HomeMy WebLinkAboutTELEPHONE VOICE MAIL POLICIES
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OCT 4 2005
(AUGUSTA.RICHMOND COUNTY COM~\~
Telephone Etiquette and Voice Mail Policies and Procedures
Voice Mail: Voice mail should be used only as a last resort. Every attempt
should be made to answer calls personally. Do not allow voice mail to pick up a
call if you are in your office.
Returning Calls: Voice mailboxes should be checked three times a day, once at
the beginning of the day to answer after hours voice messages. They should be
checked again in the middle of the day, either before or after lunch. Finally they
should be checked again within an hour of leaving for the day. Categorize which
messages need immediate attention and respond accordingly.
Message Length: Messages should be short and to the point i.e. "You have
reached (your name) of the (Department Name). If you have an emergency or
need to report a trouble press zero now and some one will help you immediately,
otherwise stay on the line, wait for the tone and leave me a message. I will return
your call as soon as possible. Thank you and have a good day".
Greeting: Do not use the standard greeting. Personalize your greeting so that
the caller will be informed that they have reached the right person and that you
will call them back promptly. Update your greetings to reflect if you are on
vacation or otherwise away from the office. If you are able to update it daily the
caller will realize that you are monitoring your voice mailbox and feel comfortable
leaving a message.
Updating Information: If you are providing information on your automated
attendants or voice mail please keep it updated. It is imperative to our image and
credibility that information provided to our callers be accurate and up to date.
Testing: Test your voicemail options from an outside number frequently. Internal
changes and system modifications frequently impact mailboxes. This will prevent
the possibility of options being on your menu that no longer work.
Multiple Options: Every effort should be made to minimize the number of
options available on your automated attendants. By limiting the number of
options you are more likely to hold the caller long enough to make the proper
selection.
Forwarding Calls: If you are unavailable, every attempt should be made to
forward your phone to another person that is capable of handling your calls.
Please inform the person you are forwarding your calls to and provide them with
a time frame.
Open Ringing: If you will be out of the office and your calls are forwarded to
voicemail.havethenumberofringsrequiredasshortaspossible.This will allow
the caller to receive your greeting without enduring a large number of rings. If you
hear a telephone ringing, answer it! Do not allow a telephone to ring multiple
times.
Transferring Calls: Do not transfer calls without announcing to the caller that
you are transferring them. When you contact the person that you are transferring
the call to, inform them that you are transferring a call and give them as much
information concerning the nature of the call as possible. If you receive a voice
mail prompt from the person that you are transferring the call to, terminate the
transfer and inform the caller that you are receiving voice mail and ask if they
would like to be transferred into the persons voice mail box.
Looping Ring Paths: Make sure that the caller is routed to a person as quickly
as possible. Avoid multiple rollovers (ringing from one phone number to the
other). If telephone numbers are programmed to each other then the possibility of
an eternal loop exists. To avoid this possibility ensure that the last number in the
roll over programming has voice mail. Also shorten the number of rings required
to roll to the next person in the rollover sequence.
Use of Speaker Phones: Do not allow your conversation to become intrusive to
others when using a speaker phone. Your speech and speaker phone volume
should not be audible to surrounding co-workers. Always announce to the person
or people you are calling that they are on a speaker phone and the names of the
individuals present, if any, other than yourself.
Be Polite and Professional: Do not instruct the caller to do something i.e. "You
need to call telephone number XYZ to reach that department." Always ask the
caller to do something i.e. "May I give you the telephone number for that
department or would you like for me to transfer you." Always offer to transfer the
caller to another number. Provide the caller with the telephone number prior to
the transfer. This will provide them with the correct contact information for future
calls and should the transfer fail the caller will have the correct telephone
number. Maintain a professional demeanor and dialect at all times. Leave the
caller with the impression that you were enthused about providing them with
assistance and that, should they have a need in the future, we are here to assist.