Telephone Operator's Duties

A telephone operator is vital to the success of a business. Often times, the customer’s first encounter with the business is via the telephone operator. The impression that she makes upon the customer is typically the first impression of the business. If the telephone operator speaks clearly and handles the call in a professional manner, most likely the customer will be left with a good impression of the company. The telephone operator can have many duties that she must juggle at one time.

Answering Calls

The telephone operator must answer all incoming phone calls. Either she will help the customer with a question, or she will direct the caller to the department or person who can be of assistance, according to the Occupational Outlook website. The telephone operator needs to be able to ascertain in a short amount of time what the need of the caller is, and direct that person to the correct personnel. She may handle inter-office calls between departments and give reminder calls to personnel about different meetings. The telephone operator may handle only one line or multiple lines at a busy office. She must be able to designate which calls are priorities and which calls can be put on hold for a brief time if she is swamped with calls during a busy time of the day.

Taking Messages

The telephone or switchboard operator will probably have to take messages for many different employees of the company. He may write these down in longhand on a message pad or input the information into the computer. It is vital that the switchboard operator has good communication skills and is detail oriented. He must be able to jot down telephone numbers and important messages under stressful situations and make sure they are correct.

Assist Customers

The telephone operator may be centrally located within a company. Part of her duties may be to assist people who walk into the company with their simple questions, perhaps giving them directions or basic information about the business. His job duties may include greeting all who enter the business and calling the individual departments and announcing that their guest has arrived.

Clerical Duties

The telephone operator may handle a variety of clerical duties. This may include sorting and passing out the mail. She may also handle filing, or the overflow from other workers such as secretaries, or administrators. She may have fax machines and other office equipment such as photocopiers near her desk; this will enable her to perform clerical duties, in her spare time.

References

• Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010--11 Edition: Communications Equipment Operators