Telephone Techniques

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Telephone Techniques

• Human Resources
• Center for Organizational Development

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Welcome to the Telephone Techniques Tutorial

• Goals
• Review basic telephone information.
• Review basic voice mail operations.
• Review basic telephone techniques.

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Basic Information

• The main telephone number for WATC is
  316.677.9400.
• This number is located in the lobby of Building A
  on the Main Campus.
• One-Stop ACCESS Center personnel answer WATCs
  main phone line.

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More Basic Information

• WATC telephone numbers begin with the prefix 677
  (Main), or 554 (SSEC) or 652 (ATC).
• To call within the WATC telephone system, dial 7
  and the last four digits of the extension you
  need. For example 79550.
• Dial 9 to get an outside line.
• The main line is staffed from 745a.m.700 p.m.
  Monday through Thursday and 900 a.m. 445 p.m.
  on Friday.
• Learner Services also answers phones when needed.

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Learner ServicesTelephone Staff

• Jessica Ross, Administrator
• Learner Success
• Pamela Doyle, Administrator
• Learner Enrollment
•  
• Joyce Garrard, Team Leader
• Valerie Quinn, Receptionist
• Elizabeth Franke, Receptionist
• Delia Stephens, Administrative Assistant

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More Basic Information

• Remember our callers are our customers. If you
  are on a personal call our customers cannot get
  through!
• Avoid personal calls.
• Personal calls, when necessary, should be kept
  brief!
• How many rings does it take before co-workers are
  driven crazy by ringing telephones or the caller
  hangs up? The answer is not many. So
• Answer by the third ring.
• Your callers and co-workers will thank you for it!

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More Basic Information

• To make a long distance call, get the code from
  your supervisor!

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How to Forward All Your Calls

• Press 29 and wait for the tone.
• Dial the extension you want the calls to forward
  to. For example
• To another extension 79550
• To voice mail 34275
• When you return remember to un-forward the phone
  by pressing 29.

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Rolling Your Calls to Another Extension

• If you are on the phone
• Press 24
• Wait for the tone.
• Dial the extension you want to forward to.
• To remove this function press 24.
• If you have stepped away from your desk
• Press 26
• Wait for the tone.
• Dial the extension you want to forward to.
• To remove this function press 26.

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Using 24, 26 and 29

• During business hours, callers should be able to
  speak with a real, live person! Forward your
  telephone to a co-worker during the day when you
  go to lunch or breaks.
• After business hours, your telephone should be
  forwarded to voice mail. Check with your
  supervisor to determine if you should use the
  general college voice mail or your personal voice
  mail.

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Voice Mail Basics

• All WATC telephones have voice mail!

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Voice Mail is a Tool That Should not be
Over-Used!
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Voice Mail Etiquette

• People like to hear a live voice, so answer the
  phone whenever possible.
• Return all voice mail messages promptly.
• Remember, voice mail is not a call-screening
  tool!
• Communication is the key to good business so do
  not hide behind your voice mail!

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Who Should Use Voice Mail During Business Hours?

• Faculty members when they are out of their
  offices.
• Learner Services employees who have a student in
  their office.
• Anyone whose responsibilities keep them away from
  their desk.

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First Steps for Voice Mail

• Dial 34275.
• Did the voice mail system tell you that you have
  no messages or start playing messages?
• Yes, then you are ready to record your primary
  personal greeting.

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Pass Code? What Pass Code?

• What should I do if the voice mail system asks
  for a pass code?
• Your telephone needs to be re-set by the system
  administrator.
• Contact your department administrative assistant

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Do I Need a Pass Code?

• Will someone else have to access your voice mail
  when your are away?
• Will there be confidential information left on
  your voice mail?
• Then a password is probably a good idea.

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Do I Need a Password?

• Talk this over with your supervisor to be sure.

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What Do I Have to Record?

• Primary Personal Greeting this is what the
  caller hears when they get your voice mail.
• Name this identifies the mail box with your
  name.

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Be Ready

• It helps to prepare your primary personal
  greeting in advance.
• Voice mail greetings should include your name,
  your title or department and the name of the
  college. You can include cell phone numbers,
  e-mail addresses and office hours if you wish.

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Example of a Primary Personal Greeting

• Hello, you have reached the office of (give your
  name and title) at the Wichita Area Technical
  College. I am either on the telephone or away
  from my desk at the moment. Please leave a
  message, and I will return your call as soon as
  possible.

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Are You Ready to Record?

• To access the voice mail system
• Press 34270
• Press 8
• Press G greeting
• Press P primary personal greeting
• Press R record your primary personal greeting

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Recording

• Shhh When you have finished your greeting, just
  wait until the voice mail system comes back on.
  Dont say anything or it will end up on your
  recording!
• Press R to review what you recoded.
• Do you like it? Press X and then X again.
• Doesnt sound so great! Press D and try again.

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Suggestions

• Speak clearly.
• Listen to the message you recorded to make sure
  you sound as professional as this fellow!

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Now Record Your Name

• Press N name.
• Press R record your name.
• Say your name (first and last) very clearly.
• Press R review your name.
• Do you like it? Press X to save it.
• Doesnt sound so great? Press D and try again.

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Checking Your Messages

• Dial 34275.
• If necessary, enter your password.
• The system will tell you how many messages you
  have.
• The system will play each message and give you
  options on what to do with the messages.
• D delete the current message.

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Checking Messages From Home

• Dial your WATC telephone number.
• While your primary personal greeting is playing
  press the key.
• If necessary, enter your pass code.
• The voice mail system will now play your messages.

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Out-of-the-Office Greeting

• Are you out of the office today? Maybe you are a
  faculty member on spring break. Maybe you are a
  staff member who is taking some well-deserved
  vacation time.
• Dont forget to change your primary personal
  greeting to reflect when you will return and who
  your caller can contact in the meantime.

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Out-of-the-Office Greeting

• Hello, you have reached the office of (your name
  and title or department) at Wichita Area
  Technical College. I will be out of the office
  until (add the date and time). If you need
  immediate assistance, please contact (give a name
  and number).

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The Telephone is a Powerful Tool!

• How well do you use it?

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Tips to Make the Call Great!

• Dont speak too fast or slow.
• Speak clearly no mumbling!
• Watch your voice tone make sure it is pleasant
  and upbeat.
• Smile you really can hear it!
• Remember to use great open and closing
  techniques.
• Transfer callers only when you absolutely have to!

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Remember to Smile!

• Smiles go a long way in making callers happy

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Great Openings Make Great Conversations!

• Great openings have three elements.

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Great Openings Make Great Conversations!

• Element 1 Salutation
• Hello, Good Morning, Hi!

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Great Openings Make Great Conversations!

• Element 2 Identification
• WATC, Amy speaking.

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Great Openings Make Great Conversations!

• Element 3 Solicitation
• How may I help you? is the correct way to say
  this.
• Ask Can I help you? and some jokester will say
  I dont know, can you?

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The Elements in Action!

• Hello. WATC, this is Amy. How may I help you?
• Good afternoon. This is Amy at WATC. How may I
  help you?

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Do You Like to be Transferred?

• No one does! But sometimes it is necessary. If
  you learn to do it properly, you will be
  appreciated by the caller and the person you send
  the call to!

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Transferring a Call

• Educate let the caller know why you cannot help
  them
• Sally, Fred in Learner Services has the
  information you need on transferring your
  credits.
• Ask permission to transfer
• Sally, may I transfer you to Fred now?
• Wait for the callers response.

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Transferring a Call

• Are you kidding! What will I do if they say no
  dont transfer me?

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Transferring a Call

• Research indicates that 98 percent of the time
  the caller says OK. They understand the process
  and are willing to go along. They just like to be
  asked first!
• Two percent of the time they say no. ?
• Respect the callers wishes.
• The best option at this point is to take a name
  and number and have the appropriate department
  call them back!
• Dont forget to follow up! Did the call-back
  happen?

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Transferring a Call

• Perform the transfer function on your telephone.
• When your co-worker answers, be sure to let them
  know
• Who is calling.
• A brief indication of what the caller needs.
• When you hang up, the caller is now connected to
  the person they needed to speak with.

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How to Use the Transfer Function

• WATC has a number of different telephone types.
  Here are just a couple
• Black Phones
• Press the Transfer button and dial the extension.
• Hang up after you have let your co-worker know
  who is calling.
• White Phones
• Press the Flash button and dial the extension.
• Hang up after you have let your co-worker know
  who is calling.

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Voice Mail Came On!

• You are transferring a call and the extension you
  need has voice mail activated! Now what?
• There are two options
• Get the caller back and ask if they would like to
  leave a message.
• Hang up, and the caller can leave a voice mail
  message this is not the best option if you did
  not warn the caller in advance that this was a
  possibility.

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How to Get the Caller Back From Voice Mail!

• Hit the Transfer key again and you will have the
  caller back.
• Be aware once you have done this you can not
  transfer that call again.

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A Great Closing Leaves a Lasting Impression!

• There are four elements to a great close.

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Great Closing!

• Element 1
• Restatement this is a short overview of what
  you and your caller talked about. Sally, I will
  have a catalog sent to you this afternoon.
• Element 2
• Additional help How else may I help you
  today?
• Element 3 the positive close
• The generic positive close is Have a good
  day. Not too original, but it works.
• Instead listen to the caller. What did they tell
  you? Use what you heard to create a positive
  close. Sally, I hope your Auto Collision class
  goes well. Good Luck on that test, Mark.
• Element 4
• The word is good bye! Not bye-bye, bye, see ya,
  next time remember bye-bye is for babies not
  callers!

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Great Job! You did it! Yeah!

• Now you are expert in telephone techniques.
• Be sure to take a minute and complete the
  telephone technique review on the Web site,
  www.watc.edu/organizationaldevelopment.
• Once you have completed the review, please
  forward it to
• Doris Queen
• Main Campus, HR Office
• 301 S. Grove
• Wichita, KS 67211-2099
• dqueen_at_watc.edu