Showing posts with label phones. Show all posts

Maximize Your Phone Setup

by in ,

Since we’re early in the new semester, with most campus operations taking place from home offices and in virtual settings, it is a good idea to make sure that your department’s phone system setup is optimized for the way we do business now.  On top of that, with the frequency of personnel changes that occur at a busy campus, it is always a good idea to make sure you are only paying for the phone lines that you really need/use and that your monthly billing charges are correct.  With these factors in mind, we encourage all departments as you have time to consider the following:

• If your department uses a “Calling Tree” to allow callers to select from a menu of available options, is that tree still up to date for the way you do business today?  Conduct a review of your setup to make sure it is still accurate by calling into your main Calling Tree number and listening through the options. ITS personnel can also assist you with a description of your current setup upon request. (Are “Calling Trees” a new concept to you? See article, “Campus Phone System—Did You Know?” for more info.)

• Do you use “Hunt Groups” to help your department handle larger call volumes? If you do, is your current setup appropriate for your department’s current structure? And if you don’t use Hunt Groups, would it help your busy department more effectively handle calls? (Are “Hunt Groups” a new concept to you? See article, “Campus Phone System—Did You Know?” for more info!) 

• When was the last time you reviewed your monthly phone charges?  Are you paying for extensions you no longer use? Is your list of users accurate? We suggest requesting a billing audit with ITS to true up your billing and your user descriptions.

• If you have any questions or need assistance sorting through your Calling Tree, Hunt Group, or billing information, please reach out to us at solutioncenter@csuci.edu.


Campus Phone System—Did You Know?

by in , ,

One of the many projects completed over the summer by CSUCl ITS staff was the upgrading of our campus phone system. This major upgrade replaced aging hardware and software which provided us the ability to provide some features that your department may find useful. As you consider these available options, ITS would also like to encourage you to take some time to verify what extensions you are currently paying for and who they are assigned to so that we can make sure the naming and billing information is correct for each extension. If you’d like a list of numbers you’re currently paying for, or for further information on the services below please email solutioncenter@csuci.edu.


Jabber

Jabber is an application that delivers University desk phone calls directly to your desktop/laptop computer or mobile device. With this app, you have the freedom to place and receive calls from any location as if you made the call from your desk. Faculty and staff can improve productivity and easily communicate with coworkers and colleagues with Jabber’s real-time presence information. Jabber can be used on Mac and PC machines as well as Android and iOS devices. A Jabber request can be made here: Jabber Client Request.


Hunt Groups

Hunt groups allow a single departmental extension to be called and to have that same call distributed to multiple employees for answering. A caller can call the department “Main Line” and all the employees in the hunt group would have their personal extensions ring. It can be done as a round robin where one employee gets a call and then it moves to the next or all the employees simultaneously. As part of this arrangement, call queuing is available so that if all your agents are busy or away, a caller can wait in a queue until the next agent is available. 


Calling Tree

A calling tree allows a caller to dial a call to a single number and when the system answers a voice menu allows them to be directed to a specific area or agent based on the menu option they choose. (Example: Caller dials 805-437-XXXX. When XXXX answers, it provides an options menu, such as, “press 1 to reach John Smith; press 2 to leave a message.” Some departments already take advantage of calling tree setups. If yours is one of those departments, it would be a good idea to review your tree to make sure it is still accurate. If it needs adjustment, please submit an ITS Service Request.


Voicemail to Email

This service allows voicemail messages to be sent to email as an audio file. This provides a convenient way to listen to voicemail while away from a campus phone. The original message will still exist in the campus voicemail system.


Coming Soon: Web-Voicemail

This will allow users to manage their voicemail online via a web browser. It provides the ability to listen to, save, forward and delete messages, as well as change greetings.

 

Intermittent AT&T Cellular Service

by Anonymous in , ,

Dear Campus Community:

AT&T has been working this week on completing repairs and equipment upgrades to a cell tower located behind Malibu Hall, which has resulted in intermittent AT&T cellular service for mobile devices while on campus.

Additionally, AT&T has noted that cellular services will be unavailable on campus Monday, Aug. 19 for approximately 12 hours or possibly a bit longer.

We appreciate everyone’s patience while AT&T completes their work. Thank you.