Administrative Assistant / Secretary: The Basics of Telephone Usage

Telephone Manners
Administrative assistants must have a pleasing telephone personality and a well-modulated voice that conveys dignity and courtesy. Because you are not seen by the person at the other end of the line, you are judged—and more important, your employer is judged—by your telephone manners. Show interest in what is being said. Reply in clear tones, never raising your voice. Be a good listener, and know what the person at the other end of the line is saying to you.
When the telephone rings, answer it as quickly as possible. At all times, have a memo pad and pen near the telephone. If it’s necessary to delay for some reason, make a polite request such as, “Please wait a moment while I check the record for you.” If you must spend some time finding the desired information, offer to call back. If the caller prefers to stay on the line, put the line on hold rather than setting the telephone receiver down on your desktop.
For the sake of out-of-town visitors who may call to ask directions, keep a map of the area on a nearby wall or in a desk drawer. You can provide extra courtesy by plotting their trip from the airport or freeway.

Taking and Transferring Calls
State the name of your company and your own name when answering an incoming call: “The Brown Company, Ms. Robertson speaking.” If the business is large enough to have several departments and the operator has already answered the call before ringing your extension, state your department and your name: “Accounting Department, Ms. Robertson speaking.” If there is no department and a call is referred to you, give only your name: “Ms. Robertson speaking.”

Answering a Colleague’s Telephone
When answering a colleague’s extension, state the colleague’s name and your own: “Ms. Scott’s office, Ms. Robertson speaking.” If the person called is unavailable, ask if the caller wishes to hold the line, leave a message, or call back. If the preference is to hold, go back on the line at short intervals to explain the delay, asking if the caller wishes to leave a message. (See the next section on taking messages.) If the caller decides to leave a message, be sure that the person called receives the message as soon as he or she returns.

Transferring a Call
If you can take care of the matter yourself, do not transfer the call. If you must transfer the call, first tell the caller: “Mr. Jack Phillips is in charge of insurance, and I am sure he will advise you promptly. I’ll transfer you.” If the transfer must be made through an operator, always provide full information so that the caller doesn’t need to be questioned again: “I have Mr. Black on the line. Please connect him with Mr. Phillips in the insurance department.” If the caller has not identified himself, say: “Please transfer this call to Mr. Phillips in the insurance department.” If you do not know to whom the call should be directed, advise the caller: “I’ll have the proper person call you back in just a few minutes.”

Taking Messages
When a caller has a message to leave for your employer or another employee, take the message verbatim. Write it exactly as stated, taking time and being patient with the caller. If you don’t understand what the caller is saying, ask to have the message repeated. The message may be very important to your employer, and a single word omitted or out of place could make a significant difference in the meaning. If you are unfamiliar with the caller’s name, ask for the spelling. Make sure you note whom the message is for.
A major advantage of using printed telephone message slips rather than blank scraps of paper is that you are more likely to take a complete message by filling in the printed form. A telephone message slip has lines for the name of the person being called, the date and time of the incoming call, the name of the person calling, the name of that person’s company or organization (if given), the caller’s telephone number, and the message (if any). The last line on the slip is for your initials as the taker of the message. By placing your initials at the end, you will be assuring yourself as well as your employer that the information is complete and accurate.

Screening Calls
Although many employees answer their own telephone, you’ll be expected at one time or another to screen your boss’s incoming calls. In this case, you become the judge as to whether your boss should be disturbed.
When screening calls, be extremely tactful so that the caller will not be affronted. You want to be able to meet the caller face-to-face the next day without feeling embarrassed about the way you treated him or her over the telephone. A simple question—“May I tell Mr. Jones who’s calling?”—should encourage the caller to give a name without hesitation. If the caller refuses, explain that your employer is unable to accept a call without knowing whom it’s from, and suggest that a letter be written.
Many callers will ask for your employer by name and will tell you the question they need answered. You then need to confer with your boss to know if screening should be done or if you should put the call put through immediately.

Protecting Your Employer
Don’t be overly zealous in trying to “protect” your employer by screening calls when not specifically asked to do so. When a business is just getting under way, for example, many executives welcome all calls and don’t want the administrative assistant to screen any potential clients. If that is the case, then simply say to the caller: “Thank you. I will connect you with Mr. Jones.”
If you answer the telephone for all of the employees in the company and a caller does not request a specific person, inquire as to the nature of the call so that you can transfer it to the proper department or employee. When you realize what the caller’s needs are, you could say: “Ms. Johnson in our accounting department should be able to assist you with this. I will transfer your call to her.”

Courtesy
All callers should be treated with great respect and a patient tone of voice. If another call comes in while you’re speaking, ask the first caller to hold the line, answer the second call, ask if the second caller can hold for a moment, saying you are on another line, and then return to the first caller. Never keep a caller waiting or on hold for any length of time. When you return to the line, thank the caller for holding. Keep in mind that his or her time is valuable.
Never put one line on hold without informing the caller, not even when two or more incoming calls arrive simultaneously and two or more lines are ringing. Many callers will hang up when this happens, and your employer could very well miss a much-needed business call. You’ve no doubt experienced this yourself as a caller and will always retain negative thoughts concerning that company. Always have the courtesy to say, “Hello. Can you hold a moment, please?” Then wait until the caller answers yes or no. It is frustrating for a caller to be asked, “Can you hold a moment, please?” and then be cut off before he or she has had a chance to say no.

Telephone Etiquette Tips
The following checklist will assist you in practicing good telephone etiquette and performing your telephone answering responsibilities in a professional manner.

1. When you take a call, turn away from your computer, desk, and other work. Don’t allow distractions to take your attention away from the caller.

2. Always have something available to write with.

3. Answer calls by the second or third ring.

4. Smile when you answer your calls. Even though the caller can’t see it, he or she will hear the smile in your voice.

5. Use a “telephone voice” where you control your volume and speed. Speak clearly.

6. Be enthusiastic and respectful.

7. Greet the caller and identify yourself, your business, and your department.

8. Ask the caller, “To whom am I speaking?”

9. Then ask the caller, “How may I help you?”

10. Avoid unnecessary jargon and acronyms in your conversations.

11. Use the caller’s name in your conversation.

12. Practice good listening skills.

13. If there is a problem, be concerned, empathetic, and apologetic.

14. Thank the caller for calling. Ask the caller to call again.

15. Never eat, drink, or chew gum while you are on a call.

Often-Used Numbers
Your employer no doubt will use certain personal telephone numbers regularly. You will soon memorize many of them without effort, but it’s useful to keep a short alphabetical list of these numbers close to the telephone for quick consultation. The list might include numbers for the boss’s spouse’s workplace, the schools his or her children attend, and the stores the boss and his or her family frequent, as well as their country or health clubs and the boss’s physician, dentist, mechanic, accountant, and personal friends. Most office telephones can be programmed to dial frequently called numbers automatically, saving you time and effort. You could also store the list of frequently used phone numbers in a file on your computer’s desktop.

Domestic Information
For telephone number information within your area code, dial 411. For long-distance information, dial 1 - area code - 555-1212.

International Long-Distance Calls
You can place 1 + area code + seven-digit number direct-dial calls to the United States, Canada, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and most of the Caribbean islands. Other international calls may be dialed directly by dialing the following:
- International call dial prefix 011
- Country code—every country has a two- or three-digit country code; search the Internet for the correct country code
- City code—most major international cities have a one- to five-digit city code
- Local telephone number—local numbers vary in length

Voice-Mail Etiquette
The goal of voice-mail etiquette is to improve communications without being inconsiderate. With voice mail, there are two sides to the communication: callers and the person being called. Each should follow certain guidelines.
Callers frequently become upset with “bad” voice-mail systems; however, they fail to pay attention to the fact that sometimes they are “bad” callers. The following are some things for callers to consider when encountering voice mail:
- Leave a clear, concise message with a phone number.
- Provide a good time for the call to be returned.
- Unless you have indicated it is an emergency or a problem with an extreme time deadline, do not assume the person checks voice mail regularly—you should assume a call back will not be immediate.
- Remember that sometimes voice messages are lost somewhere in the system. A person may accidentally delete a message.
- Use voice mail as a way of informing a person that other communications are waiting or coming, since voice-mail users frequently check voice mail more often than email or the fax machine.
- Never leave confidential, inflammatory, or embarrassing messages on a voice-mail message.
If your office has voice mail available, you should observe the following guidelines:
- When recording your message, keep your greeting short.
- Tell people how and when they can reach you.
- Update your message frequently to inform people of your schedule, especially if you cannot return messages quickly.
- Keep your message friendly, but don’t forget professionalism.
- If you use voice mail to receive messages, check it frequently throughout the day.
- Return calls in a timely manner—don’t use voice mail as a way to avoid interaction.
- Encourage your callers to leave detailed messages—you may be able to leave the answer on their voice mail without a two-way conversation.
- Respect the confidentiality of any messages you receive. Treat all voice-mail messages the same way you would treat any private conversation.

Answering Services
If your company uses an answering service, always let the service know when you come into the office in the morning and when you are leaving in the evening. Many services will allow you to forward your telephone calls to the service, or they will answer your calls automatically if you do not pick up after a set number of rings. Always leave the answering service a number where your employer can be reached in case of an emergency.