Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Answer simple questions about clients' businesses, using reference files.
• Perform various cash handling tasks, such as collecting payments, making bank deposits, or managing petty cash.
• Answer incoming calls, greeting callers, providing information, transferring calls or taking messages as necessary.
• Page individuals to inform them of telephone calls, using paging or interoffice communication equipment.
• Place telephone calls or arrange conference calls as instructed.
• Stamp messages with time and date and file them appropriately.
• Perform various data entry or word processing tasks, such as updating phone directories, typing or proofreading documents, or creating schedules.
• Perform various cash handling tasks, such as collecting payments, making bank deposits, or managing petty cash.
• Perform various data entry or word processing tasks, such as updating phone directories, typing or proofreading documents, or creating schedules.
• Process incoming or outgoing mail, packages, or deliveries.
• Monitor emergency and code alarms, make emergency announcements, or route emergency calls to the appropriate location.
• Relay or route written or verbal messages.
• Monitor emergency and code alarms, make emergency announcements, or route emergency calls to the appropriate location.
• Perform administrative tasks, such as accepting orders, scheduling appointments or meeting rooms, or sending and receiving faxes.
• Greet visitors, log them in and out of the facility, assign them security badges, and contact employee escorts.
• Complete forms for sales orders.
• Greet visitors, log them in and out of the facility, assign them security badges, and contact employee escorts.
• Keep records of calls placed and charges incurred.
• Place orders, such as for equipment, supplies, or catering for meetings.
• Contact security staff members when necessary, using radio-telephones.
• Record messages, suggesting rewording for clarity or conciseness.
• Perform administrative tasks, such as accepting orders, scheduling appointments or meeting rooms, or sending and receiving faxes.
• Operate communication systems, such as telephone, switchboard, intercom, two-way radio, or public address.
• Monitor alarm systems to ensure that secure conditions are maintained.

Skills

• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.

Abilities

• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

Knowledge

• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

Education

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

46470/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

22.34/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

680

Yearly Projected Openings

50

Personality

Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:

• Dependability
• Self Control
• Stress Tolerance
• Attention to Detail
• Concern for Others
• Cooperation

Tools

• Alarm systems
• Inkjet printers
• Intercom systems
• Laser fax machine
• Paging controllers
• Personal computers
• Phone headsets
• Photocopiers
• Premise branch exchange PBX systems
• Public address systems
• Special purpose telephones
• Two way radios
• Video monitors

Technology

• Data base user interface and query software
• Electronic mail software
• Enterprise resource planning ERP software
• Facilities management software
• Office suite software
• Operating system software
• Presentation software
• Spreadsheet software
• Word processing software