Voicemail for businesses – Personalise your non-working hours message

A well-designed business voicemail can become your best ally in conveying professionalism, warmth, and trust even when your team is unavailable. Personalising your non-working hours voice message is not a minor detail, it’s an opportunity to keep connecting with your customers.

Nowadays, it’s very easy to find a phone system that makes this task simple. For example, the Megacall phone system allows you to configure your voicemail according to your business hours and brand image. This way, every non- working hours call becomes an opportunity to leave a great impression instead of just being a missed call.

Key elements of a professional voicemail message in your phone system

A voicemail message is sometimes the very first real contact a customer has with a company. That’s why it shouldn’t sound improvised or unprofessional. A voicemail message must convey trust from the very first second, which is why we consider the following key elements essential for a business voicemail:

• Clarity of the message. The message should state who you are, which company the caller has reached (introduction), and why you are unavailable at that moment. Avoid long-winded explanations and overly long sentences, a short, clear, and direct message works best.
• Tone of the message. A tech company is not the same as a law firm or a hair salon. The message should reflect your brand’s personality: more formal or more dynamic depending on your business, and your preferences.
• Call to action. The most important part of a voicemail message is offering the caller a clear next step: leaving a message, sending an email, or calling back during business hours. You can also suggest alternative contact methods.

With the right phone system, such as Megacall’s, you can configure your voicemail to ensure your message is professional, consistent with your brand, and truly helpful for your customers.

Customising voicemail greetings in your phone system

Customising voicemail messages is a very simple and effective way to reinforce your company’s brand image. The key is to adapt the greeting to the moment when the call is received; an non-working hours message is not the same as a holiday notice or an absence message.

In addition, personalising the greeting allows you to include useful information such as business hours, alternative contact methods, or approximate response times. This can reduce customer frustration and improve their perception of your company. Below are some example voicemail messages for different situations:

Non-working hours example
“Hello, you’ve reached Megacall. We are currently outside our business hours, but your message is important to us. Please leave us a message and we will return your call as soon as possible.”

Holiday example
“Thank you for calling Megacall. Today our offices are closed for a public holiday. You can leave your message and we will contact you on the next business day.”

Busy line example
“All our agents are currently assisting other callers. If you wish, please leave your message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.”

Additional information example
“You have reached Megacall. Our business hours are Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Please leave your message and we will assist you shortly.”

In short, a well-thought-out message ensures that every call -even outside business hours or during peak demand- becomes a positive experience for the customer.

How to create an non-working hours or holiday voicemail message

Properly managing calls outside business hours is a fundamental part of customer service, and a well-configured voicemail ensures that no call is forgotten and that customers always receive a clear response.

The Megacall phone system allows you to configure voicemail messages so the system detects when your office is outside business hours and plays the corresponding greeting. If you are already part of the platform, keep reading; otherwise, sign up quickly and easily by choosing your favorite virtual number and testing Megacall’s free phone system.

To create a voicemail greeting within an extension, the first step is to activate the “voicemail” option in the phone system. To do this, go to the “My PBX – Extensions” section of the platform. Within the extension where you want to set up voicemail, enable the “Call forwarding and voicemail” option. This means that when someone calls that extension, the voicemail can be triggered.

In the voicemail settings panel, you will see that you can set a condition for business hours: “Always active” to keep it enabled at all times, and “No response or unavailable” for when the line is busy.

In the same panel, you can configure the non-working hours voicemail by separating business hours from non-business hours. Here, you can upload the audio file or text of the greeting that callers will hear.

Now, if what we want is for the voicemail to play in the IVR menu (welcome menu) outside business hours, we go to the “Incoming calls and IVR” section and configure the business hours. This way, when someone calls outside business hours, the voicemail will play with the appropriate greeting, which can be set either as text or as an audio file suited to the moment — for example, a “winter hours greeting.”

Best practices for voicemail greetings

Beyond the content of the message itself, there are best practices that help make that first contact (sometimes) truly effective and welcoming.

• It’s important to take care with the voice recording: it should be clear, natural, and pleasant to listen to. There’s no need to sound overly formal, but the message should convey confidence and warmth.
• It’s also advisable to review the length of the greeting. A message that’s too short can feel cold, while one that’s too long may test the caller’s patience. The ideal balance provides the necessary information without wasting the caller’s time.
• Another good practice is to check voicemail regularly and respond to messages as quickly as possible. Even a great greeting can lose its value if replies are delayed for days.
• Finally, it’s recommended to update greetings whenever there are important changes in the company, such as new business hours, holidays, or campaigns.

Applying best practices to your voicemail makes it a truly useful and professional tool aligned with your company’s image, especially with the right provider like Megacall. Easy to set up, with a wide range of numbers to choose from, affordable pricing for businesses of any size, and a free PBX where you’ll find this service and much more.