POSITION OVERVIEW:

• The Telephone Operator shall receive all incoming telephone calls and refer them to the requested party or to the most appropriate extension number.

• The Telephone Operator shall respond to all operator assisted calls within 30 seconds and initiate appropriate action(s) upon request from the caller. Progress reports to callers on hold should be given at least every minute. Less than 5% abandonment rate is acceptable. Note the caller's request to eliminate asking the caller to repeat information.

• The Telephone Operator shall places toll (long distance) calls using commercial and Government access lines as authorized by SLVHCS policy.

• The Telephone Operator shall handle emergency calls, such as cardiac arrests, telephone or telephone system failure, fire alarms, control panel alarms, bomb threats, disasters, etc., by contacting the appropriate SLVHCS personnel and/or telephone technician.

• The Telephone Operator shall provide paging services to all SLVHCS staff upon request from outside personnel as well as SLVHCS personnel.

• The Telephone Operator shall maintain an operator log on unusual or emergency incidents, such as cardiac arrests, telephone or telephone system failures, fire alarms, bomb threats, etc. Submit a daily summary to Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) on all unusual incidents.

• The Telephone Operator shall maintain records on the general operation of the service, such as telephone repairs, pager repairs, Federal Telecommunications Services, and Commercial long-distance calls.

• The Telephone Operator shall provide general information and refer information to the appropriate services.

• The Telephone Operator shall use telephone system to alert the VA Police and Security Service to report emergency situations such as alarm alerts, urgent safety, etc.

• The Telephone Operator shall provide general and patient information to direct person-to-person contacts.

• The Telephone Operator shall maintain employee, and organizational files to provide rapid and accurate processing of calls and disbursement of information, updating as information changes.

• The Telephone Operator shall receive and log general telephone troubles. Immediately notify telephone technician or other appropriate authorities of emergency outages or troubles, i.e., telephones located in critical areas, multiple telephone failure in one location, or telephone switch malfunctions.

• The Telephone Operator shall safeguard immediate work area from unauthorized visitors.

• The Telephone Operator shall accept collect calls as authorized by SLVHCS policy.

• The Telephone Operator shall conduct personal business through the use of public telephones.

• The Telephone Operator shall demonstrate professionalism in all contacts via telephone or in person. All calls should be responded to in a courteous and tactful manner with a pleasant-sounding voice.

EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• Associate Degree or equivalent.

MINIMUM REQUIRED SKILLS/EXPERIENCE:

• The Telephone Operator should have two years of previous switchboard experience.

• The Telephone Operator shall be able to assume the responsibility for placing a variety of special calls (e.g., conference calls, long distance calls, and local calls) over varied circuits or routings, or performing information operator work, which requires knowledge of the organizational units and major functions of a large multi-division organization.

• The Telephone Operator shall have the ability to meet and deal with people from a variety of backgrounds, with varying levels of understanding, work under pressure and stressful conditions, and adapt to changing working conditions.

• The Telephone Operator shall perform various communications and/or emergency activities.