Quick reference guides with screenshots are available for various Teams Voice topics and scenarios. Click the corresponding button below to drop down and view the specific quick reference guide related to Teams Voice-Enabled Channels, Call Queues, and Shared Lines and Shared Voicemail.
Voice-Enabled Channels
A voice-enabled channel is a feature that connects a Teams channel with a specific call queue, shared line, or auto attendant line.
1. To access the voice-enabled channel, locate the team you were added to that is associated with the queue, then the voice-enabled channel within that team.
2. Click the Calls tab to find call history, a dial pad, a toggle in and out switch, and a listing of agents associated with the queue.
Within a voice-enabled channel, you can do all of the following:
- Sign in and out of the shared line.
- View call history of the calls you serviced from the shared line.
- View and listen to voicemail left for the shared line.
- View other members of the shared line and their current status.
- Place outgoing calls as yourself or as the shared line number if required.
Voice-Enabled Channel - Adding a Member
As a Team owner of a Team that has a Voice-Enabled Channel, you can add members to your Team, and they will be added to the call queue as well.
1. Click on the ellipsis (three dots) to the right of the Team you'd like to add a member to, and select Add member.
2. Start typing the name of the individual you would like to add, then select their name when it appears.
3. Next to the person's name, click Member, and choose if you would like that person to be a member or owner. Then, click Add.
Shared Lines and Call Queues
Microsoft Teams supports functionality for call shared lines, call queues, and auto attendant lines. Configuration of this function is owned by IT support staff.
1. To help differentiate between calls to you directly or calls coming from a shared line or call queue, Teams will display a note on the pop-up banner indicating the source of the call. This allows you to answer the call using the appropriate greeting.
2. In your call history, you will see activity for calls associated with your personal number as well as those associated with any call queue or shared line you support. The line below the person's name or number indicates the shared line the call came from. If you see no shared line name, that call was associated with our direct number.
Logging In & Out - If you help answer calls for a call queue or shared line, you may need to sign in and out of that phone line, based on your schedule.
Option 1:
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- Click the Settings and more menu at the top of Teams, then click Settings.
- Select Calls, then click into the shared line name at the top of the screen and toggle the switch on or off to receive calls.
- If your line is not using a voice-enabled channel, this is your only method to sign in and out of the line.
Option 2:
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- If your shared line is using a voice-enabled channel, you may also go to the Calls tab within the channel for that line and use the toggle switch located under the dial pad.
- Toggling in and out of the queue in Settings (Option 1) will also toggle you within the voice-enabled channel, and vice versa.
Shared Voicemail in Outlook
If the main line or call queue that you manage has a voicemail tied to it, you will be added to a new group in Outlook.
If the call queue/shared line you support does not use a voice-enabled channel in Teams, you will only access the voicemail via the group mailbox in Outlook, and all members or the call queue will have access.
1. In the Groups section of Outlook, click the group name that matches the name of the call queue.
2. Voicemail-related emails will contain a printed transcript and an MP3 attachment of the voicemail that you can click to play.
Best Practice: For shared voicemail, we recommend building a process to determine who is responsible for reviewing and/or managing voicemail. If the message is for a specific person, the email can be forwarded to their email address, which gives them the audio recording.
Shared Voicemail in Teams
If the call queue you support has voicemail and uses a voice-enabled channel, all members of that queue can review and manage voicemail via the group mailbox in Outlook and directly within the voice-enabled channel in Teams.
1. Go to the voice-enabled channel in Teams and locate the Voicemail in the History section or by clicking on Voicemail to filter only that activity.
2. You will see who called, the opening transcription of the call, and the time of the call.
3. To listen, click the voicemail to open the Details pane. Here, you can view details about the caller and their contact options, send a message via Teams, read the transcript, or play or speed up the message.
Best Practice: If you work with others to manage a shared voicemail, it is recommended to create a business process to indicate when a team member has reviewed and responded to a voicemail. Marking the message as read/unread will not show through to others accessing the shared voicemail. We recommend assigning and scheduling shared voicemail response duty to eliminate multiple people responding to the same voicemail.