Auto Attendants

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Auto Attendants

The Auto Attendant is used to route calls to various destinations, employees within your company, specific groups of employees, voicemail, or other outside numbers – without the assistance of an operator or receptionist. They also provide callers with your company Greeting and Dialing Menu options. 

The Auto Attendant has three modes - one for Business Hours, one for After Hours, and one for Holiday Hours. Each mode allows you to set up options for keys 1 through 9, pound (#) and star (*) to present callers with different choices from which to select.

If calls need to be routed based on the time of day, a preconfigured time schedule will be created by the Spectrum Hosted Voice team. Prior to going live on the Hosted Voice system, this schedule will have been discussed between your system administrator and the Spectrum Project Manager.

Note: If you need to make a permanent change to your Business Hours time schedule, it is recommended to contact the Spectrum Hosted Voice Customer Care team to have those changes made.

You can also configure a company Holiday Schedule to identify the dates of Holidays your company recognizes. On designated Holidays, the Holiday Hours Greeting and menu dialing options are played to callers. 

If you require a unique message, Greetings may be uploaded to the Spectrum Admin portal as a WAV file or can be recorded from the Voice Portal. 

Recording Custom Auto Attendant Greetings Prior to Installation

Auto Attendant Greetings are the dialing options callers hear when they reach your Auto Attendant. For example: “Press 1 for Sales, 2 for Customer Service.” There are two options to use a custom greeting:

  1. Record a greeting from the portal
  2. Upload a WAV file to the portal
  3. Note: All Auto Attendants require you to record an Auto Attendant greeting, it is critical to record or upload them prior to going live on the Spectrum Hosted Voice system. If this is not done, callers will receive a default greeting and could potentially think they have a wrong number or that you are no longer in business. It is also critical that when recording the greetings that they match exactly what was designed while designing the call flow with the Hosted Voice design team. For example, if the design had option two routing to sales and you record “Press 3 for Sales,” it will result in a very frustrated caller. If you did not design an after hours call flow, then there is no point in recording an after hours greeting. Alternately, if you did design after hours call flow, you must make sure you record the after hours greeting, and that it matches exactly.

    Once your custom greetings are recorded and uploaded to the Announcement Repository, you can select them as an option to assign to your Auto Attendant Business Hours, After Hours and/or Holiday Hours. To do so, follow these steps:

  4. From the dashboard, find the Auto Attendant you would like to modify and select the Settings icon.
  5. From the tabs located below the Auto Attendant name, select the schedule you would like to modify the greeting for - Business Hours, After Hours or Holiday Hours.
  6. Under the Greetings section, you can choose to assign the Default Greeting or a Personal Greeting. The Personal Greeting option allows you to choose one of the custom greetings you have already saved in the Announcement Repository. Select the greeting from the Audio drop-down menu.
  7. Select SAVE to save your changes.
This image shows the Dashboard page within the Spectrum admin portal (UCEP) with the Auto Attendants Business Hours Greeting options highlighted. - Image opens in full resolution in a new tab

Edit the Auto Attendant Dialing Menu Options

The Dialing Menu determines which action the Auto Attendant will take when an incoming caller chooses a particular number or symbol on the Keypad. For example, “Press 1 for Sales. Press 2 for Customer Service.” As an administrator, you can change your Auto Attendant dialing menu options any time it is necessary.

To modify your Dialing Menu, follow these steps:

  1. From the dashboard, find the Auto Attendant you would like to modify and select the Settings icon.
  2. From the tabs located below the Auto Attendant name, select the schedule you would like to modify the dialing menu for - Business Hours, After Hours or Holiday Hours.
  3. Under the Dialing Menu section, check the Enable first-level extension dialing to allow callers to dial the extension of the party they wish to reach without selecting a menu item first.
  4. Note: If this option is enabled, your greeting should instruct callers that if they know the extension for the party they are trying to reach, they may dial it at any time.

  5. Next, enter the Key Description numbers. These can include numbers 0 through 9, star (*), and pound (#). To configure a keypad number, enter the description on the row of the number. For example, “Sales.”
  6. Then select the action from the drop-down menu. Options include:
    • Transfer With Prompt - Callers are sent to a pre-configured user extension or outside number. As soon as the caller chooses this option, a prompt will play a message before the transfer is placed. If transferring to an extension, it will include the user’s name as recorded in the voicemail box.
    • Transfer Without Prompt - Callers are sent to a pre-configured user extension or outside number. This option will route the caller as soon as it is selected.
    • Transfer To Operator - This will redirect callers to a configured operator, who will either receive calls when that option is selected or receive all calls that “time out” when a caller does not choose an option from the Auto Attendant.
    • Transfer To Submenu - This selection takes users to another menu for more specific choices. For example, if you have an option in the Auto Attendant for “Sales,” the submenu may contain options for “New Sales” and “Used Sales.”
    • Name Dialing - This action permits callers to dial by recipient name, using the letters on the Keypad.
    • Extension Dialing - This action lets callers dial by recipient extension, using the numbers on the Keypad.
    • Repeat Menu - If selected, this action will repeat the Greeting and Menu options.
    • Exit - This action allows callers to exit the menu system.  This will terminate the call.
  7. In the Details column, enter the destination to which the call should be transferred. Note: This does not apply if the Name Dialing, Extension Dialing, Repeat Menu or Exit options are selected.
  8. Repeat these steps for each keypad number you wish to configure for the Auto Attendant dialing menu.
  9. Select SAVE to save your changes.
  10. Note: It is critical that your greeting matches any changes made to dialing menu options; otherwise, calls will not flow properly.

This image shows the Dashboard page within the Spectrum admin portal (UCEP) with the Auto Attendants Business Hours Dialing Menu options highlighted. - Image opens in full resolution in a new tab

Creating and Configuring Holiday Schedule

As an administrator, you can create a Holiday Schedule for any holidays that your business is closed for.  Once the Holiday Schedule is applied, the system will send calls to your Holiday Hours treatment for any days within your Holiday Schedule. To create a Holiday Schedule, follow these steps:

  1. From the dashboard, select the Group Profile tab.
  2. Next, select the Holiday Schedule tab. If a Holiday Schedule already exists, you will see it listed.
  3. To create a new Holiday Schedule, select the Add Holiday Schedule button.
  4. This image shows the Group Profile page within the Spectrum admin portal (UCEP) with the Holiday Schedule tab selected. - Image opens in full resolution in a new tab
  5. Give the Holiday Schedule a name. For example, 2020 Holidays.
  6. To add a new holiday, enter the name of the holiday in a blank field under the Holiday column.
  7. Next, enter the first date that your office is closed in the Date Start column. In the Date End column, enter the date for the final day your office is closed. For example, if it is a one-day holiday, the Date Start and Date End will be the same dates. If your office is closed for multiple dates, the Date Start and Date End will be different dates.
  8. After making the changes, select the SAVE button.
This image shows the Group Profile page within the Spectrum admin portal (UCEP) with the Holiday Schedule pop-up menu. - Image opens in full resolution in a new tab

To edit an existing schedule, select EDIT. To delete an existing schedule, select DELETE.

To apply a Holiday Schedule, follow these steps:

  1. From the dashboard, select the Auto Attendant to apply the schedule to and select the Settings button.
  2. Select the Holiday Hours tab.
  3. Select the previously created holiday schedule from the drop-down menu.
  4. Select SAVE to save your changes.
This image shows the Dashboard page within the Spectrum admin portal (UCEP) with the Holiday Hours tab selected. - Image opens in full resolution in a new tab

Tip: Because most holidays do not fall on the same date every year, it is recommended to set yourself a calendar reminder to log in to the portal and update your Holiday Schedule. If your Holiday Schedule is not updated. Your phones will ring per normal Business Hours even on dates in which the office is closed in observance of a holiday.

Setting up Temporary Night Mode for Meetings/Early Closures

As an administrator, you sometimes need the ability to put the office in Night Mode during regular business hours. To temporarily put the phones in Night Mode, follow these steps:

  1. From the dashboard, select the Group Profile tab.
  2. Next, select Holiday Schedule.  If a Holiday Schedule already exists, you will see it listed.
  3. Select Edit to edit the schedule.
  4. This image shows the Group Profile page within the Spectrum admin portal (UCEP) with the Holiday Schedule tab selected. - Image opens in full resolution in a new tab
  5. Add a new entry in a blank field in the Holiday column. Enter a name such as “Early Closure” or “Meeting.”
    • For an Early Closure, update the Date Start and Date End fields with today’s date just a few minutes before you want the office to close. Immediately after selecting Save, the system will recognize this date as a holiday and send the phones to the After-Hours treatment.
    • For a Meeting, update the Date Start and the Date End fields with today’s date just a few minutes before your meeting is scheduled to start. Immediately after selecting Save, the system will recognize this date as a holiday and send the phones to the After-Hours treatment.
  6. Once the meeting has finished and you would like to turn off Night Mode, go back to the Early Closure or Meeting event and set the Date Start and Date End fields to a date in the past. Immediately after selecting Save, the system will recognize that it is no longer a holiday and revert back to the Business Hours treatment.