What is a three-way call, and when is a conference room better?

What it actually is

You are talking with a supplier about a delayed shipment, and you realize that only the warehouse staff know what happened. Instead of hanging up, calling the warehouse and then going back to the supplier, you can connect everyone. You press the "Conference" key on the phone, dial the warehouse, and when they answer you press it again — and now all three of you are on the same call.

This is a three-way call, also called an Ad-hoc Conference — "an improvised conference." Improvised, because it requires no preparation: no room, no code, no invitation. It is born in the middle of a regular call, when you realize you need one more person.

The person who connects the call is usually called "the host" — the one who holds both parties. On most phones, if the host hangs up, the whole call ends. On some PBXs you can set it so that the other two keep talking to each other, which actually turns the action into a call transfer.

How to do it, step by step

1. You are on a call with the first party.
2. Press the Conference key (sometimes labeled "Conference" or showing an icon of three people). The first party goes on hold.
3. Dial the second party — an internal extension or an outside number.
4. When they answer, you can talk with them alone for a moment and explain: "I have a customer on the line who needs help with X."
5. Press Conference again — and all three of you are connected.

The fourth step is important. The preliminary talk with the second party prevents the embarrassment of "What? Who is this? What is this about?" in front of the customer. Ten seconds of explanation is enough.

If the second party doesn't answer or can't join, press "Cancel" or hang up on them — and you return to the original call from hold. The customer didn't hear the attempt.

A three-way call versus a conference room

Both ways connect several people in one call, but they are built for different situations:

Rule of thumb: if the call is planned in advance, or there are more than three or four participants — a conference room. If you suddenly need one more person on a call that already exists — a three-way call.

Where it happens — on the phone or in the PBX

In many cases a three-way call is carried out on the phone itself. The phone receives the audio from both sides, mixes it, and sends each one the audio of the others. This works great for three participants, but it has a cost: the phone holds two calls at once, and so uses double the bandwidth. On a weak internet connection, this may be noticeable in the quality.

In some PBXs the mixing is done on the server: when you press Conference, the PBX opens a temporary room and moves everyone into it. The advantage is that more people can be added, and the audio quality doesn't depend on the host's phone. In practice, it looks the same to the user.

What is important to know: the maximum number of participants in a three-way call from the phone depends on the model. Most desk phones support three to five. Anyone who needs more needs a conference room.

When it is especially useful

• Customer service: a customer asks a technical question, and the agent adds the specialist — instead of transferring and hoping the customer won't have to explain everything from the beginning.
• Translation: a caller who speaks only Yiddish or English, and you add an employee who speaks the language.
• Coordination among three: a parent, a teacher and the Talmud Torah principal decide something together, in one call instead of three.
• Quick approval: a supplier is waiting for an order approval, and you add the manager for half a minute so he can approve it himself.
• Handover: a veteran employee adds a new employee to a call, so he can hear how things are handled.

A three-way call versus an attended transfer

A three-way call has a close relative: the attended transfer. In an attended transfer you call a colleague, explain what it is about, and then transfer the call to them — and leave. In a three-way call you call a colleague, explain, and connect — and stay.

The question is whether you still have a role in the call. If the colleague can continue alone — a transfer. If you need to be there, to listen, add or decide — a three-way call. And there is also a middle path: connect everyone in a three-way call, introduce the parties to each other, and then leave yourself — if the phone and the PBX allow the other two to continue without you.

From the customer's point of view, both ways are better than a "blind transfer" — a transfer without first talking to the colleague. In a blind transfer the customer reaches someone who doesn't know what the problem is, and sometimes an extension where no one answers. When in doubt, it is better to first check that the colleague is available and understands what it is about — and only then decide whether to transfer or to connect.

An example from the field

At the "Or HaTorah" Talmud Torah (a made-up name), a mother calls and asks about the bus rides. The secretary, Miriam, doesn't know the details of the new route. She presses Conference, dials the transportation coordinator, Avraham, and tells him quietly: "I have a mother of a third-grade student who lives on HaNevi'im Street, she's asking about the new route." Avraham says he knows. Miriam connects them, introduces them both, and stays on the call to write down the details.

The whole thing takes three minutes. Without a three-way call, the mother would have been told "we'll get back to you," and Miriam would have called Avraham, written it down, and called back — a quarter of an hour and three calls.

Etiquette and privacy in a three-way call

The first rule: always say that you are adding someone. "I'm now adding David from accounting" — one sentence that prevents awkwardness. People speak differently when they know who is listening, and adding a third party without notice damages trust.

The second rule: pay attention to what was said before the connection. If the customer shared something personal, he may not want the colleague to hear it. In the preliminary talk with the colleague, tell only what he needs to know in order to help.

And the third rule: when the call is over from your side, say so. "I'll leave you now, David will continue with you" — and only then leave, if the system allows it.

Common problems

• "I pressed Conference and the customer got disconnected": on some phones you need to press the hold key before dialing. It's worth trying once on an internal call before doing it with a customer.
• "The audio got weaker when the third party joined": the phone holds two calls, and on a weak internet connection this is noticeable. Check the bandwidth.
• "I heard an echo": usually one of the participants is on speaker. Ask them to switch to the handset or a headset.
• "I hung up and everyone's call ended": this is the normal behavior when the host leaves. If you need to leave, it's better to transfer.
• "I can't add a fourth": the phone has reached its limit. Move to a conference room.

A bit of history

The three-way call is one of the first features that were added to phone lines when public exchanges moved to computers, in the 1970s, together with call waiting and caller ID. Before that, to connect three people you needed an operator to connect the lines by hand, or dedicated and expensive conferencing equipment.

In a cloud PBX there is no longer a big technical difference between a three-way call and a conference room — both are a mixing of audio in software. The difference that remains is mainly in how it is used: spontaneous versus planned.

Audio quality in a three-way call

In a call between two, each side hears only the other. In a call between three, each side hears two people — and also their noises. A fan, children in the background, a busy street or an open speaker at one of the participants, and suddenly everyone hears less well. A few simple habits make a big difference:

• Speak into the handset or a headset, not on speaker.
• Mute yourself when you are only listening, if the phone allows it.
• Don't talk two at a time — on a phone call it is hard to tell who said what.
• Introduce yourself when you start to speak: "This is Avraham, regarding the HaNevi'im Street line..."

And if one of the parties is calling from a mobile in an area with weak reception, his audio will cut out for everyone. Sometimes it's better to ask him to call again from another place.

Before trying it with a customer

A three-way call is a simple action, but not everyone does it every day, and phones differ from one another. The sure way is to practice once on an internal call: two colleagues, another extension, and a press of the Conference key. After one try it is clear what to press, what you hear and how to leave — and you don't disconnect a customer by mistake. It's worth having every new employee do this practice on the first day, together with call transfer and hold.