Managing phones while working remotely

Despite our transition to distance-based instruction and remote working arrangements, Idaho State University remains open. When working remotely, it’s important that, whenever possible, phones are still answered and students continue to have access to personnel in offices and departments. 

All employees can forward their office phones to a home or cell phone in two ways: single number reach and call forwarding. 

• Single number reach allows users to ring their office phone and your cell phone or home phone at the same time. A benefit to this choice is that callers will be linked to your office voicemail, rather than personal voicemail if you are unable to answer. You can also allow single number reach to only ring certain hours of the day if requested. To set up single number reach, contact the IT Service Desk at help@isu.edu, or (208) 282-4357. 
• You can also forward calls by pressing “Forward all” or “FWD all” on your office phone screen and follow the on-screen instructions. This is the less-preferred method, as your home or cell phone number could be displayed to the caller, and if the call is not answered, it will be sent to your personal voicemail rather than your work voicemail. 

As many employees are working remotely this semester, it is increasingly important to regularly check office voicemail. To check your voicemail while away, call (208) 282-6990, press * at the beginning of the greeting, then follow the voice prompts.