Create custom holiday greetings, hours, mailboxes, announcements and answering rules with Voice Manager.
When holidays arise, most businesses need to make changes to their business hours, greeting messages and more. Voice Manager allows you to make customized rules and settings so you can avoid making changes to ongoing operations.
Here are the most common settings users make for the holidays. They can be used together or separately, depending on your phone system’s configuration.
Create customized mailboxes and greeting messages for the holidays
As an Administrator, you are able to set up a specific mailbox for voicemail messages. This also allows you to use a different voicemail greeting during the holidays without needing to change your standard greeting.
Navigate to
Phone System
>
Groups
>
Message-only Extension
Select
New Message-only Extension
Name the voicemail inbox (e.g., “Holiday Voicemail”)
Choose an extension number
Note
: It will default to ext. 1 if unused
Enter the email address where you would like to receive voicemail notifications
Note
: You can also add an additional email address to receive voicemail notifications under the
Settings
tab
Select
Save
Once saved, select the voicemail extension, then select the
Messages and notifications
drop-down menu. You can then choose a specific User's voicemail inbox to have the messages be deposited
To record a custom greeting, select
Edit
under the
Voicemail Greeting
heading
Select a previously recorded greeting, create a new greeting using your computer microphone or simply have the system call you to record a new one.
Note
: Don’t forget to set custom answering rules to ensure that the caller is directed to your custom mailbox, as explained in a following section.
Create customized holiday announcements (with no voicemail)
As an Administrator, you’re able to set up a simple holiday greeting without the ability to leave a message.
Navigate to
Phone System
>
Groups
>
Announcement-only Extension
Select
New Announcement-only Extension
Name the announcement-only extension (e.g., “Holiday Announcement”)
Choose an extension number
Note
: It will default to ext. 1 if unused
Enter the email address where you would like to receive voicemail notifications
Select
Save
Once saved, select the extension, then select
Announcement
Select a previously recorded announcement, create a new announcement using your computer microphone or simply have the system call you to record a new one
Note
: Don’t forget to set your custom answering rules to ensure that the caller is directed to your custom announcement, as explained in a following section.
Create customized rules for holiday hours
As an Administrator, you can set up your phone system to have custom operating hours, such as shorter holiday hours or being closed for the day. This allows the standard hours of operation to continue once the holiday is over without the need to go back and reconfigure the settings.
Note
: Custom hours rule should be set at the same level that the number is assigned to.
First determine if the phone number receiving calls is assigned to the
Auto Receptionist
level or to an extension (such as a
User
or a
Call Queue
):
Under the
Custom Rules
heading, select the
Add Rule
button
Under
1. Name rule
, name the rule so it’s easily identifiable (e.g., “Christmas Hours”)
Under
2. Define Conditions
, choose the conditions that this rule applies to:
Under
3. Define Call Handling
, choose the extension that the calls should go to during these hours. If you have an After-hours menu or a voicemail extension you’d like the calls to reach, you can choose that
Select
Save
Once the rule is saved, it will show up under the
Custom Rules
tab and can be enabled or disabled by selecting the
green switch
.
Create customized answering rules for holiday hours
As an administrator, you can create custom answering rules for a User extension or a Call Queue so calls can be handled differently during the holidays. Before setting custom answering rules, ensure that you created a custom rule for holiday hours, as explained in a previous section.
Navigate to the extension that will be receiving the calls
Navigate to
Custom Rules
:
Select
Custom Rules
Select
Add Rule
Under
1. Name rule
, name the rule so it’s easily identifiable (e.g., “Christmas”)
Under
2. Define Conditions
, choose the conditions that this rule applies to. You can select the number being dialed and/or a specific schedule or range of dates
Under
3. Definite Call Handling
, choose how the call will be handled when this rule is in effect from the following options:
Select
Save
Once the rule is saved, it will show up under the
Custom Rules
tab and can be enabled or disabled by selecting the