Use of Voice Mail at
MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY
OPERATING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
PURPOSE
To provide guidelines to departments and employees regarding the appropriate use of voice mail and to help ensure that university offices are perceived as service-oriented and customer-friendly, as well as efficiently administered.
POLICY
Mississippi State University recognizes that voice mail is a valuable tool that, used appropriately, can enhance accessibility, communication, and efficiency.
Main office telephones
Each department and unit of the university shall strive to ensure that its primary, publicly listed telephone numbers are answered by a person, rather than a recorded message, during normal office hours. Call-forwarding from the listed number may be helpful in achieving this objective when the person primarily responsible for answering the telephone is temporarily unavailable.
Short-term and occasional use of voice mail for answering departmental phones is permissible when circumstances dictate its use.
Voice mail answering of department phones outside of office hours and on weekends and holidays is appropriate and desirable. Callers should be informed of regular office hours and/or alternative methods of contacting department representatives.
Callers to primary office telephone numbers should be given the option of being transferred to the requested party’s voice mail, rather than being transferred automatically.
Individual telephone extensions
Telephone number extensions assigned to individuals and not listed in the departmental directory may be answered by voice mail at the convenience of the primary user.
Review
The Vice President for Finance and Administration is responsible for the review of this OP as needed.
OP 01.22
05/03/05
For information about this policy, contact the
reviewing department.
