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Call forwarding is a phone management feature that helps you to redirect or forward incoming calls to an alternate number. It is commonly used to forward calls to an office phone to a user’s cell or home phone, or a colleague’s number.
Call forwarding has been a phone feature for a long time, but new technologies have improved the sophistication and complexity of call forwarding capabilities. With many business phone systems, you can now set up multiple rules for how calls get forwarded based on different criteria:
Your business phone system may allow you to set different call forwarding rules for each scenario. You can even have sequential call forwarding rules. For example, if you do not answer your office phone, it could forward to your cell phone, and if you do not answer that, it could forward to your colleague’s number, before finally going to voicemail. You may also be able to use call forwarding to enable simultaneous rings for the forwarded numbers.
Callers may be alerted that the calls are being forwarded based on ringtone, and you can typically also set up rules for how many times each phone line rings before being forwarded.
Call forwarding improves productivity by getting more calls answered, especially in the current mobile work environment. If someone is out of the office for vacation or work travel, incoming calls can be sent to an alternate number, ensuring that callers get questions answered and issues resolved. It's a relatively easy way to ensure that no call goes unanswered.