Installation guide

164 Planning and Installation Guide ShoreTel 14.2
Telephone Planning and Ordering Recommendations
9
Recommendations
The following recommendations can assist you with planning, ordering, and installing your telephones:
 Select your telephones based on user requirements, your wiring infrastructure, and system
objectives.
 Order your telephones early. If you need a large quantity of them, you should order them several
weeks in advance.
 Have your cabling contractor place and test all your telephones. Have the contractor unpack,
assemble, place, and test every telephone so that you can avoid this simple but time-consuming
task.
 If the telephone you choose requires local power, make sure an outlet is available at each location.
Considerations for Selecting Phones
Before ordering telephones, you should consider how the phone will be used by various types of users
or in certain locations (such as in a conference room or lobby). This section describes the phone
features and functionality that different types of users or locations typically require.
Operators and Call Center Agents
Operators and other employees who answer and transfer large numbers of calls could benefit from
phones that support the following features:
 The programmable buttons feature, which is available on ShoreTel multi-line IP phones and on the
Button Box (BB24) device, allows users or administrators to assign functions to custom keys. For
example, an operator could assign speed dial numbers to programmable buttons.
 The Automatic Off-Hook Preference feature, which is available on ShoreTel multi-line IP phones,
allows users to select which audio path (speakerphone or headset) is automatically activated
when a call is placed or received. In addition, the HandsFree Mode feature suppresses the dial
tone, which is a preference that people who use headsets often prefer. With these supports,
employees can use ShoreTel Communicator to answer and transfer calls rapidly. Many employees
is this type of job role stop using their telephone, opting instead to use Communicator and their
headset
Administrative Assistants and Receptionists
Phone users in these roles are typically satisfied with a standard desk telephone that has
speakerphone and mute buttons and supports Caller ID and Message Waiting. In addition,
administrative assistants or receptionists could benefit from ShoreTel multi-line phones that offer
programmable buttons that support extension monitoring. With this feature, users can monitor multiple
system extensions.