The protocol of phone calls

Watching The West Wing recently, I noticed that the phone protocol occasionally indicated on the show is identical to the protocol used by executives in the film industry. I can only assume it is ubiquitous to the world of executives.

I once spent a year and a half working as the executive assistant to a producer and there is nothing in the job more important than learning and perfecting the nuances of making, receiving and returning phone calls. I thought it might be interesting to enumerate the rules of this unwritten system for those who aren't familiar with it.

Most executives have an assistant that handles phone calls. Depending on how busy they are, there may be more than one that fields calls but they all update the same "phone sheet" or "call sheet." This is a list that is kept and updated at least several times daily to record who needs to be called back. Name, phone number, when they called and why they're calling.

The people at the top of this list are those deemed to be the most important (not necessarily the ones that called the most recently or the most frequently). Sometimes there is a coding system to designate 1) Call ASAP 2) Call today 3) Call sometime and 4) Call?

One of two things designates a caller as important:
1) They are someone the recipient WANTS to talk to (and is trying to reach) - maybe they have a deal in progress - or they are returning a call the recipient initiated.
2) They are someone the recipient doesn't necessarily WANT to talk to but because the caller is an important person, the call must be returned ASAP to maintain a good relationship.

As an assistant, this is what is required of you:
1) You MUST make every effort to get your boss on the phone when one of the ASAP calls comes in. If your boss finds the call on the phone sheet and you hadn't called your boss on every phone available and left messages, your boss will yell at you.

2) You MUST correctly spell the name of every person calling, including the pronunciation if necessary and must know all the phone numbers that might be needed to reach that person. When your boss is ready to make that call, if you can't get that person on the phone because you don't have the phone number or your boss mispronounces their name because you misspelled it, your boss will yell at you.

3) You MUST be able to rattle off, in order of importance, the calls that came in while your boss was unavailable. Your boss will call you from the cell phone in the middle of traffic and another meeting on the other phone with someone else in the car and will want, in 2.5 seconds, everything important. If you are not brief or don't speak loudly enough, your boss will yell at you.

4) You MUST accurately update the phone sheet every time your boss returns to the office. Give your boss a clean copy updated with all the missed calls and be ready to dial some calls. If there are any calls not on the phone sheet that your boss knows came in, your boss will yell at you.

(It’s possible that you will have a boss that doesn’t yell at you but chances are they are not very important or not very busy. They don't consider this a difficult job and quickly lose their patience if you can’t do it.)

When your boss returns and is ready to make calls, it’s called “rolling calls” because you’ll make a bunch, leave messages and get calls coming back right away. It happens very quickly, you might have 20 calls to make in an hour, you'll be juggling 3-4 at a time and you’ll have to keep track of who was talked to, who you left messages for and remember who is a priority. Your boss might even be dialing his own calls while you're on hold!

Here are some things that make the difference between good and great in the land of assistants:
1) You must protect your boss at all times. Your boss is never doing anything personal and is always working. You should find out the preferred responses when your boss can not or does not want to take a call. For example, if you say “I’m sorry, she can’t take your call right now, she’s in a meeting” it opens you up to more questions.

“In the office?”
“Out of the office?”
“Who’s the meeting with?”

The key is to give away AS LITTLE INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE and be very firm. Annoyingly repetitive if necessary. These people play a lot of games to get information about each other and they will try to get it through you. Give it away and your boss will yell at you.

This is the best response for all scenarios: “I’m sorry, he’s not available to take your call, can I have him return?” Turn the focus on the caller – getting their name and phone number, any important details. DO NOT promise when your boss will call. “Great! He’ll call you back as soon as he can.”

2) Giving your boss a competitive advantage will make her loyal to YOU. Being close to other assistants will allow you to ask for favors and get at the top of the phone sheet. Rap about personal stuff, be their friend, learn as much as you can about their bosses and their habits. You will need these people more often that you know to help cover your ass when you screw up (and you will). Never forget, however, that if they are good at their job, they are always protecting their bosses and their asses. Learn to read between the lines.

3) The talent of being able to prioritize immediately and connect the dots to figure out who is an important caller will make you shine in your boss’ eyes. Your boss doesn’t want you interrupting a call that isn’t important but certainly doesn’t want to miss a call that is. Keep in mind that you have the power to influence and you can make a call more or less important.

So as the caller to a busy executive, how can you be considered important and get to the top of the phone sheet?
1) You MUST not irritate or confuse the assistant. Be brief, concise and confident. Spell your name if you think they don’t know you, give them your phone number every time even if you know they have it, and always be nice.

2) Respectfully refer to the person you’re calling as Mr. or Ms. Last Name.

3) Be professional on the first call but friendly after that. You must ingratiate yourself with the assistant. Be someone they want to make happy. Pique their interest.

4) You are allowed to call once per day if you aren’t getting a return call. Still, be brief and be nice. Don’t make the assistant feel bad for not getting a return call. Be patient. Important people take a while sometimes but it doesn’t mean they hate you or think you’re a loser. It usually means: a) They’re just too busy b) They’re nervous to talk to people they don’t know or c) They have bad news for you and are procrastinating.

Here’s how it should go:

Call #1 (Be professional)
“Margaret Miller’s office.”
“Hi, John Smith calling for Ms. Miller.”
“She’s not available, may I take a message?”
“Yes, could you ask her to call me regarding the Big Merger?”
“Your phone number?”
“888-888-8888”

Call #2 (Be nice)
“Margaret Miller’s office.”
“Hi, how are you? It’s John Smith. Is she around?”
“No, she’s not. Can I have her call you back?”
“Yeah. I was hoping we’d get a chance to talk this week, you think she’ll be able to get back to me?”
“I’ll see what I can do. Are you at the same number?”
“Yes.”
“What’s your name?”
“Jamie.”
“Thanks Jamie.”

Call #3 (Be someone the assistant wants to help)
“Margaret Miller’s office.”
“Jamie, it’s John Smith calling for Ms. Miller. Am I in luck?”
“John, I’m sorry, she’s not around.”
“If there’s any way I can speak with her today, I’d really appreciate it.”
“Are you going to be around at 4pm?”
“Yeah.”
“I think we might able to get you back then.”
“Great! I’ll be at 888-888-8888.”

Call #4 (Be someone important)
“Margaret Miller’s office.”
“Hello, it’s John Smith. I guess she ran out of time yesterday.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry.”
“Listen, I really need to speak to her today or tomorrow. This merger is time critical. Can you let her know that?”
“Yes, I will.”
“Thank you. You have the number?”
“Uh…888-888-8888?”
“That’s it. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay.”

Call #5 (Get the call!)
“John, I have Margaret Miller calling.”
“Thank you.”

As you might guess, people with assistants can potentially get higher on the phone list. The assistants know each other and can make sure their bosses call each other back OR can get you the answers you need without the return call. When you call or get a call from someone important, know that you'll probably get an assistant.

When you're being connected, the person receiving the call or the more important comes on the phone last. This is sometimes a power struggle as everyone wants to come on the phone last and no one wants to sit on hold. This is what the assistant is for!