Keep messages brief, no more than 1.2 seconds in length, as callers are kept waiting while a VOA plays. Agents must use a speakerphone or headset, so agents do not miss the VOA. If agents cannot use a speakerphone or headset, administer phones with a VOA Repeat button.

If you have multiple announcement boards, you must place shorter VOAs on one board and longer recorded announcements on the other to prevent delay in the delivery of VOAs. If you have only one announcement board, place VOAs on the integrated board and install an auxiliary announcement device for longer announcements.

Agents must be on the same communication server as the VOA.

A VOA can be assigned to multiple VDNs, but a VDN can have only one VOA.

If you use integrated announcements, the system maintains a separate logical queue for VOAs. If the VOA cannot be delivered to the agent within 1 second because of traffic or inoperative equipment, the system does not provide the announcement. VOAs are higher priority than other announcements. A burst of VOAs can delay other announcements.

Auxiliary announcements are connected for a duration of 1 to 2 seconds on a barge-in basis, immediately after the agent answers, or is assigned the call for auto-answer, and the incoming call is extended to the agent. Integrated and non-barge-in auxiliary announcements are connected for the duration of the announcement. The communication server does not ensure that the integrated announcement is shorter than the allowed playback time.

VOA supports Auxiliary Trunks (aux-trunk) with barge-in, queue, or without queue. For aux-trunk with or without queue, when the trunk is idle, a VDN call seizes the trunk to start the VOA and the system plays the entire announcement, not just 1 to 2 seconds. However, if the announcement is busy and if aux-trunk has barge-in, the call does not queue but bridges onto the announcement for 1 to 2 seconds. When the VOA completes, the trunk is released along with the listeners, and the next call requiring the VOA starts the process over again. For this reason, your aux-trunk announcements must consist of one short announcement that repeats during the full announcement time. For example, you can record New Order as many times as possible, so that when a call bridges to the announcement, the agent hears New Order no matter where the agent bridges into the announcement.

If you use aux-trunk or integrated announcement without queue and a port is busy when a VDN call comes in, the system does not play an announcement. If you use aux-trunk or integrated announcement with queue, the system plays the current announcement for an agent and connects the next agent in the queue.