Automated Attendant – A Must for Call Management

Any company that receives a higher than average call volume can easily become overcome by the number of calls entering their business at any given time. Answering the phone, managing the calls, transferring them and more, can take more time than most companies realize until it's too late. And not only can poorly managed phone calls cause a drop in productivity and other issues on your staff, but they can also cause frustration and confusion to the caller themselves. This translates into the loss of potential clients and staff since your ability to manage calls properly is a major sign of your customer care, your professionalism, and your company's overall abilities. In short, you need a way to manage incoming calls efficiently to help keep both callers and your staff working at their optimum level.



An automated attendant is one of the easiest ways to ensure that your phone calls are directed promptly and properly. Essentially, an auto attendant is like an initial secretary whose only function is to screen calls and direct them to the proper location. If you've ever called a company and been greeted by a recording instructing you to 'press one for sales, press two for marketing' and so on, then you've interacted with an automated attendant. When a call is received the auto attendant answers it and automatically plays the recording. You can customize this greeting yourself, so you'll be able to tailor the greeting to your company's standards. When the caller hears the extension that they need they press the corresponding button and are transferred to that line. More advanced systems allow a caller to speak out loud and have their call directed in this manner. And most automated attendant systems include the helpful 'press zero for operator' feature that allows them to connect to a real live person if need be.

Other options include the ability to search for a person by name and have the call directed to them automatically. Another is a timeout feature that sends the caller to the operator automatically if no selection is made within a set period. And of course, multiple language options are becoming more and more common as our nation becomes more blended. Greetings can even be changed during non-business hours to reflect this fact.

The benefits of utilizing an automated attendant are obvious and very important. You'll save your company large amounts of money since you no longer need to pay an employee to field phone calls. A one-time investment in the automated attendant allows you to remove this need almost entirely, with an operator only fielding a small percentage of calls. You won't have to hire more operators to help with high call volume, and there is no need to worry about missing numerous calls that could get lost in the flurry of calls. Callers are all most likely clients or potential clients, so keeping them happy is imperative as well. An automated attendant can significantly reduce the amount of time that a person calling a business spends on hold, which is a major factor for causing frustration among callers. In short, any company that has risen above the smallest size will likely find that an automated attendant is a worthwhile investment that brings numerous benefits along with its purchase.