Voice Mail Training for State Employees

Voice Mail Training for State Employees Presented by: Stacy Knickerbocker Telecommunications Specialist DOA/ITSD/NTSB 444-4127 sknickerbocker@mt.gov

Overview • Benefits of voice mail • How to use the voice mail system • Features of the voice mail system • Call forwarding to voice mail

Benefits of Voice Mail • Frees the receptionist from the time consuming chore of taking detailed messages • Voice mail allows callers to leave detailed messages • Callers can leave messages 24 hours a day, and users can retrieve the messages 24 hours a day • Family members can leave messages, allowing the user to call back at their convenience • Provides confidentiality for all messages

How to Use the Voice Mail • Log On • Change Password • Record a Greeting • Personal Verification • Retrieve Messages

Logging into Voice Mail • Dial 6288 • Meridian Mail will prompt you with, “Meridian Mail, mailbox?” Enter your 4 digit extension number, followed by # sign • “Password?” If you are a first time user, you will enter your 4 digit extension number, followed by # sign • To log in remotely from a local number, dial 758-6288 • To log in remotely from outside of Kalispell, dial 406-758-6288

Changing Password • For security reasons, it is important to change your password. If you don’t change your password, someone can easily hack into your mailbox. • The new password must be at least 4 digits. • Password will only need to be changed once.

Changing Password • Log on to Meridian Mail • Enter 8 4 • “Enter new password” (must be at least 4 digits), followed by # sign • “Enter new password again” followed by # sign • “Enter old password” New users enter 4 digit extension number, followed by # sign • System will confirm that password has been changed

Changing Password Do not attempt to log into voice mail if you do not know your password. Entering the incorrect password numerous times will disable the mailbox and it will need to be reset by the voice mail administrator.

Recording a Greeting • ALWAYS give the option of pressing ‘0’ when you record your greeting. This gets the caller to a live person (usually a main answering station or receptionist in your area). • We suggest that you change the personal greeting every morning. This lets the caller know the hours you will be in the office, or if you are out sick, on vacation, in training, etc.

Recording a Greeting • Log on to Meridian Mail • Enter 8 2 • Press 1 for External Greeting (this will default for your Internal Greeting) • To Record, press 5, record your greeting (give the option of pressing ‘0’ for a live person), when done recording, press # • Press 2 to listen to your greeting • If you need to change it, press 7 6 to delete, then 5 to re-record, # to stop

Personal Verification • Personal Verification is what people hear when you leave a message for someone on the Meridian Mail System. • This is important to change if you are “inheriting” a voicemail box, so the recipient of your message hears your name and extension number and not the previous employee.

Personal Verification • Log on to Meridian Mail • Press 8 9, press 5, speak your name and extension number, followed by the # sign • The system will play the Personal Verification to verify it is what you want recorded

Retrieving Messages • Log on to Meridian Mail • Listen for mailbox information (“You have no new messages…”, “You have … new messages”, “Your mailbox is empty”) • To listen to a new message, press 2 • To skip back within the message, press 1 • To skip forward within the message, press 3

Retrieving Messages • To listen to your next message, press 6 • To listen to a previous message, press 4 • By using these two options, you can listen to the personal verification, day, and time the message was left. If you receive a message from outside the state network, you will hear the phone number of the person leaving the message (as long as it is not a blocked number).

Deleting a Message • Once you get the information from the message, we ask that you delete it as soon as possible. Your storage limit on the system is 3 minutes. The mailbox will continue to collect messages indefinitely. However, after the 3 minute limit there are certain options that become unavailable - such as forwarding a message or creating a message.

Deleting a Message • To delete a message, press 7 6 either before, during or after the message. • If you press 7 6 to delete and log out of the voice mail or hang up the phone, the message is deleted and CAN NOT be retrieved. • If you are still in the Meridian Mail session, you can restore the deleted message by pressing 4 to go back to that message and 7 6 to restore the message

Information on Stored Messages • Messages that you have listened to are automatically deleted from your mailbox after 7 days. If you travel or work from home, be sure to write down the information from the message. • Messages NOT accessed (listened to) are stored indefinitely. The message is only deleted after 7 days once it has been listened to. • Keep stored messages to a minimum. Mailboxes using more than the allotted 3 minutes of storage will be charged.

Logging Out of Voice Mail When you have completed your Meridian Mail Session, we ask that you press 8 3 to log out of Meridian Mail When 8 3 is pressed, this automatically logs you out of the Meridian Mail, allowing others quicker access to the system.

Features of Voice Mail • Forwarding a Message • Call Sender ‘9’ • Express Messaging • Creating Messages • Tag Messages • Name Dialing 11

Forwarding a Message This features allows you to forward a message to one or more Meridian Mail users. • Either during the message or at the end of the message, press 7 3 • Enter the 4 digit extension number you are forwarding to, followed by # sign, follow each extension number with a pound sign. • When you get to the end of the list, press # sign again to signify you have completed the list. • To send, press 7 9 • Or to record your own message to be heard before the attached message, press 5, record message, followed by # sign, then press 7 9 to send

Call Sender ‘9’ • If a message is received from someone that can be reached with a 4 digit extension number, press 9 and the system will dial the extension. This eliminates the need to log out of Meridian Mail to respond to the message.

Express Messaging This feature is used if you would like to leave a message directly in someone’s mailbox, bypassing the standard greeting. • Dial 6289 • Enter the 4 digit extension number, followed by # sign (you will hear the personal verification of the person you are trying to reach) • Leave message as you would normally • To use express messaging from outside the state network, dial 758-6289

Creating a Message This feature is used to leave the same message for more than one person. • Log on to Meridian Mail • Press 7 5, enter the 4 digit extension number(s). Follow each extension number with the # sign. When you get to the end of the list press # sign again to signify you have completed the list.

Creating a Message (continued) • Press 5 to record a message, followed by the # sign. • To listen to your message before sending it, press 2 • If you would like to change it, press 7 6, 5 to re-record, # to stop recording. • Press 7 9 to send it

Tag Messages This feature is used when leaving a message for someone on the Meridian Mail system. • Leave the message as you normally would, press # to stop recording, then choose one of the following: • 701 for Urgent (An urgent message is announced when the recipient logs into voice mail) • 704 for Private (The recipient of the message can not forward the message on) • 705 for Acknowledgement (You will receive notification when the recipient has listened to your message)

Name Dialing 11 To look for a specific person’s voice mailbox and leave them a message using the Meridian Mail System. • Dial 6289 • Press 11, using the keypad on the phone, spell the last name, followed by the first name. ***only works if the name is entered in the system • You will hear an acknowledgement when the name has been found, followed by the personal verification of the person you are trying to reach. • You can leave a message for that person

Name Dialing 11 • With Name Dialing 11, a person must have a voice mailbox on the Meridian Mail system to be found. • Persons with a common last name (Jones, Smith, Johnson) may not be found unless they have an unusual first name.

Once voice mail is installed on your phone, it will ring four times before Meridian Mail will answer. If you have an older style single line phone, you will hear an interrupted dial tone letting you know there are messages waiting. Message Waiting Indicator

Message Waiting Indicatoron single line phones • The other types of single line phones have a red light that will come on when you have new messages. • If you are receiving an interrupted dial tone, instead of the red light, please contact our office to have the message waiting light activated.

Message Waiting Indicator on digital phones • Multi-line phones (or digital phones) have a red light in the upper right hand corner that will come on when there are new messages waiting. • Some of these phones may also have a “message” key and an arrow next to that key will blink when there are new messages. This is also a short cut key and when pressed will dial 6288.

Forwarding to Voice Mail We recommend you forward your phone to voice mail if you are going to be away from your desk for any length of time or do not want to be disturbed. By forwarding to voice mail, your phone will not ring and the caller will hear one ring and your personal greeting.

Forwarding Calls to Voice Mailon a single line phone • To forward your phone to voice mail from a single line phone, pick up the handset, press #1, then dial 6288. • To remove call forward, pick up the handset, press #1, and then replace the handset.

Forwarding Calls to Voice Mail on a digital phone • To forward calls to voice mail on a digital phone, while leaving the handset in the cradle, press the “forward” key, dial 6288, and press the “forward” key again. The arrow next to the key will be solid. • To remove the call forward, press the “forward” key once and the arrow will go away.

Finally… Once voice mail is installed or the password reset, please be sure to do the following: • Change the password • Record a greeting • Record a personal verification

Thank You The following printed materials are available upon request: • Voice Mail Cheat Sheet • Personal Greeting Suggestions • Voice Messaging User Guide If you have any questions, please contact me, Stacy Knickerbocker, at sknickerbocker@mt.gov or by phone at 444-4127

Voice Mail Training for State Employees