Introduction
An Interactive Voice Response system, also known as an Auto Attendant, is a way of allowing your callers to select where their calls get routed to just by pressing a number on their keypad.
Purchasing the IVR service
To purchase the IVR service, talk to your Site Manager.
Before setting up an IVR
Before creating an IVR, you should have a few things ready:
We recommend that you set up a new extension dedicated to each IVR. This will provide a number that you can use to call the IVR directly or that you use to forward your calls. For information on creating a new extension, please click here.
You should plan out what options you want to provide to the caller and which phones should ring.
You will require a recorded greeting to play to callers, explaining which menu options to press. There are iPhone and Android apps that can record in the required format for you. If you wish to use alternate software, you must ensure the recording is in a WAV file, the sample rate is 8000Hz and the encoding is unsigned 8-bit PCM.
Creating an IVR
Once enabled, you can manage your IVR settings via Telephone Manager.
To set up an IVR, click on Features Setup in the Telephone Manager and select IVR.
Step 1 - Add the IVR
From the IVR screen, click 'Add'.
Step 2 - Name the IVR, nominate an extension and select 'Time Options'
Give the IVR a suitable name to help you to keep track of what purpose it was created for, then pick an extension that the IVR will be driven from.
Within 'Time Options', choose whether you want the message and options to be the same for both business hours and out-of-hours or if you want separate choices for these.
Once you click 'Continue', you will see the menu configuration screen. If you chose to have separate business and out-of-hours menus, you will see the business hours one first:
Here you will upload the file containing your greeting and choose which menu options you wish to activate, and what actions they will perform.
Each menu option in the left-hand column corresponds to a digit pressed by a caller on their phone keypad and is activated by checking the box next to it.
The 'Description' field is only for your reference. It is not played by the IVR.
The actions you can choose:
Transfer - This option performs a blind transfer to the destination you enter in the 'Target' field
Transfer to Voicemail - This performs a blind transfer directly to the voicemail box of the user you select in the 'Target' field. Their phone will not ring.
Extension Dialling - This allows the caller to enter the extension of the person they wish to speak to (if they know it) and be transferred directly to them
Repeat Message - This will replay the announcement audio file you uploaded in the previous step
Once you are happy with your configuration, clicking 'Continue' will allow you to repeat this process for your out-of-hours menu (if selected) or otherwise completes the setup and activates the IVR.
Once the IVR is active, your callers can either call it directly or you can forward a published number (for instance, your main line number) to it.