Microsoft Teams Phone for recruitment agencies
If your agency already lives in Microsoft 365, making Teams the phone system is an obvious thought. It can be an excellent answer — and it can also quietly cost you the CRM integration and the call reporting your desks depend on. The right decision comes down to how your consultants work, and which of the three connection models you choose. Here is the honest version.
- Microsoft Calling Plans, Operator Connect or Direct Routing
- 3 routesMicrosoft Calling Plans, Operator Connect or Direct Routing
- Teams Phone requires the appropriate Microsoft licensing per user
- LicensedTeams Phone requires the appropriate Microsoft licensing per user
- CRM dialling and recording capability varies by model — confirm before you commit
- Check firstCRM dialling and recording capability varies by model — confirm before you commit
- A clear comparison of the three ways to get PSTN calling into Teams, and the cost implications of each.
- Straight answers on recruitment CRM integration and call recording within Teams.
- Hybrid designs where Teams handles internal collaboration and a specialist platform handles the dialling desks.
- Microsoft 365 licensing, security and support handled by the same team as the phones.
The three connection models
These are Microsoft’s own routes to connecting Teams to the public telephone network. They differ in commercial flexibility, control and how numbers are managed.
- How it works
- Calling minutes bought from Microsoft as a licence add-on
- Considerations for a recruitment agency
- Simplest to buy; least flexible commercially and for number management
- How it works
- A participating operator provides the calling, managed through the Teams admin centre
- Considerations for a recruitment agency
- Operator-provided numbers and support, with a tidy admin experience
- How it works
- Session border controller connects a chosen carrier to Teams
- Considerations for a recruitment agency
- Most control over routing, numbers and resilience; needs proper design
Which model suits you depends on seat count, how many numbers and DDI ranges you hold, your appetite for managing telephony inside Microsoft tooling, and what your consultants need beyond basic calling.
What Teams does well for an agency
Used for what it is good at, Teams removes friction and cost.
- One client for chat, meetings, internal calls and external calls — fewer applications on a consultant’s desktop.
- Familiar to new starters, which shortens onboarding.
- Presence shared across the business, so reception and resourcers can see who is available.
- Strong fit for back-office, finance, compliance and management users who are not high-volume dialling.
- Centralised identity and device management alongside the rest of Microsoft 365.
Want this looked at on your own setup?
A review is free, there is no obligation, and you keep the written summary either way.
Where agencies hit the limits
This is the part that tends not to come up until after the licences are bought. None of it makes Teams the wrong choice — it just needs designing for.
- Recruitment CRM integration depth varies. Click-to-dial from Bullhorn, Vincere or JobAdder into Teams, with activity written back, is not automatic — it depends on connector availability and configuration.
- Campaign and progressive dialling is not native Teams functionality and needs an additional application.
- Compliance call recording in Teams is delivered through certified recording solutions, licensed separately, and needs its own retention and access design.
- Consultant and desk wallboards, live queue visibility and detailed call analytics usually require a contact-centre or analytics layer on top.
- Skills-based routing across specialist desks is more limited than a purpose-built voice platform without additional licensing.
The hybrid design we most often recommend
You do not have to choose one platform for the whole business. Matching the tool to the role is usually cheaper and always less compromised.
- High-volume dialling desks on a voice platform built for CRM integration, dispositions, wallboards and recording.
- Back office, management and support staff on Teams Phone, where collaboration matters more than dialling features.
- Numbers, routing and reporting designed to span both, so a client calling one number always reaches a person.
- Internal calling and presence unified so consultants and back office are never phoning each other on mobiles.
Teams Phone decision checklist
- How many users need external calling, and how many are high-volume dialling?
- Which recruitment CRM must the phone integrate with, and is a Teams connector available for it?
- Is compliance call recording required, and has it been licensed and designed?
- Do managers need live wallboards or queue visibility?
- How many numbers and DDI ranges are you bringing, and who will manage them?
- Have you costed licences, calling and recording together rather than separately?
Frequently asked questions
Is Teams Phone cheaper than a dedicated phone system?
Sometimes — usually for users whose needs are basic calling plus collaboration. Once you add compliance recording, CRM dialling, analytics and queue features for dialling desks, the totals often converge or reverse. We will model both properly rather than asserting either.
Can we use Teams for the office and something else for the sales floor?
Yes, and that hybrid is very common in recruitment. The important part is designing the numbering and routing so it behaves as one business to the outside world.
Does call recording in Teams meet our compliance needs?
Teams supports compliance recording through certified solutions rather than as a simple switch. It can absolutely meet a strong policy, but it needs to be licensed and configured with retention and access control designed in. Ad-hoc meeting recording is not a compliance recording strategy.
Can we keep our existing numbers if we move to Teams?
Yes — UK geographic numbers are portable. Direct Routing and Operator Connect both accommodate ported ranges; we audit what you hold and plan the port before anything is switched.
Related recruitment guides
Get an honest Teams Phone assessment
We will compare Calling Plans, Operator Connect, Direct Routing and a hybrid design against your seat mix — including the costs that usually get left out.
- Full audit of every line, number and contract you hold
- Honest view of what your CRM will and will not integrate with
- The call data you are not currently seeing, including missed inbound
- A written summary — yours to keep either way