One mailbox several people can check, such as a general or after-hours box.
A mailbox no longer has to belong to one person.
What it is for
"Leave a message for the office." "Leave a message for billing." The after-hours box. These were always awkward: either the messages landed in one person's voicemail, or somebody shared a PIN on a sticky note.
A shared mailbox has a name, a greeting and a list of members.
How calls reach it
It is a destination like any other. A menu key can lead to it, a ring group can fall back to it when nobody answers, and a business-hours schedule can send after-hours callers to it.
For the members
- Every member's desk phone lights up when a message arrives.
- Messages appear on each member's own Voicemail page, labeled with the mailbox's name, next to their personal ones.
- *97 plays them together, newest first.
Heard once is heard
When any member listens to a message, it stops being new for everyone, and every light goes out. That is the point of sharing: the team can see that someone has it.
A delete is for everyone too.
Who may delete
Each member is either allowed to delete or only to listen. The manager can tidy up; the temp can hear messages and not lose one by accident. Someone without the right who presses delete hears a refusal tone and the message stays.
A detail
A person can be a member of a shared mailbox even if their own mailbox is switched off. Not everyone needs personal voicemail, and they can still help with the team's.