How to Set Up an Auto-Attendant for Your Business Phone System
An auto-attendant (also called a virtual receptionist or IVR) is the automated greeting and menu system that answers your calls and routes callers to the right department or person. Done well, it makes even a small business sound like a Fortune 500 company. Done poorly, it frustrates callers and costs you customers.
Best Practices for Auto-Attendant Scripts
- Keep your greeting under 10 seconds — callers don’t want to wait
- Offer no more than 5 menu options — more causes confusion
- Put the most-used options first (typically “Sales” and “Support”)
- Always include an option to reach a live person (even if after hours)
- Update your greeting seasonally or for special hours
- Test from a real phone — don’t just rely on the admin portal preview
Vivant includes professional auto-attendant setup as part of every business phone system deployment. Get started today.
