Oak Park and River Forest High School is expected to transition to a full-time automated phone system by early 2006, no longer relying on a live person to answer in-coming calls, school officials said.
By February 2006, OPRF will replace the live phone attendant and go strictly automated, saving roughly $50,000 in salary and benefits for that position. Callers dialing the school’s main number will be greeted with the “You have reached…” automated voice. Callers will still have the option to speak to a live person by dialing ‘0’ but a ‘voice’ directing them through a menu selection listing the extensions of various departments and personnel will handle the bulk of the traffic.
The school upgraded its entire phone system about four years ago. Prior to that, an operator handled all incoming calls and transfers. A price tag of around $300,000 covered the entire installation, rewiring of the building and direct phone lines to faculty, among other expenses. Since then, a majority of callers have used direct lines to reach faculty, administration and other staff, said Jack Lanenga, assistant superintendent for operations.
“Most people won’t know the difference,” he said. “We realized that more people were going to direct calls.”
Lanenga said the number of calls to the operator dropped significantly in the last four years. No numbers, however, are available because the school does not track the number of incoming calls, he said. Lanenga added that the school will seek a new position for the current operator and that they don’t anticipate anyone losing their job.
“You don’t need a person sitting there nine hours a day,” he said.
Lanenga said those calls seeking a live person will be handled by the school’s mailroom operator, and rotate through other personnel when that person is on vacation or unable to handle calls. The system is expected to launch by Feb. 1.