Remote work has never been a hotter topic for businesses of all sizes.

The new coronavirus pandemic has caused much of normal life to slow down or grind to a halt entirely. Businesses are now trying to find ways they can keep operating and keep employees as productive as possible.

With those employees needing to follow social distancing or shelter in place recommendations from state, local and federal government officials, many employers are requiring entire offices to work from home.

For many employees, this work-from-home approach is not entirely new. However, for others, the challenges that accompany this setup are new. Odds are that a good number of these employees are not used to communicating without face-to-face interaction. It’s also likely that meetings will still need to occur.

This is when conference calls are a great solution - even better if it’s a free conferencing service. Teams must know how to find the best of these free conference call services, though.

Here’s how to identify the best free conferencing solution for your business - and how best to manage those calls.

Conference calls are about to get even more popular

Concerns over COVID-19, the new coronavirus, are closing offices and workplaces across the nation. Those businesses are necessarily shutting down, though. The employees are still working, but doing so from home.

That means these businesses will be looking for reliable, easy communication solutions, including conference calls.

Conference calls are already an incredibly popular meeting solution for teams in different locations. In 2016 alone, people in the United States and United Kingdom spent 163 billion minutes on conference calls.

One can assume, then, that there are some seasoned conferencing veterans out there. But for many work-from-home rookies, navigating conference call service providers to determine which service is best can be daunting.

Let’s break down what to look for.

Free doesn’t mean featureless - and freemium isn’t free

Too often, people new to the conference call landscape will go for the big industry names they hear everywhere. But these service providers often have their limits - literally.

Some will place time and number of callers limits on your calls. Others will even hold you to a maximum number of calls in a given time period. If you want to drop those limits, then you’ll have to pay.

Instead of paying, look for an established free conference call provider with no limits and plenty of other features that those other providers charge for.

Beware of providers with freemium models. These solutions offer stripped down calls. To get the best features, freemium services will want you to pay.

You shouldn’t have to pay for a conference call that’s been advertised as free.

Look for truly free services that include useful features, such as free call recording, web interfaces that are easy to use, mobile friendly versions, excellent audio quality and call management features that make hosting calls a breeze.

Don’t let video fool you

Sure, video conferencing is having a bit of a moment right now as more people are working remotely due to coronavirus-related shutdowns. But don’t overlook audio conferencing solutions in favor of video without doing some research.

In many cases, audio conference calls may make more sense for your team.

For starters, audio conferencing interfaces are normally much easier to use than the interfaces of video conferencing services. Guests and coworkers simply need to call in and sometimes enter a PIN number to get started.

Audio also is cheaper, requiring less investment in hardware and internet connections. Good video conferencing requires enough broadband for calls to be effective. If someone does not have a strong internet connection, then the video and audio could get choppy or drop all together.

We’ll only touch very briefly on the obvious needs for more expensive hardware that video demands. There are cameras to consider, which have become much more intricate than the standard ones found in laptops and devices. But many people with video conferencing experience have noted that even the microphones found in laptops and other devices may not always be suitable for meetings.

Finally, when all that is needed is a quick meeting - such as a daily briefing that typically happens in person in an office - why go through the trouble of dealing with all that extra hardware and potential setup troubleshooting when a good ol’ phone call will do the trick?

Help people remain productive by not wasting their time

Here is perhaps the hardest challenge to overcome for anyone not used to conference calls:

Bad conference calls waste time, hurt productivity and lower morale. Make sure you know the best practices of effective, quick conference calls.

Start by sending out a detailed agenda at the very least a few hours before the call begins. Everybody who is expected to discuss an agenda item should be given a heads up. The best agendas also include a start time, time allotment for each item and an end time.

Obviously, the call should start when the agenda says it will start. Trouble-shoot tech before you call.

Next, as the call progresses, encourage feedback and ask direct questions, if needed. If the conversation dies out, then it’s time to move on or reach a decision. That’s where managers get to call the shots and delegate.

End every conference call with an action plan that assigns specific duties to specific individuals or teams. Review any decisions that have been made or items that had to be tabled for lack of a decision.

Not every conversation needs to be a call

Before starting or scheduling a conference call, ask yourself whether the conversation needs to be held over the phone. Respect everyone’s time. Calls typically take longer than email, SMS messages or other text-based messaging services.

Ask whether the conversation requires immediate attention from multiple people. If not, then a conference call may not be the best option.

Conference Town includes the best features - free

So, now it’s time to choose a free conferencing service that’s right for your team.

Conference calls with Conference Town are always free and come with some of the best-in-industry features that others charge for. Consider signing up for a free Conference Town account.