Table of Contents
- Benefits of using headsets
- Features of some top-shelf headphones
- Category 1: Wired and Economical
- Category 2: Wired and Comfortable
- Category 3: Wireless and Economical
- Category 4: Wireless and comfortable
- Category 5: Wireless with multi-device connection functionality
- The difference between Bluetooth and DECT
What headsets are designed for sales and customer support purposes
While headsets are not used everywhere in our everyday lives, they certainly are important. A headset is something that keeps things private and respectful to others around you. Whether you may be listening to music or sitting on a call… headsets keep you and whatever you are doing, personal.
Benefits of using headsets
Noise reduction
The workplace can be extremely noisy, especially during peak times of the month. This is to be understood, as everyone in the office needs to have a productive conversation with their respective callers. A productive conversation, however, can prove to be rather difficult with everyone needing peace and quiet.
Noise reduction technology is the way forward in solving this problem. Noise reduction deletes all background noise, so all your client can hear is the sound of your own voice. Providing the both of you with a quality conversation
Crystal clear sound
All telephonic calls with your clients are important. Needing to repeat oneself, whether it be your employee or caller is unacceptable. You don’t want to waste the caller’s time or your own. That’s why you need a headset with HD voice functionality.
The joy of some headsets that offer this technology, is that they too take away the background noise of your environment. Coupling this with the technology of noise reduction will have you and the caller in your own private setting with nothing to disturb you.
Ergonomics
Comfort is very important for someone who needs to be on the phone 8 hours a day. Having to deal with that extra piece of hardware, like a telephone can get to a person. Not only is it harder to handle, but can also aid in muscle strain in your employee’s back or shoulder.
Your staff will thank you for using ergonomically designed headsets. Headsets that can be set to meet their personal requirements. They may even forget they are using them.
Features of using some top-shelf headphones
Peakstop technology removes all possible harmful noises from the system before reaching your ears. It also keeps the sound level in a safe range to protect your hearing.
Set up and maintain the audio system from anywhere in the world. By using a web-based solution, you can implement all the company’s headsets remotely and get a complete overview of all the headsets already in the company’s system.
As long as you stay in range (120 meters), you can attend to other matters in the workplace while you are on a call. This feature is especially useful to floor managers or supervisors when they are needed elsewhere.
Safetone is primarily just composed of PeakStop and IntelliTone. I’ve already discussed with you what PeakStop is, now just the IntelliTone. Whereas PeakStop stops all immediate harmful noises from damaging your eyes (over 118 Decibels), Intellitone keeps the average noise exposure lower than 85 Decibels.
- Tap to Connect & UC plug and play
Setting up new equipment can be a drag at times, however, no installation or connections need to be set up for these headsets to work seamlessly. Near Field Communication technology allows you to just tap your headset to wherever the VoIP software may be loaded, and you’re all good to go.
- Extremely long battery life
There’s no point in using wireless headsets if you can’t even use them for that long. That is why makers of VoIP headsets have set out to make their batteries last up to 8 hours on a single chart. Which is simply amazing, considering all the technology packed into this little device.
Even though I said dual, I did mean several. Dual connectivity lets you connect your headset to a few audio devices. This means you can attend to everything you need to, without ever having to take them off.
Our choice of top-shelf headsets
There are several headsets out there all designed for specific purposes. Some use headsets for gaming, while others use them for listening to music. I have compiled a list of headsets that are great for VoIP software on your IP Phone, Desktop, or mobile. I’ve gone ahead and organized them into different categories to make your decision process a lot easier.
Category 1: Wired and Economical
Agent AP-2U
The most basic of headsets, designed for those seated for the whole workday. The AP-2U comes with a USB connection, to use in conjunction with your softphone or deskphone. Soft foam earpads, keeping the headset comfortable when wearing for extended periods of time. These soft foam earpads also have the ability to provide some form of noise-cancelling capability. It has a noise-cancelling microphone, to keep calls to your client of sound quality. Other features include in-line call controls and mute, and some models have a quick disconnect function for IP phone users and acoustic shock protection. A basic price for a basic piece of hardware. You can adjust them to fit your head just right. The Agent AP-2U costs €59
Jabra Evolve 20 Headsets
A more popular choice amongst the headsets in this category. Manage calls a lot easier on the Jabra Evolve 20 with its call management control unit. The control unit allows you to adjust the volume to your liking as well as mute the call. Answering and ending calls can also be done from here.
This economical headset also offers passive noise cancellation from other human voices thanks to their soft foam earpads. While the headsets will only partially block out passive noise on your side, your client does not need to suffer at all. The Evolve 20 comes with a top-
notch noise-cancelling microphone, so your client hears you and only you.
This device is also plug and play so no installation is necessary. The price of these headphones will set you back around €69.
Category 2: Wired and comfortable
Jabra Evolve2 40
Moving onto the second category of this article, I would like to introduce you to the Jabra Evolve2 40. This wired headset comes with a busy light that is visible from all angles, so everyone in the office will know when to bother you and when to leave you alone. The busy light will automatically switch on when you are on a call, however manually switching it on is also an option for those times where you really can’t talk.
Nobody intentionally disturbing your workflow is just winning half the battle. You need absolute peace and quiet, especially when dealing with clients. Background noise can not be invited to your personal call. The noise-cancelling foam cushions stop all background chatter from entering the chat, allowing for true passive noise cancellation.
It’s not enough that you are fully focused and can hear the client clearly. To minimize the stress and time of the caller, they need to be able to properly hear what you have to say too. Jabra has therefore designed this set of headphones with three microphones built-into it. All three microphones use software to cancel out background noise and work on providing high-quality crystal clear audio to the client.
The Evolve2 will cost you €99.00 per unit.
Category 3: Wireless
Yealink WH62
When working in an environment where you are on calls all day, it’s not easy to leave your desk for any kind of reason. Every second an agent is away from their desk, whether it be a coffee break or struggling to get the printer to work, is time wasted.
The Yealink WH62 was designed for such an environment. With 160m of range and 14 hours of talk time, these headsets will reach every corner of the office and last a whole 12-hour shift before charging. As for private or sensitive conversations with people around you, just simply lift your mic up to mute the call.
The HD-enabled voice quality system also has noise-canceling technology which uses 2 mics to effectively block out all background noise, even in a busy office. These headsets have a busy light function on the side of them to let others know when you cannot be disturbed. As an optional extra you can get an external busy light for your desk, so everyone can see from afar that you may be unavailable.
Jabra Pro 900 series
The most simplistic of the wireless headphones. The Jabra Pro 900 series was designed for the front-line call center workforce of any company, who needs wireless functionality. With a range of up to 120 meters, these headsets are the first step into a wire-free workplace. The 900 series has both DECT and Bluetooth functionality, all depending on the one you want. The DECT variant headsets have a range of 120 meters, while the range on the Bluetooth models reaches 100 meters.
As it was discussed in the previous category, it is essential to have top-notch sound for you and the client on the other side of the call. The Jabra Pro 900 series offers lifelike conversations by using ambient noise-reducing speakers, a noise-cancelling microphone that is even capable of avoiding air shocks.
With wireless headsets, comes the issue of having a big enough battery to last throughout the day. Luckily the Pro 900 series has a battery life of 12 hours, and charges when you leave it on the stand when not in use. Meaning you ultimately don’t really need to worry about your headset having enough charge to get through the day, just focus on keeping your body battery solid enough to make it. Prices for this series start from €199.00.
The difference between Bluetooth and DECT
Some of you may be wondering at this point, what is DECT? How does it differ from Bluetooth? (and the most important question) Which one best suits my needs?
Lucky for you, a lot of the office headphones we covered have both Bluetooth and DECT functionality. However, I will dive deeper into their differences to help you decide better.
First and foremost, it is evident that DECT has a much better range than Bluetooth devices. There are 3 different classes of Bluetooth connectivity, and the highest can only go up to 100 meters.
However, DECT devices aren’t all sunshine and rainbows. Only a limited amount of devices can be used in one area at a time. Bluetooth is a lot more efficient, just pair with your device and you are ready to go. There is a lot of technical jargon explaining that side of things, but all you need to know for now, is that DECT gives you better range and Bluetooth lets you use more devices.
Before wrapping up, one more point to consider when comparing Bluetooth and DECT connectivity. DECT devices can only connect up to one other device, whereas Bluetooth can have 8 different connections saved.
Go forth and equip your business with the right tool for the job
Every business structure is different and has different needs. For the most part, though, getting your hands on the top shelf stuff is the way to go. You may be spending all that extra money for nothing though, as your business structure may not even use all the bells and whistles that come with the device.
It is therefore up to you to weigh up all the pros and cons of each headset and what effect it will have on your business. At the end of the day, the day-to-day running may just be dependent on your choice.
