Specialized Services | Telecommunication Services | SIU

Microsoft Teams Auto-Attendant

Auto-Attendant (or automated attendant) can be thought of as a digital assistant. It is a voice menu system that allows callers to be presented with a menu of options, transferred to a specific extension (person/phone number), or a call queue without going through a telephone operator or receptionist. This feature is particularly useful if a department has multiple areas within it; allowing customers to get to the specific area they need with the press of a button. For example, if caller dials the Office of Information Technology, they might receive the following message:

“Thank you for calling the Office for Information Technology. Press 1 for SalukiTech. Press 2 for Telecommunications. Press 3 for Network Engineering…”

The Auto-Attendant feature also provides separate off-hour and holiday or Administrative Closure routing. For example, if a call is received after hours or when the University is closed for any reason, the customer will hear a message indicating that the University is closed and when they should try calling again. Telecommunication incorporates the University’s calendar into this schedule. Unplanned University closures (such as inclement weather) are also added to the calendar by Telecommunications, so no additional setup is required by departments using this feature.

Microsoft Teams Call Queue

Call Queues provide a method of routing callers to people in your organization who can help with a particular issue or question. Calls are distributed one at a time to the people in the queue (who are known as agents). Call queues provide music while individuals are waiting on hold in a queue.

For example, when a caller dials SalukiTech’s phone number, they hear a message indicating that their call has been received. If the call was made during business hours, the call is then directed to a Calling Queue (a group of SalukiTech agents). The caller remains on the line listening to a pre-made voice message or waiting music, until the next available agent answers the call.

If there is an overflow of calls in the queue, there are also routing and timeout options that can be setup; directing callers to a departmental voicemail box or disconnecting the call instead. If the call is received after hours, an after-hours message is played and the call may be routed to a departmental voicemail box or disconnected after greeting is played.

Team owners can also add or remove agents themselves by simply adding them to, or removing them from, a specific Microsoft Team’s channel. Requests no longer need to be submitted to Telecom for these actions.