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Telephone Standards

Government of Yukon Telephone Standards

– because it’s your call!

As part of our efforts to provide high quality service across government, and make government more responsive and accountable to you, we have in place standards for how we deal with you by telephone.

These are our Telephone Standards:

1. We will answer the phone – in person, by voicemail, or by answering machine -- in 3 rings.

2. When answering the phone, we will use the following etiquette:

Greet you
Identify ourselves and the department
Answer in both French and English (for bilingual positions)
If we must put you on hold, ask permission
Establish and meet your needs
End the call with a thank you or other positive comment

When transferring your call we will:

Ask for your consent
Transfer only once
Transfer to a line that is attended
Tell you that you are being transferred, and provide the person’s phone number
When we are not sure where to transfer the call, we will take your name and number, and call you back with the correct information

Use of Call Forward

When we are out of the office or unavailable, our phones will be forwarded to a person or to voicemail
We will make sure the line to which we forward is attended

Returning Messages

All messages will be returned within one business day, whether they are taken by a person or received by voicemail

3. Use of Voice Mail

The voicemail message you hear should:

Give the date
Identify the person
Identify the department
Identify an alternate contact - name and number – or provide a "zero out" option to a person
For bilingual positions, the message should be in French and English
For extended absences (holidays):
Message should clearly state that we are away
Messages are to be checked regularly, and returned within one business day.

4. French Service

Staff will either respond directly or redirect your call to a bilingual staff member during core business hours