Call Routing & IVR Sample Plan

When we onboard new VoIP clients, one of the first steps is to understand the why’s and how’s of professional call routing, and then design a call flow diagram that our VoIP engineer will set up in the client’s PBX.

Some questions we ask in this process:

• What automated message should incoming calls be greeted with?
• Are there specific people or departments that incoming callers might want to reach more often than others? List these on a piece of paper and assign each a number…for example, 1 for Sales, 2 for Customer Service, 0 for Operator, etc…
• What should happen to the call if the person to be reached is busy or away from the phone? Forward to mobile? Play a message and ask for a voicemail? Transfer to reception maybe?…this is where powerful features such as Call Forwarding or Voicemail to Email come into play.
• What about calls that come in outside of business hours, on weekends or on public holidays?

After considering these questions, we ask the client to sketch a call flow diagram, and then we discuss this in the context of optimizing customer experience and workplace productivity. This graphic here helps to visualize what such a call flow diagram might look like:

Then, we ask the client to list any unique voice messages that need to be recorded, for example:

1. IVR greeting / welcome
2. Message on weekends/holidays or during out of office hours
3. Message if no response from call recipient, prompt to leave a voicemail.

These messages now need a script, such as the ones shown in the graphic above (“Welcome to ABC Limited…”).

Finally, the scripts need to recorded. Here, a simple recording into a smart phone or similar device is just fine (we can also arrange professional voice recordings, if required).

Once we have the call flow diagram and voice recordings, we can set this up in the PBX, and voila…., your professional call routing is open for business.