{"id":124395,"date":"2026-03-07T12:11:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T12:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loopup.com\/?p=124395"},"modified":"2026-03-30T12:54:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T11:54:46","slug":"whitepaper-7-the-microsoft-teams-telephony-user-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loopup.com\/us\/resource-center\/whitepapers\/whitepaper-7-the-microsoft-teams-telephony-user-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Whitepaper 7: The Microsoft Teams telephony user experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Contents<\/h2>\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Abstract<\/h2>\n

\nThis guide tells you what it is really like, in practical terms, to use Teams telephony on an individual\nuser and on a corporate level, from the basics including how to make, receive and transfer calls or\nadd in participants, to explaining some of the more advanced functionality such as auto-attendants and\ncall sequencing.\n<\/p>\n

\nIt explores if (and how) the user experience differs depending on the device being used\nand looks at some of the different personal and administrative settings available.\n<\/p>\n

\nFinally, it discusses how steps such as training can help to optimise the overall experience.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re considering incorporating enterprise telephony into Microsoft Teams to create one seamless\ncommunications solution, you\u2019re doubtless already aware of the benefits it can deliver by bringing chat, calls, meetings and messaging together in one place. But what is Teams telephony actually like to use for businesses and their staff?<\/p>\n

\nIn this guide, our aim is to bring Teams telephony to life and make the user experience clearer and more tangible – so that when you\u2019re discussing it with colleagues as part of the decision-making process and ahead of implementation, you and your staff have a better understanding of what to expect.\n<\/p>\n

\nAlongside an outline of the basics, we provide an insight into some of the more advanced functionality available with Teams telephony, to give organisations as a whole and individual users a flavour of what is possible, and how they can make it work effectively for their needs.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Teams telephony and how is it different from Teams calling or Teams meetings?<\/h2>\n

\nThe ability to make calls is a central plank of Microsoft Teams as a unified communications platform. However, with Teams calling there is no connection to the public phone system, so calls are limited to other Teams users only. All calls are carried over the internet from one Teams user to another, and so there is no dial-tone and no phone number to receive inbound calls.\n<\/p>\n

\nTeams telephony takes Teams calling to another level by connecting to the public telephone network, enabling calls to be made to any phone, anywhere, regardless of whether the recipient is a Teams user, and allowing calls made to a business number from any phone, anywhere to be routed into Teams.\n<\/p>\n

\nTo access Teams telephony, you either add on bundles of minutes called Calling Plans (for small businesses only) or put \u201cDirect Routing1\u201d in place (the enterprise-grade option, managed by a service provider) to deliver a fullblown Teams telephony solution. Whether you are using Calling Plans or Direct Routing, the user experience of Teams telephony will be the same.\n<\/p>\n

\nIt\u2019s worth noting that Teams telephony is different from Teams meetings (which also allow non-Teams users to participate) because meetings are hosted over the internet rather than over the telephone network, and therefore require an email address rather than a phone number to connect.\n<\/p>\n

\nTeams telephony provides enormous flexibility around how users make and receive work calls: the biggest\ndifference being that business phone lines are no longer tied to individuals\u2019 desks. A user\u2019s PC, smartphone or tablet effectively becomes their work phone, so they can make and receive calls wherever they are. This is particularly vital now that so many of us are working from home. It is a dynamic system: users can even transfer calls from one device to another mid-call, and they can\nmake calls using their mobiles even when they have no signal, using the Teams app over wi-fi.\n<\/p>\n

\nTeams telephony also delivers a high degree of control around personal and corporate settings to determine what functionality users can have and how the system should be configured, for example, to establish what should happen if a user cannot answer a call. More detail around this is provided in this guide.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What key user features and functionality does Teams telephony offer \u2013 and how does this differ from \u201ctraditional\u201d telephony systems?<\/h2>\n

The basics of making and receiving calls<\/h3>\n

\nTo use Teams telephony, users will need to be logged into the Teams app on their device. Most Teams users will log in automatically when they sign into their PC, and the Teams app will run in the background on their mobile phone. Calls should be made through the app, not through a mobile phone\u2019s main keypad.\n<\/p>\n

\nAll Teams users will have a \u201cCall\u201d tab which is used to make and receive calls, and also to change settings. If they don\u2019t have Teams telephony, the functionality will be limited to Teams calling to other Teams users. If they do have Teams telephony, they will additionally see other contacts listed in their phone\/PC and a dial pad so that they can punch in any telephone number as you would with a traditional phone call.\n<\/p>\n

Making and ending calls<\/h3>\n

To make a call using Teams, select \u201cCalls\u201d from the blue bar menu on the left-hand side of the screen (displayed alongside \u201cActivity\u201d, \u201cChat\u201d, \u201cTeams\u201d and \u201cCalendar\u201d (see Figure A). This will bring up a list of options including \u201cSpeed dial\u201d numbers, \u201cContacts\u201d, \u201cHistory\u201d and \u201cVoicemail\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make it even easier to select who to call, the central section of the Teams interface will display icons of your most common or recent contacts.<\/p>\n

Once you have selected the name or number you want to call, press the \u201cMake a call\u201d button at the bottom left of the screen. When the call rings, Teams displays phone\nnumbers in international number format.<\/p>\n

\nOnce the call has been connected to the recipient, their name or number will appear in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. Teams will then automatically show anyone who wants to call you that you are already on a call. However, you can still get incoming call notifications if someone else tries to ring you, unless your settings have been configured to send calls in this scenario straight to voicemail instead of ringing.\n<\/p>\n

Figure A<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n

\nAs with a Teams meeting, once a call has been connected, several buttons appear along the top,\nincluding the \u201cMute\u201d button to enable you to mute yourself, and \u201cLeave\u201d (in red) for when you want to\nhang up the call.\n<\/p>\n

Figure B<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\nThere is also a dial pad (see Figure B) icon on this top tool bar, to show that the dial pad remains available to you in case you need to use it mid-call, for instance to select automated call options during the call, such as pressing \u201c1\u201d for the switchboard or \u201c3\u201d for a helpdesk.\n<\/p>\n

\nIn addition, on this top tool bar you will see an icon indicating two people, which, if clicked, will display the call participants.\n<\/p>\n

\nFinally, there is also an icon with three dots, containing a drop-down menu of other options when you click on it, including the ability to put a call on hold or transfer it.\n<\/p>\n

Receiving calls<\/h3>\n

\nWhen a call comes in through Teams, a notification will pop up in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen with the caller\u2019s number (and\/or name and photo if they are known to you in Teams) with a discreet ringing tone. This is known in Microsoft\u2019s official documents and training materials as a \u201ctoast\u201d because it pops up like toast from a toaster.\n<\/p>\n

\nTo answer, click the green \u201caccept\u201d button or if you decide not to answer, press the red \u201cdecline\u201d button to hang up (see Figure C). If you decline (or fail to pick up) the call, Teams will do whatever you have requested it to do next in \u201cSettings\u201d – for example, you can set it to go to voicemail or re-route it on to one of your colleagues.\n<\/p>\n

Figure C<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Once you have answered, the interface looks exactly the same as it does when you are making a normal Teams call, with all the same windows, buttons and options. Teams will then automatically mark you as \u201cBusy – on a call\u201d for the duration of the call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Including and displaying call participants<\/h3>\n

\nTeams telephony provides you with a list of the people who are participating on the call which, if you click on the \u201cparticipants\u201d icon, appears down the right-hand side, as it would if you were in a Teams meeting (see Figure D).\n<\/p>\n

\nDuring a call, you can invite and add other participants by typing in their name or number and Teams will conference them in to create a multi-party call. The same interface and buttons will be displayed as on a one-toone call, although you can control features like the mute button for different people.\n<\/p>\n

Holding or Transferring calls<\/h3>\n

To place callers on hold, simply press the three-dot icon to reveal the drop-down menu and click the \u201cHold\u201d, button. Then press \u201cResume\u201d when you want to resume it.<\/p>\n

\nTo transfer calls to other recipients (or to yourself on another device), Microsoft Teams gives you two options in the drop-down menu (see Figure E):\n<\/p>\n

\nThe \u201cTransfer\u201d button will directly transfer the call (also known as a blind transfer), cutting off the call from the original recipient and putting it straight through to ring through on the line of person the call is being transferred to, without any introduction.\n<\/p>\n

Figure D<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

\nThe \u201cConsult then transfer\u201d button beneath it, places the call on hold, while the original recipient contacts the person they want to transfer the call to (either by phone or on chat), to see if they will take it. The original recipient can then press \u201cTransfer\u201d to transfer it, or \u201cResume\u201d to revert to the caller.\n<\/p>\n

Figure E<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\nThe transferee\u2019s name or number (and photo if they have one) will show up in the bottom left of the call\nwindow. Helpfully, Teams will show you if the transferee is busy, offline or has posted a \u201cDo not disturb\u201d notification. However, the call (and the request to transfer) can still be put through even if the person is showing up as \u201cbusy\u201d – it will only not do so if they have requested \u201cDo not disturb\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\nHelpfully, Teams does something called \u201csafe transfer\u201d which means that if the call for any reason can\u2019t connect to the destination, it isn\u2019t lost but rings back to the original recipient.\n<\/p>\n

\n

Adjusting device settings<\/h3>\n

In the three-dot drop-down menu, you also have the option to change \u201cDevice Settings\u201d (for if you are\nswapping between connected devices, such as changing headphones, or if you want to adjust the volume).<\/p>\n

The user experience from a smartphone<\/h4>\n

To make a call in Teams on a smartphone, you need to do so via the Teams app, rather than your phone\u2019s dialpad.<\/p>\n

\nFor obvious reasons, as with many apps due to smaller screen size, the mobile interface does look different to the PC interface. However, all the same features and functionality are available, and settings are integrated across all a user\u2019s devices, so it can be used in the same way.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe \u201cActivity\u201d, \u201cChat\u201d, \u201cTeams\u201d and \u201cCalendar\u201d icons appear along the bottom of the screen, but you will need to click on \u201cMore\u201d to bring up the \u201cCalls\u201d icon.\n<\/p>\n

\nClicking on \u201cCalls\u201d will bring up your call \u201cHistory\u201d which shows the same information you would see on your PC or laptop.\n<\/p>\n

\nAt the top right-hand corner is an icon which allows you to make a call, choosing recipient by name or number. To get a dial pad, tap the phone+ symbol.\n<\/p>\n

The user experience from a desk phone<\/h4>\n

Again, as with smartphones, all the same options and functionality are available on a desk phone as on a PC, call history is integrated and user settings are the same, but the layout is slightly different.<\/p>\n

\nTeams desk phones run a version of the Android software, which is optimised for use with a handset with\nhardware buttons, and the interface on the relatively small display screen is similar to that of an android smartphone, with major icons along the bottom and \u201cCalls\u201d under the \u201cMore\u201d tab.\n<\/p>\n

\nDialling can be done on the dialpad on the phone and once connected, icons for mute, volume and three dots for more options including call \u201cTransfer\u201d will appear on the phone display.\n<\/p>\n

A joined-up user experience<\/h3>\n

\nWhether you are calling on a PC, smartphone or desk phone, the user experience is designed to be\nthe same with identical buttons at your fingertips, and you will not need to learn to navigate your way\naround a different user interface for each.\n<\/p>\n

\nMinor adjustments for screen size and use case are all that is necessary (i.e. phones are more geared up\nto show the dial pad), plus, as mentioned previously you can switch seamlessly between different devices\nmid-call if you wish.\n<\/p>\n

Advanced user features<\/h3>\n

\nWhereas the previous section focussed principally on standard behaviour for people using Teams telephony, this next section looks at how more advanced functionality can be set up in advance to meet specific user requirements and help support entire business workflows.\n<\/p>\n

\nSettings for voicemail, to set call groups or to delegate calls can be configured on an individual\nlevel, either by the user concerned or by an administrator. On an enterprise-wide level,\nbusinesses can control what settings are or are not available to individual users in the organisation at\nlarge or to certain user groups.\n<\/p>\n

\nThere are also situations where an enterprise-wide (rather than individual-level) approach to system\nconfiguration will need to be taken to create consistency and efficiency \u2013 notably \u201cautoattendants\u201d\nand \u201ccall queues\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

Personal call features \u2013 for individual users<\/h3>\n

Voicemail<\/h4>\n

\nIn Teams, as well as receiving voicemails, users can also receive notifications of a voicemail with a\ntranscript of the message, which will appear both in Teams and in their email. Though the transcript\nmay not provide an exact replica of the message (sometimes some of the meaning gets lost), it can\nprovide a helpful indication of what the message contains, so that you can decide whether or not to\nlisten to the message.\n<\/p>\n

Figure F<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Voicemails appear in a list (see Figure F), so it is easy to play messages back, return calls, delete the message, add the caller to your contacts or speed dial or block them with one click in the drop-down menu. Voicemails can be played back at rapid speed if required, and you can jump forward or back to specific points in a message so you don\u2019t have to listen to it all.<\/p>\n

\nUsers can choose how calls are handled when they go to voicemail, for example they can use the default voicemail message, or play their own pre-recorded custom greeting. They can choose what language the message is played in and select when it is played – for instance only out of hours, based on your calendar status.\n<\/p>\n

\nUsers can also choose their own call answer rules: so for instance, they can decide whether callers can leave a message, simply play the greeting and end the call or transfer the call to someone else.\n<\/p>\n

Call parking<\/h4>\n

\nCall parking is where a call is answered and then put on hold for a recipient to pick up using a unique code within a pre-defined number range, rather than transferring it to a specific person or number. For example, a receptionist could put through a call to a worker in a warehouse or a specific office department without needing a direct number, announcing the code over a tannoy or via chat so that they can retrieve it. This can also be a useful feature to use when you want to transfer a call from one\ndevice to another.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe number range for parking call codes will need to be set up in advance by an administrator. \u201cPark call\u201d should then appear as an option in the three-dot drop down menu. To retrieve a parked call, click \u201cUnpark\u201d and enter the code you have been given.\n<\/p>\n

\nGroup call pick-up\n<\/h4>\n

\nIndividuals can choose to have their calls redirected to colleagues if they can\u2019t answer them. In \u201cSettings\u201d, select \u201cRing my call group\u201d to add people into your call group (see Figure G). It is possible to prioritise who should be called first. Each person can have up to 25 co-workers\nassigned to their call group.\n<\/p>\n

\nWhen this happens, Teams will tell you that a call that is ringing on your phone was originally made to another person (and tell you who that person is), with a blue bar across the top of the call alert (or \u201ctoast\u201d) to differentiate it from a normal call.\n<\/p>\n

\nYou can configure different ringtones for different call categories, i.e. for direct or rerouted calls,\nwithin \u201cSettings\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

Figure G<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Delegating calls<\/h4>\n

\nTeams telephony supports businesses and individuals delegating calls to others – for example it allows a\nPersonal Assistant to make and take calls on behalf of their boss.\n<\/p>\n

\nWhen you go to place a call, you can choose whether to place it as yourself or as the person who has delegated a call to you to place. Equally, you can choose to take an incoming call as yourself or the other person.\n<\/p>\n

\nUnlike with Skype for Business, delegating in Teams will not impact Exchange – so you can delegate your Teams calling without also, by default, delegating access to and control of your email and calendar too.\n<\/p>\n

Corporate call features \u2013 for organisations at large<\/h3>\n

Auto-attendants<\/h4>\n

\nWhen calls come in to general company numbers (rather than to individuals personally), you can configure\nwhat should happen to those calls, for example out of hours or when multiple calls are coming through at once during the working day.\n<\/p>\n

\nFor example, you can decide who should answer it: someone in the organisation, a voice app (such as a preconfigured call queue), or an external number.\n<\/p>\n

\nThen you can decide on the call flow: whether to play a greeting or hold music, and then how to route the call, by disconnecting it, redirecting it or playing a menu of options (such as \u201cPress 1 for sales, Press 2 for support\u201d). Voice recordings can be added to these menus if required. You can even specify timezones and languages to apply.\n<\/p>\n

Call queues<\/h4>\n

\nOften, the auto-attendant will roll calls through to \u201cCall queues\u201d, where multiple people can take calls, for example a hotline or a customer service or support desk. Here, the configuration process is similar to that of auto attendants, with options to set greetings, languages and time zones or play hold music.\n<\/p>\n

When it comes to establishing call answering protocols, you will need to decide who are the users or groups that should deal with each queue and build up a list of people who are eligible to answer calls, such as customer service agents.<\/p>\n

\nA selection of call answering methods is available to determine how calls ring through:\n<\/p>\n