Switching off old switchboard practices

As we continue to modernise the way we work as a council, the option to redirect calls to a switchboard by pressing ‘0’ will shortly be switched off.

The council hasn’t had a switchboard team for some time and by pressing ‘0’ calls have been falling to the General Enquiries line at the Contact Centre, which is now causing significant additional call pressures for staff who already have many other pressing tasks. The switchboard was removed as result of new technology be introduced within the Council, which allowed staff to control their own phones and messages when staff are on leave or away from their desk – thereby no longer requiring a switchboard function. .

Employees taking calls are asked to carefully consider who may be best placed to pick up the query before passing calls on if you cannot answer the caller yourself. Use your Outlook ‘Address Book’ to search for key contacts by clicking on the Address Book icon which can be found in the top right of any Outlook window.

When the Address Book is open you have the option to search by ‘Name Only’ or ‘More Columns’ – please select ‘More Columns’ so that you can search under a wide variety of terms such as ‘swimming’, ‘ellon’ or ‘area manager’. Please note that you can also use Lync to search for the names of places or types of work as well as names of individuals and you’ll then have the option to open your chosen contact’s full details.

For more information on how to maximise the benefits of using Outlook, Lync or Office, visit ICT’s Microsoft Programme pages or search for a range of helpful training options in ALDO.

You may also find the Contact Us section of the council’s website handy. There, you’ll find a list of telephone numbers for key council services and offices.