Use a telephone voicemail system Handout 3: Receiving telephone calls

How to recognise which calls are internal/external What you need to know How to recognise which calls are internal/external How to greet the caller How to transfer a call How to put a call on hold and retrieve it Internal telephone extension numbers How to take a message. How to recognise which calls are internal/external – this will determine how you greet the caller. There is no point in stating the organisation’s name if the call is internal. How to greet the caller – as previous stated, your organisation may have a standard greeting for external callers. How to transfer a call and put a call on hold and retrieve it – you will need to know exactly how to use your organisation’s equipment in order not to cut the caller off and risk irritating them. Internal telephone extension numbers – have a list of staff names, departments and extensions to hand, as well as other useful numbers such as different branches of your organisation or suppliers. How to take a message – some organisations use pre-printed message pads; some relay messages via email.

Five golden rules for receiving calls Always answer promptly, and identify yourself. No matter how busy you are when the phone rings, never show you are irritated by sounding annoyed. Always pick up the receiver with your non-writing hand, and have a pen and paper close by. Never answer the telephone if you are eating or drinking. Ask someone else to take the call. Find out the caller’s name and either the name of the person he or she is calling, or reason for the call.

Dealing with the caller’s request Identify the caller Ensure you know who the caller needs to talk to Transfer the call to the correct extension, or Put the caller on hold and pass to the person they want to talk to. Identify the caller – ask the caller’s name and their organisation and make a note of it. Ensure you know who the caller needs to talk to – if they know the extension they require, this is easy; if they know the name of the person, you can look up the extension on your internal telephone list. If they do not know either, you will need to question the caller about the reason for the call and make a decision as to the best person to put the call through to. This takes experience and knowledge of staff roles in your organisation. Transfer the call to the correct extension – it is polite to announce the caller’s name and organisation to the person you are transferring to. Put the caller on hold and pass to the person they want to talk to ‒ ask the caller to ‘Hold on a moment, please’ and explain properly to your colleague who is calling and what the call is about. If you cannot transfer the call immediately, make sure to keep the customer informed as to what you are doing so that they know they have not been cut off or forgotten.

The person the caller wants is not available! You have four options: See if someone else can help See if someone else can help – don’t forget to let the caller know what you are doing, put them on hold and ask one of your colleagues if they can help, explaining exactly what the caller wants. Offer to help yourself ‒ if you do not know the answer to the query immediately, arrange to ring the person back when you have the information in front of you. Write down the number and repeat it back to the caller to make sure you have written it accurately. Give an estimated time when you will ring back and check that the caller will be available. Don’t forget to keep your promise and make the call! Take a message. Ask the caller to ring back later, saying when the person he/she wants is likely to be available. Ask the caller to ring back Offer to help yourself Take a message

Questions?