Aptela’s announcement feature is useful for “broadcasting” a message (announcement) to one or multiple people within your company.  The announcement may be specific to an emergency office closure due to inclement weather or a reminder of an off-site company meeting.

Only employees setup on the User extension type can send announcements – the feature is included with their service plan.

Sending Announcements

Users can send an announcement from their voicemail menu or web account to a designated list of recipients.  A recipients can be a User or Department extension.

Once the announcement is sent, Aptela will call the selected recipients’ extension.  If the recipient(s) answer, the announcement will automatically be announced upon their answer.  For unanswered calls, the announcement will be sent to the user’s voicemail box.

To send from the voicemail menu

1. Access your Aptela voicemail menu (as if you were going to check your voicemail).
2. Enter your extension & PIN, if required.
3. Select 0 (for more options), and then select 7.
4. Follow the prompts to record, select the recipients, and send the announcement.

To send from the web account

1. Log into your user account at my.aptela.com.
2. Click Phonebook at the top of the page.
3. Click Send Announcement from the Company Phonebook tab.
4. Add the desired recipients to the Selected Recipients box, and then click Save.
5. Choose how you wish to add your announcement message:
   • Click to Record. Aptela will call your extension or an external phone number for you to record your message via the phone.
   • Upload an Audio.  Search your computer for an existing audio file.
6. Click Send Announcement and then record your audio or upload the file.
   • If using Click to Record, enter the extension or phone number Aptela should call, click Make Callback, and then follow the menu instructions to record and use (save) your recording.  After saving, click Close in the web account and your announcement will be sent.  
   • If using Upload an Audio, search your computer for the file, and then click Start Upload.  Your announcement will be sent.

Receiving Announcements

If you are a recipient of an announcement, your phone will ring once the announcement is sent.  If you answer the phone, the announcement will automatically play upon your answer.

Otherwise, the announcement will be sent to your voicemail box and you will be notified as if you received a new voicemail message (e.g., the phone’s Message Waiting Indicator (MWI) light will blink, or a new voicemail notification will be sent via email).  Access your voicemail to retrieve the new announcement.*  The Aptela voicemail menu will play all announcements before any voicemails.

*Only the department manager can access announcements sent to a department’s voicemail box.