Creating a Hotline
With Hotline Pro, you can log into AlertFind and use the Hotline Editor to build a robust hotline that includes a variety of node types, including:
- New Message: Create a new message that callers hear when they call the Hotline Pro phone number. Use this for company announcements such as “We are closed today because of inclement weather.” This option does not, by default, require the users to identify or authenticate themselves. Anyone who calls in hears this message unless you specifically set up security for this message. For more information about security, see Security.
- New Notification Inbox: Create a voice mail inbox for new and historical notifications for callers to listen to them. Messages are stored in the inbox for thirty days by default.
- New Compose Notification: Enable administrators and team leaders with appropriate permissions to create new notifications by calling into the Hotline.
- New Hotline Poll: Create a new Hotline Poll to gather votes from authenticated users. You can create a poll that gathers numeric information from callers to the Hotline, or alphanumeric information from users responding by email. See "Creating a Hotline Pro Poll Node" for more details.
- New Conference Call: Present callers with multiple conference call numbers. For example, you could have one conference call for the IT response team, one for the disaster recovery team, and one for the management team.
- New Hotline Transfer:Transfer callers to a different Hotline. For example, in the event of a flu pandemic, you might want to set up one Hotline for well callers, and another number for sick callers. Using the New Transfer Call option, callers are greeted and then offered two (or more) options that transfer them to the appropriate Hotline.
- New Numeric Capture: Gather a variety of numeric responses from callers. Unlike a poll node that presents few options from which callers can choose, a numeric capture node allows callers to enter numbers appropriate for their situation. You might use a numeric capture node during a flu pandemic to gather information on the body temperatures of callers who are ill. A numeric capture node will allow callers to enter their exact temperatures in multiple digits, such as
99.7or102.3.
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To set up per-team Hotlines, first access the team for which you want to create the Hotline, then create the Hotline. Repeat this for every team for which you want to create a Hotline.
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If you are creating Hotlines for multiple languages, enable all languages you want to use before you add any options to the Hotlines. Doing this allows AlertFind to display default template responses in the desired language.
To enable multiple languages,
- click Language in the menu bar.
- Select Language Settings.
- Select languages you want to use.
- If you create a multilingual Hotline, you must complete all required fields for all languages.
To create a new, customizable Hotline:
- Click Hotlines in the navigation bar.
- Click New, enter a name for the Hotline and click OK. The Hotline Editor appears.
- Build the Hotline using any of the available node types. You can add a node using one of the following methods:
- Dragging and dropping nodes from the left column into the right column. For the first option you add to the Hotline, a green plus sign indicates when you can drop the new option into the Hotline. For subsequent options, blue dotted lines appear to help you place the option exactly where you want it in the Hotline.
- Clicking New from the Hotline Editor menu and then, selecting the node to be added from the drop-down list.
- Right-clicking the Hotline name to display the drop-down list of nodes. Select the node to be added from the drop-down list.
- Add nodes. Refer to the following sections for more information on each type of node you can add:
- Add a New Message node to add typical Hotline navigation tree options, such as “Press 1 to report an absence.” See Creating a Hotline Message Node.
- Add a New Notification Inbox node to create a voice mail inbox for callers to hear new and historical notifications. See Creating a Notification Inbox Node.
- Add a New Compose Notification node to enable administrators and team leaders with appropriate permissions to create new notifications by calling into the Hotline. See Creating a Compose Notification Node.
- Add a New Hotline Poll node to Create a new Hotline Poll to gather votes from authenticated users. See Creating a Hotline Pro Poll Node.
- Add a New Conference Call node to present callers with multiple conference call numbers to which they can connect. See Creating a Conference Call Node.
- Add a New Hotline Transfer node to transfer callers to a different Hotline. See Creating a Hotline Transfer Node.
- Add a New Numeric Capture node to gather numeric input from callers. See Creating a Numeric Capture Node.
- When you are done adding and configuring each node of the Hotline, return to the Hotline Editor and click Activate Hotline.