Back in early 2014, we decided to put into place a company-wide phone system as a continued part of our plan to move away from individual silos and work more as one big team. With everyone on the same system, we can all contact and collaborate with each other much more easily. In addition, we can ensure that customers who call the main lines will always reach a live voice instead of a machine, since with the new phone system, calls are routed to multiple people. Lastly, it aids everyone in their ability to get a little more work-life balance by setting up a controllable call flow.
With the phone system, Champions can separate business calls from personal calls and actually turn off their mobile phones when on vacation. Calls can potentially even be forwarded to a project or customer backup if prepared in advanced. For those of you here longer than a couple of years, you probably noticed that we changed from mobile numbers on business cards to direct numbers now. This was done to aid with the process of controlling and routing calls. You can have the system only ring your desk phone, completely bypass your desk phone and have it ring your mobile phone, or have it ring one then the other. Actually, if for some reason you want it to ring your desk phone, your mobile phone, your home phone, your secret hideout phone, and your uncle’s sister’s son’s phone all at the same time, you can do that too!
Web Portal
All configuration for your phone is done through the Star2Star web portal at https://portal.star2star.com/. Everyone with a desk phone should have a login account on the portal. Once you log into the portal, you will see lots of options. The six most important are Find Me/Follow Me, Voicemail, Speed Dials, Company-Wide Directory, the Star2Star Application Framework, and the StarDialer Application (for use with Outlook).
Phone Feature Guide
For detailed instructions on how to use the system and videos on your desk phone in particular, please view the Phone Feature Guide on SharePoint at Phone-Guide-Link. Page 14 includes links to comprehensive training videos for each different phone type. Many of the phones are VVX 400/410 or IP 450 phones. Most configuration changes in the portal will require that you Save Changes to PBX on the portal and then reboot your desk phone (either from the advanced menu or by cycling power).
Find Me/Follow Me
One of the main features which allows control of the initial call flow mentioned above is Find Me/Follow Me, and it has Immediate, Sequential, and All routing options. Find Me/Follow Me can be set up to let the caller know that it is “finding” you or to just do it in silence. To control which device handles the voicemail, there is a little bit of timing experimentation that needs to be done if using sequential calling because if the secondary number is not answered or picked up by its voicemail before the ring time set in the portal, the call will roll back to voicemail in the Star2Star system. This may be the best option, as the Star2Star voicemail can be set up to email you a WAV file that can be listened to on a smart phone or forwarded on to someone else if necessary. Detailed instructions are on page 324 of the Phone Feature Guide.
Voicemail
Your voicemail can be quickly accessed from your desk phone by dialing 1000 or hitting the built-in button for voicemail. If you are away from your desk, just call your number, and press * when voicemail answers. From the portal, you can set up whether voicemail is sent to your desk phone, to your email as a WAV file, or to both. You can also set up your voicemail PIN from the portal and things like whether or not to include Caller ID and date/time info before the message. Please make sure that you change your PIN from the default, set up your name for the directory, and update your voicemail message. Detailed instructions are on page 316 of the Phone Feature Guide. ProTip: Tired of that red light blinking on your desk phone? If so, delete all of the current messages, and use the portal to set the system up to email you WAV files and automatically delete voicemail from the desk phone.
Speed Dials
You can change the speed dial numbers on your home screen to any number inside or outside the company. From the portal, choose Speed Dial, then start filling the list. The numbers are grouped by office location in the drop-down, and at the end is the best option called Add Custom Number, which allows you to enter the display name (better than “Tom Jones Line 1”) and enter 3 digit (in-office extension), 5 digit (remote office extension), 7 digit (local call), or 10 digit (U.S. call) numbers.
Company-Wide Directory
On the home page of the company SharePoint site, there is a list called Champion Directory, which has up to date contact information for everyone in the company. If you click on the list and then go to the List tab under List Tools, there is an option to Connect to Outlook. This will add the directory as an Other Contacts list directly in your Outlook Contacts, so it will always be up to date.
Star2Star Application Framework
The Star2Star Application Framework is a desktop application best used for easily transferring calls and chatting with other users but also has a full list of all physical phones in the company with an easy search feature to find and call any extension, mobile phone or voicemail. The installation file can be retrieved from the configuration page of the portal.
StarDialer Application for Outlook
The StarDialer Application is an Asterisk add-on to the Windows Phone and modem configuration that will allow direct dialing control of your desk phone right from Outlook Contacts. It is easy to set up and works great. The application can be downloaded from the web portal, and detailed installation instructions and a quick user guide are located on SharePoint at StarDialer-Guide-Link.
As we continue to grow as a company, the need to connect and collaborate between offices and even within our individual offices only increases. The company-wide phone system enhances our ability to communicate with one another and our customers, and its features and applications can improve calling/voicemail efficiency to ensure the Champion team stays consistently connected. Access the Star2Star portal today to customize your phone and voicemail configuration and take full advantage of our outstanding phone system!
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