their business elsewhere.

2. More Global Coverage

One of the most popular business call forwarding benefits is the ability to improve a business’ global reach. If global expansion is on your company’s list of goals, then you need to find the right tools to help you enter the global market without dramatically increasing the cost of operation. Global Call Forwarding, for instance, offers virtual phone numbers such as local, mobile, and international toll free numbers for more than 160 countries across the globe.

You can use these numbers from your country of origin, without needing to relocate or open field offices. Then, test how your product/service is doing and how customers are responding to it. Based on how well the market test goes, you can choose to open a field office or hire remote customer service agents or employees in the vicinity. This way, you can add customers from various countries to your customer base.

3. Increase Local and International Presence

Virtual numbers help you create a local presence within countries, states, and cities across the world. This is because you can get a local or toll free number assigned to that area and callers can contact your business as a local business while you receive calls instantly in your home country through the international call forwarding service. And so, even if you are not physically present within a region or country, you have a virtual presence. However, customers are not privy to this information. Globalization is at a critical juncture, and call forwarding services enable businesses to stay connected to customers on a global scale.

4. Reduce Use of Voicemail

With international call forwarding, you can have calls forwarded to your smartphone or home office during the evenings or the weekend. This way, when callers contact you outside of business hours, they can still get a hold of your services instead of leaving a voicemail. This can help build customer loyalty during this age of continuous connection, as customers appreciate talking to someone instantly.

5. Offer After-Hours Customer Service

Being able to provide uninterrupted service is another one of the top business call forwarding benefits. Additionally, you can aim to offer 24/7 customer support. Do this by forwarding calls to your home office or remote employees located in different time zones. This not only makes your business more reachable but more likely to improve customer experience and satisfaction.

Get International Call Forwarding Today

Get an international call forwarding service from Global Call Forwarding. Upgrade your business phone system so you can offer sales and customer support to interested prospects around the world. Want to learn more? Call or chat with us today!

Comparing All Types of International Toll Free Numbers

27th July 2020 blog, Business Phone Numbers

Most companies are trying to go global to expand their reach and generate more sales. But how do you communicate with international clientele without increasing your expenses? International toll-free numbers are the way to go! Here we compare all the types of international toll free numbers so you can find one that is perfect for your needs.

Comparing All Types of International Toll-Free Numbers

An international toll free number or ITFN is a number type that enables international calling between a business and its customers. Callers dial this number for free and it connects to employees or agents in a different country by forwarding calls internationally to any device.

Certain types of international toll free numbers, such as traditional international numbers, are country-specific. That is, they are free to call from within the country they are assigned to. On the other hand, universal or global freephone numbers can be contacted for free from a predetermined list of countries.

If your business has an international clientele and you want to provide international customers with the same customer service and care you offer domestic or local customers, then your business could greatly benefit from international toll free numbers. It is known that global consumers want convenience in 2025.

Let’s look at the different types of international toll free numbers so you can identify which is more suitable for your needs.

ITFN

ITFN are country-specific and can be called for free by residents of the country they are assigned to. You can forward incoming calls to smartphones, computers, VoIP softphones, and more. Businesses with international clientele will find these numbers useful. With these numbers, your company can create a virtual presence in different countries and offer customer service globally.

Domestic Toll-Free Numbers

Domestic toll-free numbers are similar to ITFN in that they too can be called by a resident of the country the number is assigned to. In other words, residents of the US can call a US toll-free number for free when in-country. These numbers are true “800 numbers.”

The main difference between domestic and international toll-free numbers is that the former does not generally have additional fees for calls connecting to mobile or pay phones. Therefore, businesses that want to provide callers with a free way to call from any device will find domestic toll-free numbers more suitable.

Local 2-Way Numbers

Local 2-way voice enables users to place outbound calls with a local phone number and display an in-country caller ID. These are essentially cloud-based local numbers that support both inbound and outbound voice calling, no matter where the business is located.

Calls made with local 2-way voice are routed through local routes instead of international routes, even if your business is not located in that specific region. This means these calls are guaranteed to connect and show a local caller ID. Additionally, since these are local phone numbers, they have country and region-specific phone number formats. These are recognizable and familiar, helping your business increase response rates and encourage callbacks.

UIFN

A UIFN is a single unique number that is accessible and free to call from multiple countries. Currently, 60 countries are included in the UIFN number program monitored by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). There are, however, some factors to consider when purchasing UIFNs:

  • Your number must be registered in at least 2 countries.
  • You must use the number between 2 countries within the first 180 days of purchase.
  • These numbers have a significant, one-time setup fee.
  • The different dialing formats are different from regular or standard toll-free numbers.
  • Not all countries are included in the program.
  • The more countries selected, the higher the cost.

If you run operations and want to offer customer service in the countries included in the UIFN program, then you may consider a UIFN number to streamline incoming calls and provide just one number for customer support, sales, account management, etc.

What Type of International Toll-Free Number is Right for Me?

If your business extends operations to 2-3 different countries, then you can get international toll-free numbers or domestic numbers for each country and list them on your website or social media platforms. This way, you can provide customer service and sales assistance to clients within these countries.

However, for a business like a travel or hospitality company with multiple locations involved, a UIFN is more useful. This way, customers from around the world can connect with you through one number.

 Want to Learn More?

Global Call Forwarding is the leading provider of international toll-free numbers. We have been in this business for over 25 years and we offer unmatched quality, affordability, and service features. We can help you find the ideal phone number for your company. Call us today to learn more!

Virtual Team Communication: 10 Proven Tips for 2025

23rd July 2020 blog, Business Insights

Is your business considering moving to virtual offices? Then you need to be well-versed in virtual team communication tools and practices that will maintain productivity and efficiency.

Tips for Virtual Team Communication

When businesses allow for remote working, there’s always a certain level of nervousness attached to it. How will managers communicate with remote employees? How will different teams or offices communicate with each other? How do we track progress and productivity? Here are 10 proven tips to ease virtual team communication to ensure productivity.

1. Make Remote Working a Reality

In this day and age, a business that absolutely does not consider work-from-home as an option may run the risk of losing good employees. The most popular reason why business managers don’t want to consider remote working is because it’s hard to keep an eye on employees and maintain accountability. However, with the right work from home setup, you can establish and maintain communications while tracking the progress of remote teams.

When working remotely, many issues may pop up such as:

  • Lack of collaboration
  • Inability to contact employees
  • Urgent problem-solving needs, and so on

However, the right tools and platforms can help resolve these issues and create a more cohesive virtual office. Here are some of the tools available right now that can assist your team in virtual environments.

2. Invest in Reliable Technologies and Platforms

When working virtually and in different locations, what are the best ways to keep in touch and track your employees’ performance? The most popular answer: project management and cloud phone systems.

Project management systems can help track progress and milestones. On these platforms, teams can work together on projects and share them through the internet. As a manager, you can have access to your teams’ tasks and projects, and keep yourself up to date.

Get a business phone system that enables voice and video communication over the internet. Your entire team can make calls from their computers. This helps reduce costs and maintain connectivity. Communicate with employees as and when needed. Additionally, you can have calls routed to specific employees to ensure everyone is doing their job and no employee is sitting idle.

3. Choose the Right Virtual Team Communication Tools

Similar to the above point, depending on your business’ functions and needs, you will require appropriate virtual team communication tools. These include:

  • One platform for all communications (phone, email, chat, SMS, etc.)
  • Call forwarding and call transfer
  • Call recording software to record business calls
  • Audio and video conferencing
  • Project management systems
  • File storage and collaboration tools, and more

Find applications and software that work best for your teams. This may require some trial and error but getting the right tools can positively impact collaboration and productivity, even when working remotely.

4. Offer Different Mediums for Easy Communication

Don’t just stick to email or phone conversations for quick support. You may consider having a chat or SMS tool that can be accessed via their smartphone. You can also develop a system where employees who have queries or encounter issues may submit support tickets or “problem-forms” and receive the right solution via email. The trick is to offer different ways to stay connected.

5. Consider Time Zone Differences

Remote teams are not always located in the same city or country. And for this reason, all of your employees need to be aware of the different time zones involved. You may consider creating an online spreadsheet detailing contact and time zone information. This ensures no calls and meetings are conducted at inappropriate times. A time zone calculator may prove useful so users don’t have to spend time calculating the exact hour.

6. Create Guides, Knowledge Bases, and More

Another important aspect of virtual team communication is the ability to quickly access important or necessary information. One way to do so is by creating reliable communication channels (as mentioned above). However, another effective method is to create support guides and knowledge bases that can be accessed by relevant people. The point is to provide easy access to information so employees can do their jobs effectively. These guides can be stored on Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft’s OneDrive, or on your project management system’s storage feature.

7. Monitor Metrics and KPIs

Next, monitor important and relevant KPIs instead of constantly micromanaging and monitoring your employees. Focus on the results of their performance instead of how they are getting work done or how long they’ve been at their desk.

8. Make Goals and Proper Business Communication Behavior Clear

All your teams and employees need to be on the same page and know what the final goal is. The same goes for proper business communication. Define, explain, and practice. For instance, are emojis or GIFs allowed? How does voting take place? Does everyone need to respond or do only relevant people? How many times should employees check their messages or email, every 30 minutes or every hour? And so on.

9. Avoid Long and Unnecessary Video Calls

Video calls are necessary at times to get everybody on the same page to receive quick updates. However, it is easy to go off-track and end up on video calls for more time than needed. Therefore, plan to have video calls only when necessary and follow best practices. This will help in reducing the time spent on these calls and increasing productivity.

10. Check-in With Your Team Regularly

Finally, check in with your remote teams as often as possible but within reason. You may choose to do brief monthly meetings. However, it may help to check-in via email, a quick call, or chat every week to make remote employees feel valuable.

Need Help with Virtual Team Communication? Ask Us!

We offer tools that can help keep your business communication stay connected no matter where your employees or offices are located. Our virtual phone system can route calls as needed and it provides high-quality connection. To build your cloud phone system, call us at 1 (888) 908 6171 today!

What is Call Center Performance Management? [2025]

22nd July 2020 blog, Call Center

Sales and customer service reps and employees are often the first line of contact between your business and its customers. Therefore, their performance can directly impact how successful your business or call center is. Call center performance management is a surefire way to test and review employee performance and provide room for improvement.

What is Call Center Performance Management?

Call center performance management refers to the tracking, analyzing, calculating, and improving of agent and employee performance. Whether you run a virtual, remote, or on-premise call center, conducting performance management and reviews is important to determine how your agents are performing and how satisfied your customers are.

How to Manage and Improve Performance in Your Contact Center

Customers often reach out to a business to gain information about a product or service or to resolve an issue they are facing. And when they do so, they are almost always expecting a quick response, low wait times, friendly interaction, and a quick resolution. And so, your agents should be able to provide:

  • Personalized and friendly customer service
  • Improved first call resolution
  • Fast call resolution during the first call (in other words, high first call resolution rates)
  • Simple handling of the problem
  • Service for any additional issues

Call center performance management is tracking whether your agents and employees are able to do the above while upholding company standards. And then, training them appropriately, if they fail to meet your standards. The goal is to help your agents provide high levels of customer service and enhanced caller experience. Identifying where they are failing can help you as you help them succeed.

Measuring Call Center Performance Management

Call center performance management includes evaluating agent performance during customer interactions and how they line up with business goals. The best way to conduct performance management is to identify and use KPIs applicable to your business. Some KPIs to consider are:

  • Customer satisfaction scores (CSAT)
  • Average handle time
  • First call resolution
  • Average speed of answer
  • Average response time, and more

To measure the performance of your call center, first set realistic business goals. Then, use contact center software to learn about average handle time, wait times, conversions, first call resolution rates, customer satisfaction goals, and so on. By studying these metrics you can get a good idea of the strengths and weaknesses of your employees. As a manager, you can then make well-informed decisions about workforce management and ways to improve customer service.

Contact Center Performance Management Tools

1. Call Center Software
Your call center software can help with tracking important KPIs and metrics through call logs and activity reports. On-premise call center software is run by the company while a virtual call center software is hosted by a cloud server. The type of call center software you should choose depends on how much control you want to have over the software as well as your in-house IT team.

2. Contact Center Metrics and KPIs
As mentioned above, call center performance management includes tracking and measuring agent performance. Use relevant call center KPIs to study and optimize agent behavior before, during, and post calls.

3. Inbound/Outbound Call Recording
Use hosted call recording to listen in or review calls. These recordings can also help you train new employees by demonstrating acceptable and unacceptable agent behavior.

4. Coaching and Training
Use training material to continue training customer service employees on ways to reach and maintain company standards. Refresher courses, workshops, webinars, software tutorials, etc., can come in very handy.

Start Optimizing Agent Productivity!

Call center performance management will not only help you identify your team’s strengths and weaknesses but will also show you what steps need to be taken to optimize productivity and efficiency. This can help your call center offer better customer service and improve customer satisfaction. Start today!