Voice Policies & Voicemail
Control what Teams Phone users can do — call forwarding, delegation, voicemail greetings, and transcription. Learn how to configure voice and voicemail policies.
Controlling the voice experience
Voice policies are like the rules for your office phone system.
Can you forward calls to your mobile? Can your assistant answer calls on your behalf? What happens when you don’t answer — does it go to voicemail, and if so, does Teams transcribe the message? These settings are all controlled by voice routing policies (where calls go), calling policies (what users can do), and voicemail policies (how voicemail behaves).
Voice routing (Direct Routing)
For organisations using Direct Routing, voice routing policies control outbound call routing:
| Component | What It Does |
|---|---|
| PSTN usage records | Define categories of calls (local, long-distance, international, emergency) |
| Voice routes | Map number patterns to specific SBCs (e.g., +61* → AU SBC, +64* → NZ SBC) |
| Voice routing policy | Bundle usage records and routes into a policy assigned to users |
Calling Plans and Operator Connect don’t need voice routing policies — Microsoft or the carrier handles routing.
Scenario: Tara's voice routing at Pinnacle Corp
Pinnacle Corp uses Direct Routing for the Tokyo office. Tara configures:
PSTN usage records:
- “JP-Local” — local calls within Japan
- “JP-International” — calls from Japan to other countries
- “JP-Emergency” — emergency calls (110)
Voice routes:
- JP-Local: number pattern
+81[2-9]\d{7,8}→ Tokyo SBC - JP-International: number pattern
+*→ Tokyo SBC (international gateway) - JP-Emergency: number pattern
110→ Tokyo SBC (priority route)
Voice routing policy: “Tokyo-Users” → includes JP-Local, JP-International, JP-Emergency
Assigned to all Tokyo office users via:
Grant-CsOnlineVoiceRoutingPolicy -Identity "user@pinnacle.com.au" -PolicyName "Tokyo-Users"Calling policies
Calling policies control what users can do with calls:
Teams admin center → Voice → Calling policies
| Setting | What It Controls | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Make private calls | Can the user make 1:1 PSTN/VoIP calls | On |
| Call forwarding | Forward calls to another number or voicemail | On |
| Simultaneous ring | Ring another number at the same time as Teams | On |
| Call delegation | Allow others to make/receive calls on behalf of user | On |
| Busy on busy | What happens when user is already on a call | Enabled (new calls get busy signal or go to voicemail) |
| Voicemail | Whether calls go to voicemail when unanswered | User-controlled |
| Music on hold | Play music when a call is on hold | On |
| Call park | Park a call and retrieve it from another device | Off |
| SIP devices | Allow sign-in on SIP devices | Off |
Scenario: Different calling policies at Pinnacle Corp
Tara creates three calling policies:
“Executive Calling”:
- Call delegation: On (executive assistants can answer calls)
- Simultaneous ring: On (ring mobile + Teams simultaneously)
- Call forwarding: On (forward to mobile when OOF)
“Standard Calling”:
- Call delegation: Off (standard staff don’t need delegates)
- Simultaneous ring: On
- Call forwarding: On
“Restricted Calling”:
- Call forwarding: Off (can’t forward calls outside org — compliance)
- Simultaneous ring: Off (calls only ring Teams — security)
- Used for: traders at Sterling Financial who handle sensitive calls
Voicemail policies
Cloud Voicemail in Teams provides voicemail with transcription:
Teams admin center → Voice → Voicemail policies
| Setting | What It Controls | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Users can edit call answering rules | Whether users can configure voicemail answering rules in Teams | Enabled |
| Voicemail transcription | Transcribe voicemail messages to text | On |
| Transcription translation | Translate transcription to user’s language | On |
| Transcription profanity masking | Mask profanity in transcriptions | Off |
| Maximum recording duration | How long a voicemail message can be | 5 minutes |
| Primary prompt language | Language for the voicemail system prompts | Organisation default |
| Secondary prompt language | Optional second language for prompts | None |
| Share data for service improvement | Share voicemail data to improve transcription | Off |
Voicemail greetings
Users can set custom voicemail greetings:
- Default greeting: Auto-generated “You’ve reached [user name]”
- Custom greeting: Recorded by the user via the Teams client
- Out-of-office greeting: Synced with Outlook OOF settings (optional)
Scenario: Voicemail at Pinnacle Corp
Tara configures voicemail policies:
“Standard Voicemail” (all users):
- Transcription: On (users love reading voicemails instead of listening)
- Translation: On (multi-lingual APAC workforce)
- Max duration: 5 minutes
- Call transfer (press 0): Enabled → transfers to reception auto attendant
“No Voicemail” (conference rooms, common areas):
- Voicemail: Disabled (room phones shouldn’t have voicemail)
🎬 Video walkthrough
Flashcards
Knowledge Check
Pinnacle Corp's CEO wants her executive assistant to be able to answer calls on her behalf. What should Tara configure?
Nadia needs to ensure traders at Sterling Financial cannot forward calls to external numbers for compliance reasons. What should she configure?
Next up: Auto Attendants & Call Routing — design the phone system: auto attendants greet callers, call queues distribute calls to agents.