Voicemail Etiquette

With the advent of the transmission of messages over communication networks, development of e-mail systems that supported audio were, but natural. Voicemail allowed people to receive and leave messages by executing the appropriate command in the email system. Business firms purchased a voice mail system or rented a voicemail box from a chosen service provider. Considering that voice mail has become an indispensable mode of communication, in the business world, one is expected to observe certain unspoken rules of business voicemail etiquette.

Professional Voicemail Etiquette

Voicemail Greeting Etiquette
The recipient of voice mails should take the effort of recording a personalized greeting although the automated attendant feature, that accompanies voice mails, allows people to use a prerecorded greeting. Personalized greetings have the effect of conveying to the message bearer the recipient's interest in what the latter has to say. The greeting should be courteous and should carry all the relevant information, viz. the recipient's name, department, designation and other details as deemed necessary.

Voicemail Message Etiquette
The message bearer should ensure that the recipient is able to identify the latter. Telephone etiquette demands that the message should be concise and should impress upon the recipient the benefit of reverting. The caller should also provide a suitable time and date when the recipient can reach the former.

Keeping the Message Bearer Informed
It is important to keep the caller informed when one is expected to be unavailable for a short or an extended period of time. The following voicemail features can help the recipient keep the caller informed about the former's whereabouts.

Changing the Current Status: There are a number of voicemail options that allow the recipient to announce his/her current status to the caller. The options, viz. available, engaged in a meeting, currently unavailable, at lunch, on vacation etc. have the effect of communicating to the caller the recipient's interest in ensuring that the former is not left wondering about the latter's whereabouts.

Using the Call Forwarding Feature: The recipient of the message should ensure that he/she responds promptly. In case one is on a vacation, it would be best to use the call forwarding feature so that the call can be routed to other devices like pagers or cell phones.

Referral Extension: This is preferred when one is expected to be unavailable for an extended period of time. People can direct the call from their voice mail box to another person's mail box. The caller may be referred to a person who is expected to render the necessary assistance during the recipient's absence. It would not hurt to provide the caller the option of faxing the message to the recipient in case it is urgent.

Fax on Demand: Fax on demand allows callers to retrieve information via fax by following voice prompts. Fax on demand is useful for businesspersons since they can provide the necessary information to their customers at all times.

Hopefully, the above article would have provided some insight about the features that voicemail has to offer and how best to use those to ensure that one observes proper voicemail etiquette.