Manage calls with the Receptionist Web Console in AT&T Collaborate

With the AT&T Collaborate™ service’s Receptionist Web Console, front-office receptionists in your organization can accept calls to the Receptionist Web Console main number and transfer calls to any user, including a list of up to 200 monitored Collaborate users.

Administrators assign a user as a receptionist (giving the user permission to access the Receptionist Web Console) and create a list of users for the receptionist to monitor (referred to as contacts) in Collaborate. Then the receptionist can transfer calls that ring into the Receptionist Web Console and monitor contacts.

In the Receptionist Web Console, you can:

• Answer and hold calls received on the Receptionist Web Console main number
• Monitor the line status of selected contacts (determined by an administrator)
• Transfer calls by clicking a button or dragging calls to your contacts under Contacts
• Place calls directly with speed dial codes or from the contacts and call history lists
• Search the company directory
• Create and manage conference calls for 3 or more participants (Note: Conferences with more than 3 participants require the N-way Calling feature, which is included in the Enhanced Voice Features bundle)
• Answer calls for another receptionist if you’re set up to do so (your administrator can add you to a call pickup group with other receptionists)

For an overview of the Receptionist, see About the Receptionist.

Calling basics
Transfer calls
Manage calls
Manage directories and contacts

Calling basics

In the Receptionist Web Console, you can manage and monitor your calls, transfer calls to your contacts, start and manage conference calls, and view your call history.

Open the Receptionist Web Console

• On the Collaborate homepage, in the Collaborate services overview section, under Programs, click Open Receptionist Web Console. The Receptionist Web Console opens in a new window.

Note: You don’t need to separately log in to the Receptionist Web Console. However, if you have never set your Collaborate app password, you may be presented with a log in screen the first time you open the console. If this happens, return to your Collaborate homepage, and change your Collaborate app password. Then click Open Receptionist Web Console again.

Make a call

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. Do 1 of these things:
   – Under Contacts, select a directory tab, select a contact, and then click Call.
   Note: To select a contact’s alternate listed number, click the down arrow next to Call.
   – In the Call Console, enter the phone number you want to call, and then click the Phone icon ().

Make a call from your call history

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. In the Call Console, click the Call History icon ().
3. Select the phone number you want to call.
4. Click Call.

Answer calls

Incoming calls ring on your phone and in the Receptionist Web Console. The call appears in the Call Console section. You can just answer your phone, or:

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. In the Call Console, select the call you want, and click Ans.
3. When you’re finished with a call, click End.

Place a call on hold

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. In the Call Console, select the call you want to place on hold.
3. Click Hold. The call status changes to the Hold icon ().
4. To resume the call, click Ans.

Email a contact

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. Under Contacts, select a directory tab, select a contact, and then click Email. A new email window opens in your default email program, for example Outlook, with a draft message addressed to the contact.
3. Complete and send the email.

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Transfer calls

You can transfer a call to any extension within your organization or to any external 10-digit phone number.

Use 1 of these methods:

• Unattended transfer—Transfers your call to the person directly and drops you from the call.
• Attended transfer—Enables you to speak with the person you’re transferring the call to before you transfer the call. If there’s no answer or the person doesn’t want to take the call, you can cancel the transfer and talk with the caller.

Make an unattended transfer

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. In the Call Console, select the call you want to transfer.
3. Under Contacts, select a directory, click the contact you want to transfer the call to, and then click Trf.

Or, you can drag the call from the Call Console to a contact on an open directory tab.

Note: If the contact doesn’t answer the call, click Ans to retrieve the call.

Make an attended transfer

You can transfer a call and speak privately to the person you’re transferring the call to (attended transfer). You can make an attended transfer for calls that are on hold or for outgoing calls that are ringing.

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. In the Call Console, click Hold.
3. Under Contacts, select the contact you want to transfer the call to, and then click Call. The call appears in the Call Console.
4. Click Ans, and then talk to the contact. The caller can’t hear the call at this point.
5. To complete the transfer, in the Call Console, click the original incoming call, and then click Trf. The caller and contact continue the call, and you’re dropped from the call.

Transfer calls to voicemail

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. In the Call Console, select the call you want to transfer.
3. Under Contacts, select a directory, select a contact, and then click Vm. The caller is transferred to the contact’s voicemail.

Call forwarding

Administrators manage call forwarding options in Collaborate. If you need to step away from your desk, you can turn on Call Forwarding – Always in the Receptionist Web Console.

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. Under Settings, select the Services tab.
3. In User Services, click Call Forwarding Always.
4. In Services Settings, check Active.
5. Enter a phone number, and then click Save.

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Manage calls

You can use your Collaborate calling features, such as Call Park and N-way Calling, in the Receptionist Web Console. Place calls on hold, join active calls, create conference calls, create and manage conference calls, and view your call history. You can also answer calls on behalf of other contacts.

Park calls

The Call Park feature puts a call on hold and “parks” it on an extension. This feature is available only if your company has purchased the Enhanced Voice Features bundle and your administrator has assigned this feature to you.

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. Under Call Console, select an active call or a call on hold.
3. Click Park. The call is parked on a contact and the status indicator changes to .

For more about Call Park, see Manage Call Park.

Answer calls for others

If your administrator has placed you and other contacts in the same Pick Up group, you can answer calls for those contacts if you know they are away from their desk, for example.

• Under Contacts, select a directory tab, select a contact, when that contact has an incoming call, click Ans.

Join calls in progress

Use the Barge In feature to join a call in progress. (Note: The Barge In feature is available only if your company has purchased the Enhanced Voice Features bundle and your administrator has assigned the Directed Call Pick up with Barge In feature to you. If you don’t have this feature, you’re designated as Barge In exempt.)

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. Under Contacts, select a contact whose status indicator is red (busy), and then click Barge. The call appears in the Call Console.
3. Click Ans. The call moves to the Conference Call section.

Note: When using the Barge In feature, you can’t add other people to a call.

Create and manage conference calls

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. Under Contacts, select a directory tab, select a contact, and then click Call.
3. To answer the call, in the Call Console, click Ans.
4. In the Call Console, select another call on hold, and then click Conf. The call moves to the Conference Call section.
5. Do 1 of these things:
   • To leave the conference, click Leave.
   • To put the conference on hold, click Hold. The callers can continue to talk to each other.
   • To end the conference, click End.

N-way calls

Use this feature when you want to join 4 – 15 people in a conference call. This feature is available only if your company has purchased the Enhanced Voice Features bundle and your administrator has assigned this feature to you.

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. Under Contacts, select a directory tab, select a contact, and then click Call.
3. In the Call Console, click Ans to answer the call.
4. In the Call Console, select another call on hold, and then click Conf. The call moves to the Conference Call section.
5. Continue to add contacts to the call by calling them from Contacts, answering in the Call Console, and then clicking Conf.

Note: You can’t leave an N-way call as a receptionist. You can only click Hold or End.

View and sort call history

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. In the Call Console, click the Call History icon ().
3. Do 1 of these things:
   • To view your missed calls, click Missed Calls.
   • To view the received calls, click Received Calls.
   • To view your dialed calls, click Dialed Calls.

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Manage directories and contacts

In the Receptionist Web Console, your directory tabs appear under Contacts. The Favorites, Company, and Speed Dial tabs appear for all users, but only an administrator can add custom directories. If you’ve created a personal phone list, it will appear under Contacts. You can search directories for contacts, and you can sort the results. You can also manage your contact directory by adding notes and adding contacts to your speed dial list.

View directories

To show or hide a directory:

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. Under Contacts, click the down arrow to the right of the directory tabs. A list of available directories appears.
3. Check or uncheck the boxes for directories you want to show or hide.

View directory contents

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. Under Contacts, select a directory tab. The directory contact list appears.

Search a directory

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. Under Contacts, select the directory tab that you want to search. The directory contact list appears.
3. At the top-left of the selected directory tab, in the Search box, enter search criteria, and then click the Search icon (). Contacts that meet your search criteria appear.
4. To return to the full directory, click the Close icon ().

Note: To search all directories, use the Search tab.

Filter directories by column

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. Under Contacts, select a directory tab. The directory contact list appears.
3. Click the column name. Contacts appear in ascending order for that column.
4. To view contacts in descending order, click the column name again.

Edit contact notes

To make notes for yourself about certain contacts (for example, a contact is on vacation), you can add content to the Notes column.

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. Under Contacts, select a contact, and then click Notes.
3. In the text box, type your notes, and then click OK.

Add and delete speed dial contacts

1. Open the Receptionist Web Console.
2. Under Contacts, click the Speed Dial tab.
3. Click the Edit icon ().
4. In the Edit Speed Dials box, click Add.
5. Enter a contact phone number and description.
6. To delete a contact, click Delete.
7. To return to the Speed Dial tab, click the Close icon ().

Monitor contacts

In the Receptionist Web Console, under Contacts, you can monitor the status of users listed in your Favorites tab. Your administrator determines whose status you can monitor. The status can help you decide if you should answer a call for a contact or if it’s a good time to transfer a call to that contact.

Typically, the following information appears for monitored users:

• Status—The contact’s call status. The color of the call status indicator designates availability (green means the line is available, gold means the line is ringing, and red means the line is busy).
• Last Name—The contact’s last name.
• First Name—The contact’s first name.
• Phone—The contact’s phone number.
• Wireless—The contact’s mobile phone number.
• Department—The contact’s department.
• Notes—A section where you can write notes about the contact.

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