The funeral director lifestyle is a constant tightrope between wanting to support the families who need your services and wanting to be there for your own family. Even with all of the technology we have at our disposal today, you simply can’t be two places at once. If there is one thing just about everyone who works in funeral service can relate to is a feeling of being stretched too thin. The on-call lifestyle coupled with the unpredictability of death can make walking the tightrope feel precarious on even your best days.
We won’t pretend we have some magical elixir that can take all the stress out of working in deathcare. The funeral director lifestyle will always be demanding and there is no denying that fact. However, those have had the most success achieving a work/life balance in this profession are not afraid to seek outside assistance. ASD has proven itself as a trusted partner in this regard, offering a suite of services specifically designed to reduce the administrative burdens that can keep funeral directors tied to their phones and offices. By providing 24/7 answering support and innovative mobile technology, ASD allows directors to recharge and focus on their personal lives without sacrificing the quality of care they provide to families.
We consistently hear from funeral directors that we make their lives easier which is our company’s number one goal. If you’re curious about some of the different solutions our answering service offers to help you and your team achieve a better work/life balance, read on. Here are five of the most powerful ways ASD can improve the funeral director lifestyle.
Screening out non urgent calls
Calling a person or a business on the telephone used to have some hard and fast courtesy rules. You don’t call after 9 p.m. or on a Sunday morning unless there is an emergency, for instance. However, sometime in between the introduction of the internet and the invention of smart phones, the need for proper telephone etiquette became replaced by a need for instant results. Funeral directors who could once rest their head on their pillow each night knowing that no one would possibly dial them up them unless a death occurred began getting awoken at 3 a.m. by callers wanting to obtain a death certificate from the 70s. It’s hard to separate your personal life from your business when there is nothing shielding you from these constant interruptions
In today’s culture of instantaneous information, it is near impossible for any deathcare professional to properly function without having a filter in place to screen out low-priority messages during their down time. There is no rule that says in order to be a good funeral director, you have to be available to anyone at all times for any reason. In order to give grieving families the care and attention they require, you must be willing to establish boundaries and carve out time for yourself. This is where ASD can provide the necessary screening solution that has helped thousands of funeral directors find balance in their lives.
The funeral director lifestyle is often rife with time-sensitive demands, but not everything requires your immediate attention. ASD provides professional and compassionate call support, giving callers peace of mind their message will be relayed to the funeral home. Our systems are fully customizable, allowing you to specify what messages should be dispatched immediately and which can wait until you check in. You can conveniently review messages and return calls when it is convenient for you. This ensures that your valuable free time is spent doing things you enjoy with those you love around you instead of handling tasks that can wait until the next day.
Answering questions on your behalf
A large percentage of phone calls received by funeral home calls are from individuals who require information. Whether it is a time of a viewing, the recommended florist or the closest hotel to the funeral home, these routine calls come in at every hour of the day. Rather than spending countless minutes of your precious free time returning calls (and possibly ending up in a long conversation with someone you don’t really want to talk to), you can provide information to ASD to provide to callers on your behalf.
ASD has many solutions in place to help funeral homes provide these details to our answering service agents. Through our integration partnerships with the leading funeral website companies, a large majority of our clients are able to provide us information on their current services simply but updating their website. ASD offers a convenient Helpers tool that allows you to easily send information on local establishments and details about common callers via our app or website. You can use this to share data on local cemeteries, medical facilities, hotels, florists, and charities. By providing these details to ASD, our Call Specialists provide a more local touch to your callers while saving you from the hassle of having to respond to every incoming call.
Putting control directly in your hands
When you’re a funeral director, there are a lot of aspects of your work that are simply beyond your control. You cannot dictate what time or where a person dies nor can you command how families should behave when they are experiencing the extreme emotions caused by grief. With so many variables out of your hands, one thing you should be able to control is how you are contacted by your answering service. Even something as small and simple as being able to specify the sound your phone makes when you receive an alert can be a powerful thing in a world where so much is beyond your ability to change.
In many ways, the ASD Mobile app functions like a remote control that you can use to tell our answering service how to function. You can update how ASD screens your calls in seconds and control how, when and why you are notified of new messages. Select your own unique sound alerts for different types of calls you want to be reached for, set up a delay so that we send you a text or push notification before we interrupt you with a phone call, and specify if you would like us to send you a ReAlert™ if you have not responded within the given time frame. You can also let ASD know to send you a First Call Alert® the very moment we begin taking a death call, giving you time to prepare. These settings empower you stay connected while you are on-call without going crazy.
Supporting Your On-Call Rotation Schedule
The funeral director lifestyle is shaped by various factors, but one of the most critical elements influencing work/life balance is the number of on-call directors relative to the call demand. Having the staff and the resources available to effectively share the burden of being on-call can make a huge difference in reducing burnout. If there is one thing that ASD understands, it is how on-call funeral home teams operate and work together to cover after-hours phone calls. We would argue that no other company in existence knows more about the communication patterns of on-call funeral directors.
What this experience has taught us is not only is every funeral home different, but the preferences of on-call funeral directors can also vary dramatically. These preferences are no small thing – they can make a big difference in how on-call funeral directors feel about their on-call duties. With ASD, each user can personalize their notification settings without interfering with another on-call director’s preferences. Additionally, funeral home teams are equipped with powerful scheduling tools to create a detailed on-call schedule far into the future or repeating weekly schedules. These tools help keep your schedule running smoothly and save time. Watch our latest ASD webinar to learn more about ASD’s helpful scheduling tools.
Protecting your privacy
With an increasing number of funeral professionals now working outside the office and using their cell phones to connect with families, the need for practical mobile solutions is paramount. You would expect that giving out your cell phone number would resolve communication problems, not create them, but for funeral directors this just isn’t the case. Caller ID, as helpful as it is, can also cause a lot of headaches and make it difficult for funeral professionals to conduct business remotely. Families will often naturally reference the phone number they see on their Caller ID. As a result, even when you’re off duty you are still fielding business calls, making it nearly impossible to separate your personal life from the funeral home. Some funeral directors have even gone as far to purchase a second cell phone just to deal with this intrusive problem.
Fortunately, a better solution now exists that enables directors to call any number from their cell phone using the funeral home number as the outgoing Caller ID. With MobileFH®, families only see the funeral home’s phone number on their Caller ID, ensuring they always call back the correct person. Directors can enjoy time off without worrying about missing important calls rather than trying to assist the caller from a distracting environment. ASD has also expanded this protection with our MobileFH® Texting – the only text message solution that helps facilitate mobile communications for on-call funeral directors. MobileFH® Texting allows you to send and receive text messages using your funeral home’s business number as the sending number. Having this solution available to funeral home teams can greatly alleviate staff burnout by ensuring directors are able to keep their personal numbers private and don’t have to respond to messages on their day off.
ASD understands the demands of the funeral director lifestyle, where long hours and constant availability can make it challenging to maintain a healthy work/life balance. By providing 24/7 answering services and innovative mobile tools, ASD ensures that funeral professionals can stay connected with families while taking the time they need for personal responsibilities. With ASD’s support, funeral directors can focus on delivering exceptional care without sacrificing their well-being. To learn more about how ASD can help your funeral home, contact us today about starting your Free Trial.
Related Reading
6 Resources to Keep You From Breaking Down While Working as a Funeral Director
Feeling Burned Out as a Funeral Director? Here’s Why and What You Can Do About It
Battling Burnout – How Funeral Directors Find Peace In The Midst Of Chaos
