Accountants are in the firing line for failing to watch their manners when on the phone to clients and other contacts, with a recent poll labelling the profession the fifth worst phone communicators in the UK, according to business telecommunications provider 4Com
Its poll revealed 77% of accountants admitted to demonstrating bad manners while on the phone.
Top of the list of basic errors was interrupting people, with 17% of accountants claiming this habit as one of their own. Close behind, 11% confess to putting people on speaker while doing something else, while 10% say their worst phone habit is eating or drinking down the phone.
Overall, the survey found that the phone habits which most annoy people are someone eating or drinking while speaking (60%), together with those having a conversation with someone else in the background (40%), and the accountancy profession’s sin of constant interruptions (39%).
A quarter (24%) were also annoyed by being put on loudspeaker, and 21% complained about people who play loud music in the background.
Despite their own failings in these departments, faced with these annoying habits themselves, 22% of accounting workers will happily put the phone down with no explanation, while 34% will interrupt them and inform them they’re being irritating and 22% are more likely to mute the call.
While the accountancy profession’s attitude to phone calls is far from perfect, it is outdone by the behaviours in HR and recruitment, the discipline which tops the list with 87% making basic mistakes, followed by media and marketing (85%), lawyers (82%), and the medical profession (81%).
Mark Pearcy, head of marketing at 4Com, said: ‘We were surprised to see just how many people admit to having poor phone manners.
‘While texts, emails, social media, and all other forms of communication all have their benefits, speaking on the phone is perhaps most effective at passing on your message. As they allow you to hear the speaker’s tone of voice, phone calls help to avoid, for example, the risk of innocent phrases sounding passive aggressive, jokes being taken the wrong way, or sarcasm interpreted as serious thoughts.
‘Hopefully this research will help people realise their phone habits can be considered rude and make chatting on the phone smooth sailing for the people of accounting.’
Report by Pat Sweet
