Showing locations on floor plan

Attendant can display the employee’s current location via mobile WiFi telephones or devices with a tag. The current location is displayed in a separate area of the company directory and on a map of the floor where the selected employee is located.

Access for visitors through barriers

The operator can use the Attendant program to operate the barrier that controls motor vehicle access to the company premises.

The driver presses a button on the intercom. The operator is notified and can speak with the visitor and operate the barrier. When a camera is implemented, the operator can immediately see in the Attendant screen who is requesting access to the building.

Displaying appointments from calendars

The employee calendars (Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes) can be viewed in real time from the Attendant operator’s console. After selecting an employee in the company directory, the employee’s calendar including free/busy time can be viewed. In addition, if an appointment is marked as Private, the subject and location are invisible to the Attendant operator.

Visitor registration and badge printing

Many times, the telephone operator also acts as the receptionist so part of their job will be to welcome and register visitors as they arrive for appointments. When using the Attendant it is possible to register the visitor and to print a visitor’s badge for them at the same time.

The Attendant operator is also able to see which employee the visitor is meeting and can easily retrieve a history of all visits they have made to the organisation. Upon leaving the building, the Attendant can update the system to show the visitor has concluded their visit.

Displaying Presence

The presence status of employees such as online, offline, away and do not disturb can be displayed on the Attendant console and linked with Microsoft Skype for Business and Cisco Unified Presence Server.

Text messaging - SMS

Sending SMS text messages directly from the Attendant console to the employee’s mobile telephones (GSM) ensures employees can be reached even when they are not near a desk telephone.

When the Attendant operator selects an employee in the company directory, they can send an SMS message through a simple click of a button.

This option requires a link with the GSM mobile network. PeterConnects supports several methods to achieve this.

Instant messages

It is possible from the Attendant console to send and receive chat messages using the Skype for Business client, this can be particularly useful when employees are on the telephone and the operator needs to advise them of another important call waiting.

Sending email messages

By selecting an employee from the company directory, the operator can simply send an email to the employee in question.

For messages required on a regular basis such as “visitors waiting in reception” the operator can create predefined messages for reuse and to fast track the process even further, they can automatically implement call data such as the name and number of the caller or visitor.

Onsite presence monitoring

When using an access registration system, it is possible to show on the Attendant console which staff members are present or absent. When the employee is on site, the Attendant operator can see at what time the employee entered the building and by which entrance. When the employee is not on site it is possible to see what time they left the building and which exit was used. The access registration system is linked with the Attendant system via an XML connection.

Broadcasting messages

Messages can be broadcast directly from the Attendant console with the intended recipient hearing the message over the loudspeaker of their IP telephone. Broadcasts can be targeted to a specific employee or to an entire group of employees.

Groups can be created based on data from the company directory or based on locations within the building, these groups can be compiled and stored for ongoing use.

With functions such as setting the volume, excluding busy handsets and sending a text message with sound signal, the Attendant operator has a complete set of tools at their disposal to ensure information continues to flow around an organisation.

Recording and storing of calls

Attendant offers the ability to record and store all incoming and outgoing calls made from the console with the added ability to mark certain calls for archiving purposes. Retrieve recordings based on date and time of call, the caller or receiver’s telephone number.

Calls are recorded in stereo making it easy to understand what each participant has said. The recordings are stored as wav files and can be played back using any standard Media Player or an IP telephone.

Security functionality

To ensure the safety of all employees, Attendant offers the ability to do call screening for security purposes so security staff can judge what action to take should the Attendant operator or other staff members be in a harmful situation. Security calls are automatically recorded and saved.

In addition, the Attendant operator has access to the “Call Security” button to alert security staff to any potential threats. This feature is only available in combination with call recording.

Training

A supervisor or other authorised personnel can listen in on calls being conducted by an Attendant operator at any time, this function is often used for training purposes or to coach staff on difficult conversations. This feature is only available in combination with call recording.

Real time reports

Attendant allows real time monitoring of the call queue by a group of attendants so support from colleagues is always available especially during the busy periods of the day.

Information can be displayed via an LCD screen or wall monitor in the attendant room or on the PC of the manager responsible for the efficiency of the call handling. Real time data such as details on current queues, incoming calls, call waiting time and attendant status including the number of attendants logged on managing the call volume is displayed in a single screen with graphical representation for easy consumption.

Statistics

Attendant collects data not only on the incoming calls handled but on the calls missed. This data can be used to create a variety of useful reports regarding the performance and workload of the Attendant staff. The collected data is supplied in either an SQL database or text les that can be directly opened in a spreadsheet program such as Excel for further analysis.

Reports portal

With PeterConnects Attendant versions 7.2 onwards, 20 different reports are available through the reports portal so managers don’t need to create reports just take advantage of the ready-made ones.

Busy Light from Plenom

The ‘Busy Light’ is used as a visual indicator showing when the Attendant operator is engaged in a telephone conversation. The LED light displays various colours depending if the operator is busy, on hold or available. The Busy Light can also be used to alert the Attendant operator of incoming calls which comes in handy when the operator is not sitting at their desk.

For various types of callers, a different colour alert along with a specific ringtone and ringtone volume can be configured, this way internal, external and alarm calls can easily be recognised.

Available languages

Dutch, English, German, French, Italian and Spanish.