Hasta La Ideas

Is the phone an integral, but loathsome part of your job? Do you hate playing phone tag with someone who doesn’t explain why they’re trying to reach you? Is the voicemail indicator light continuously ablaze on your desk phone?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, or simply would like to improve the way you process voicemail, check out the following nine tips for efficiently processing voicemail:

1. Many phone systems have the ability to send voicemail messages to your e-mail. I recommend activating this feature, especially if you are often away from your desk. You can visually identify which messages are your highest priority before listening to any of them. If you receive more than 20 voicemails a day, consider using AwayFind with your e-mail system to push you only the important messages you’re waiting to receive.
2. Regardless of how you receive your voicemails (audio or e-mail), listen to all of the messages before responding to any of them. Often, a problem someone calls about might get resolved without your help and a second message will be in the system asking you to ignore the initial request.
3. When checking your voicemails, have your to-do list and calendar open so you can immediately capture action items, telephone numbers, and other important information.
4. Only check your voicemail on a schedule, same as e-mail. I process my voicemail three times a workday — 10:00 a.m., after lunch, and 30 minutes before I leave the office. Your job might demand you check it more often, but usually once an hour is suffice for even people who highly depend on voicemail.
5. Before picking up the telephone to return a call, consider that an e-mail might be a better way to respond. If a phone call is the fastest and best way, then, by all means, make the call. However, e-mail leaves a correspondence trail that you can refer to at a point in the future and, if you need to pass information along to more than one person, e-mail is better because you don’t have to make a series of calls.
6. If you return a call and get someone’s voicemail, start the message by stating your name and your contact information. If the recipient wants to replay the message, he or she won’t have to listen to the entire message to get your contact information. Also, be as explicit as possible in the message so that the person can respond with valuable data. Try your hardest never to leave a message that only says, “Give me a call.”
7. Before picking up the phone to return a call, jot down the major points you wish to cover in your conversation. This will keep you from forgetting an important point that might force you to make a second or third call later in the day with the forgotten information.
8. Set a timer when returning calls, especially if you’re chatty. If I don’t set a timer, I can ramble on about nothing for an hour.
9. Finally, delete all voicemails after you have sufficiently captured the data of the message. If your mailbox is full of old messages, you can’t receive new ones.

What advice would you add to this list? Sound off with your suggestions in the comments.