In my previous blog post, we established that Plantronics was the most popular brand of headset for recruiters, as least according to Top Echelon’s most recent survey of recruiters from all across the country.
However, there’s more to a headset than just the brand name. For one thing, there’s the model of the headset. After all, Plantronics makes more than just one type of headset.
Of course, we also included that aspect of headsets in our survey. Below is the specific question that we posed to recruiters:
Which two factors were the most important in your decision to buy the headset that you have?
The choice of answers that we listed is below, along with the percentage of recruiters who selected each one. (Remember, respondents were allowed to select not one, but two answers, so the percentages will NOT add up to 100%… for all of you anal retentive types.)
- Talk time—23.0%
- Roam distance—25.8%
- Weight—18.8%
- Wearing style (over the ear vs. true over the head)—50.6%
- Other—49.7%
As you can see, quite a few recruiters selected “Other,” meaning that they had reasons for buying their headset besides the ones that we listed. Below are a few of the more common reasons that were offered by those who responded to the survey:
- Compatibility with the phone system
- Sound quality and/or voice clarity
- Price
- Comfort
- Ease of use
But we weren’t going to leave it there, that’s for sure. We asked one additional question in our survey before wrapping it up. It was an open-ended question, but recruiters certainly weren’t reluctant to answer it. Below is our question:
Do you have any additional thoughts, suggestions, or questions about telephone headsets?
We received a wide array of answers, and many of them were packed with great information. It seems as though recruiters have plenty of opinions regarding headsets, and they’re not shy about sharing them. Here’s a sampling of what they offered:
“One of my 40-year old staff members refuses to use one… whereas all the others and I can’t live without them! My headset actually resolved a neck problem nearly two decades ago and I’ve been using one ever since.”
“Technology has greatly improved since I bought mine. Wireless is the way to go, and I also bought a remote lifter for my phone, so my original handset is hung up. When a call comes in and I’m away from the phone, I hear a beep in my wireless headset, I push a button on it, and it answers my phone remotely! Mine roams for 300 feet, and the newer ones roam 450 feet. [It’s an] awesome business tool. More freedom than I expected! Been using one for years now.”
“Buy quality. You’ll be very sorry if you buy cheap equipment. We use models that have noise-canceling microphones to keep down background noise, and we have dual earphones, so both ears receive the sound and also block out distractions. Tried wireless, but found that wired models are more durable and reliable.”
What about you? Do you have any additional thoughts about telephone headsets? If you currently use one—wired or wireless—what are the reasons you’re using the one that you’re using? What advice do you have for other recruiters regarding headsets, based upon your experience with them? As always, your feedback is appreciated.