Introduction

A great receptionist is more than just an automated greeting—they're the welcoming face (and voice) of your business. The same applies to a virtual receptionist. It ensures that every caller is greeted warmly, questions are answered instantly, and calls are routed to the right person without anyone ever being placed on hold.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to use Oration to build a sophisticated virtual receptionist capable of handling inbound calls, booking meetings, transferring callers to specific people/departments, and providing essential company information around the clock.

What You’ll Build

• Intelligent Call Routing: Set up seamless transfers to specific team members or departments.
• Automated Scheduling: Connect your calendar to allow callers to check availability and book meetings directly.
• Dynamic Knowledge Base: Equip your agent with office hours, location details, and service offerings.
• Professional Brand Voice: Create a consistent, premium first impression for every person who calls your business.
• Comprehensive Interaction Analysis: Track why people are calling and how effectively they are being served.

Let’s get started!

Step 1: Create Your Virtual Receptionist Agent

The first step is setting up the identity of your new digital team member.

Get Started in the Oration Dashboard

1. Log in to your Oration dashboard.
2. Click Agents in the left sidebar.
3. Select Create New Agent.

Set Up the Basics

• Agent Name: Give your agent a professional name, like “Front Desk Assistant” or “Office Concierge.”
• Initiation Type: Choose AI Speaks First – Fixed.
• Initial Message: Add a welcoming, clear greeting.
  Example: “Thank you for calling [Company Name]. How may I assist you today?”

Step 2: Write a system Prompt for your agent

The system prompt is the "employee handbook" for your AI. It defines the agent's personality, responsibilities, and the boundaries of its role.

Prompt Structure: Professional and Efficient

Use this template to define your virtual receptionist's behavior:

You are Sam, the professional and welcoming Virtual Receptionist for [Company Name]. Your goal is to provide a premium first impression, answer general questions, and ensure callers are connected to the right resources.
 
## Your Personality
- Polished, professional, and composed
- Helpful and proactive
- Concise and efficient with the caller's time
- Warm but business-like tone
 
## Communication Guidelines
- Always acknowledge the caller's request immediately
- If a caller asks for a person or department, confirm the details before transferring
- For scheduling, guide them through the process step-by-step
- Use "I'd be happy to help with that" or "Certainly, let me check that for you"
- End every successful interaction by asking: "Is there anything else I can assist you with before we conclude?"
 
## Your Key Responsibilities
- **Directing Calls**: Transferring callers to departments (Sales, Support, Billing) or specific employees.
- **Answering FAQs**: Providing info on office hours, location, and services from your knowledge base.
- **Booking Meetings**: Checking availability and scheduling appointments using the calendar tool.
- **Taking Messages**: If a person is unavailable, offer to take a brief message.
 
## What You Cannot Do
- Do not discuss confidential financial details or legal matters
- Do not negotiate pricing or contracts (refer these to Sales)
- Do not guarantee specific outcomes for support tickets
- Never speculate. If you do not know the answer to a question, offer a transfer or a call-back.
 
## Handling Different Situations
 
**When transferring a call:**
"Certainly, I'll put you through to the [Department] team now. Please stay on the line."
 
**When booking a meeting:**
"I can certainly help you schedule that. What day were you looking to meet, and is there a specific time that works best for you?"
 
**When a caller is unclear:**
"I want to make sure I get you to the right place. Could you please repeat that again?"
 
 

Step 3: Fine-Tune Your Agent’s Settings

A receptionist needs to sound natural and responsive. Adjust these settings to match a professional office environment.

Essential Settings

LLM & Voice:

• Model: Use a high-performance model from the available options.
• Voice: Choose a voice that sounds clear, professional, and friendly. Avoid overly "excited" or "casual" tones for a front-desk role.

Conversation Settings:

• Max Call Duration: 5–8 minutes (Receptionist calls are usually brief).
• Silence Timeout: 5–6 seconds. This feels like a natural pause in a professional conversation.
• Interruption Word Threshold: A setting of 3 allows callers to naturally interrupt ("Actually, I need Sales") without the agent being too sensitive to background noise.

Advanced Options

• Background Hum: Enable a very subtle "office ambience" to make the agent feel like they are sitting at a real physical desk.

Step 4: Post-Call Analysis (PCA): Understanding Your Callers

Post-call analysis gives you clear, actionable takeaways from every call.

How to Enable Post-Call Analysis

1. Go to your agent’s page and click the "Post Call Analysis" tab.
2. Switch the Enable toggle to “on.”
3. Add clear instructions (a prompt) that tell the AI what you want to learn from each call. For a receptionist, you might want to focus on the intent of the call and whether the routing was successful. You can click on "Generate" to let AI generate a prompt for you that you can tweak as needed.
4. Set up a schema: define tag names (like call_reason, sentiment, etc.) and describe what each one will track, mentioned below in detail.

Once you save your PCA settings, the AI will automatically analyze each new conversation. You’ll find results in the History tab on the left navigation—just open a call and select the Analysis section.

Setting Up Receptionist Metrics (Schema Recommendations)

When defining your schema, consider these tags to get the best insights for a front-desk role:

• call_reason: (e.g., Booking a meeting, General query, Complaint, Sales inquiry)
• department_requested: Which department or person did the caller want to speak to?
• successfully_routed: (Yes/No/NA) To track if the agent successfully transferred the caller to the right department or took a message correctly.
• caller_sentiment: (Positive, Neutral, Negative) - Monitor the mood of callers as they interact with your brand.

Reviewing Results

• Each analyzed call shows up with structured tags and summaries in the History section -> Analysis tab.
• To get PCA insights on older conversations from before you enabled the feature, just click "Generate Analysis" on those specific calls in your history.

Getting the Most from PCA

• Identify Gaps: If many callers ask questions that the agent can't answer, use the call_reason data to identify what's missing and update your Knowledge Base.
• Optimize Staffing: Use the department_requested data to understand peak times for different departments and adjust your human team's availability accordingly.
• Refine Tone: If you notice negative sentiment during specific transfers, tweak your system prompt to handle those transitions with more empathy or clarity.
• Iterate Often: Keep tweaking your PCA prompt and schema until you’re seeing the exact details that help you run your office more efficiently.

Step 5: Build Your Knowledge Base

Your receptionist needs to know everything about the "where and when" of your business.

Content to Include:

• Office Hours: Including holiday schedules and time zones.
• Physical Address: And nearby landmarks or parking instructions.
• Email Addresses: For major departments like sales and support, and website URL.
• Department Directory: A list of what each department handles.
• Service/Product Overview: High-level descriptions to answer "What do you guys do?"
• Leadership Team: Names and titles of key personnel.

How to Connect Your Knowledge Base:

1. Navigate to the Knowledge Base section in the dashboard.
2. Click Create Knowledge Base and upload your relevant documents (PDFs or text files).
3. Return to your Agent settings page.
4. Scroll down to the Knowledge Base section and select your newly created knowledge base to connect it.

Step 6: Define Your Custom Terms

Clear, consistent language helps your agent sound natural, professional, and on-brand. Creating custom terms is an easy way to make sure employee names, department titles, and office-specific lingo always come across correctly.

What Are Custom Terms?

Custom terms allow you to:

• Accurate Transcription: Make sure technical departments like "UI/UX" or "R&D" are transcribed correctly from caller speech.
• Standardize Jargon: Clarify acronyms or abbreviations specific to your industry or office.
• Reinforce Brand Voice: Replace casual fillers with professional alternatives.

How to Create Terms

1. In the left navigation, select "Terms", then click "New Term".
2. Enter the word or phrase you want to adjust (the "Term") and the replacement phrase you prefer.
3. If you want the replacement used every time—no exceptions—check "Strict replace."
4. When you’re finished, update the term status from "Pending" to "Approved".

Examples for a Professional Receptionist

Here are a few sample terms you might set up to ensure accuracy at the front desk:

 
Term: UIUX
Replacement: "UI UX"
Usage: Standardize the transcription of the design department.
 
---
 
Term: Hold on
Replacement: "One moment please"
Usage: Replace casual or Slang phrases with professional receptionist etiquette.
 
---
 
Term: HQ
Replacement: "Headquarters"
Usage: Ensure the agent uses the full, formal name for the main office location.

Step 7: Adding Real-Time Tools (The Secret Sauce)

This is where your agent goes from conversation mode to action mode.

Essential Actions for a Receptionist

1. Calendar Integration (Booking):

• Action: check_availability, create_appointment.
• Purpose: Allows the agent to say, "I see a 2 PM slot open on Tuesday, would you like to book that?"

2. Transfer Directory (Routing):

• Action: transfer_call.
• Purpose: Enables the agent to perform Warm Transfers (introducing the caller) or Cold Transfers to another phone number or extension.

3. Message Taker:

• Action: send_webhook_message.
• Purpose: If a line is busy, the agent can send a Slack message or Email to the intended recipient with the caller's details.

Configuring Call Transfers

To define exactly how these transfers work, navigate to Advanced Settings → Call Transfer in your agent's configuration.

• Choose Your Method:

  • Cold Transfer: Instantly connects the caller to a human representative.
  • Warm Transfer: The AI agent stays on the line briefly to provide a conversation summary and context to the human agent before handing over the call.
• Set Up Routing: You can use static destinations, schedule-based routing (to handle different shifts), or dynamic assignment.
• Manage Destinations: Add multiple SIP addresses or phone numbers. You can enable Round-robin distribution to ensure calls are balanced across your available team members.

Step 8: Testing Your Agent

Before you send your virtual receptionist out to handle real calls, give it a thorough test drive. Testing occurs in three parts: building automated test cases (Evals), manual role-playing (Preview), and continuous iteration.

Part 1: Build test cases with Evals

Evals (evaluations) allow you to simulate specific, high-stakes conversations to ensure your agent handles them perfectly every time.

Getting started with Evals

1. Go to Evals in the left sidebar of your Oration dashboard.
2. Click Create new eval.
3. Name it clearly (e.g., “Receptionist Transfer Logic” or “Booking Accuracy”).

Create scenarios for your receptionist

Each scenario should challenge a specific part of your agent's training. Use these examples as a starting point:

Eval 1: Transfer to a specific department

Evaluation Name: Transfer to Sales
Success Criteria: Agent identifies the intent for Sales and initiates the 'Call Transfer' to the sales number.
 
Caller responses:
- "Hi, I'm looking to buy a new subscription for my office. Can I talk to someone about pricing?"
 
Success criteria:
- Agent acknowledges the request.
- Agent verifies if they want to speak with Sales.
- Agent transfers the call to the sales number.

Eval 2: After-hours inquiry

Evaluation Name: Inquiry during closed hours
Success Criteria: Agent checks the knowledge base for office hours and explains that the office is currently closed.
 
Caller responses:
- "Hello, are you guys open right now? I'm standing outside."
 
Success criteria:
- Agent references office hours from the knowledge base.
- Agent politely explains they are closed.
- Agent provides the opening time for the next business day and offers to take a message.

Part 2: Manual testing with Preview

While Evals test logic, the Preview mode helps you test the feel of the conversation.

1. Go to your Agent dashboard and click Preview. Try both chat and voice calls.
2. Role-play: Act as different types of callers—the hurried executive, the confused customer, or the person with a thick accent.
3. Use this checklist as you go:

Voice and tone

• Agent sounds professional and welcoming—not robotic.
• Good pacing; gives the caller enough time to speak.
• Correct use of custom terms for employee names and departments.

Knowledge Base Accuracy

• Responds accurately to questions about office hours and location.
• Correctly identifies departments and their functions.
• Admits when it doesn’t have specific information and offers a professional fallback.

Tool Integration

• Successfully checks availability and books meetings using the calendar tool.
• Performs transfers (warm or cold) to the correct numbers.
• Takes clear, concise messages when a recipient is unavailable.

Part 3: Iterate and improve

Testing is an iterative process. Don't aim for perfection on the first try.

• Fix Failed Evals First: If an Eval fails, it’s usually a sign that your System Prompt needs more specific instructions or your Knowledge Base is missing a key detail.
• Listen to Recordings: Review test calls in the Call History section to catch any awkward phrasing or interruptions.
• Update Custom Terms: if the agent is mispronouncing a name during testing, add it to your Terms section immediately.
• Aim for 90%+ Accuracy: Before going live, ensure your agent consistently passes its Evals and feels natural in manual previews.

Step 9: Setting Up QA Scorecards

Quality assurance (QA) lets you review interactions and ensure your virtual receptionist consistently delivers a professional experience that meets your brand standards—every time.

Creating a Scorecard

Scorecards give you a simple, objective way to measure how your agent is performing in real customer conversations.

To create a scorecard in Oration:

1. Head to Scorecards in the left sidebar, then click Create Scorecard.
2. Choose a clear name—something like Virtual Receptionist Quality Scorecard works well.
3. Add a description, such as "Evaluates agent professionalism, routing accuracy, and adherence to front-desk etiquette."
4. Set your Passing Points (for example: on a 50-point scorecard, require a minimum of 40 to pass).

Writing a Scorecard Prompt

Let the AI know what to look for when scoring receptionist calls. For example:

You’re an expert QA agent. Evaluate the conversation between a caller and a virtual receptionist using the criteria provided. If a criterion doesn’t apply (for example, if no transfer was requested), give full points for that item.

Defining Criteria and Questions

For each criterion, add a question with these details:

• Question: What are you evaluating? (Example: “Did the agent greet the caller professionally and introduce the company?”)
• Description: Explain what a good answer looks like.
• Max Points: How many points is this worth?
• Evaluation Type: Choose "Score" for graded answers or "Pass/Fail" for yes/no.
• Fatal Question: If missing this is deal-breaking (like being rude or hanging up), mark the question as fatal.

Sample Criteria for Receptionists:

Proper Greeting
   Did the agent greet the caller with the correct company name and a helpful opening?  
   Points: 10 (Pass/Fail)
 
---
 
Routing Accuracy
   Did the agent correctly identify the caller's intent and transfer them to the right person or department?  
   Points: 20 (Score)
 
---
 
Professional Etiquette
   Did the agent use polite language (e.g., "One moment please", "Certainly") and maintain a composed tone?  
   Points: 10 (Score)
 
---
 
Effective Closure
   Did the agent ask if anything else was needed before concluding the call?  
   Points: 10 (Pass/Fail)

Scorecard Tips

• Early Oversight: Initially, consider running QA on every call. As the agent proves its reliability, you can switch to sampling (e.g., 25–50% for ongoing monitoring).
• Assign to Agent: Once you've created your scorecard, go to your agent's Quality Assurance tab, assign the scorecard, and set your preferred review frequency.
• Review and Coach: Use the QA results to spot where the agent might need better instructions in its system prompt or more specific entries in the knowledge base.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

If the agent transfers to the wrong person

• Check: Are your department descriptions in the System Prompt clear?
• Fix: Use more specific keywords. "Use the Billing transfer if they mention 'invoice', 'payment', or 'refund'."

If the agent mispronounces names or company terms

• Check: The Terms section in your agent configuration.
• Fix: Add the specific word to your custom terms and provide a phonetic spelling (e.g., "Oration" as "Oh-ray-shun") to guide the text-to-speech engine.

If callers are getting frustrated by the AI

• Check: Is the "Initial Message" too long?
• Fix: Shorten the greeting. A receptionist should be quick. "Hi! How can I help?" is often better than a long 3-sentence introduction.

Next Steps

1. Connect your Phone Number: Go to the "Numbers" tab and assign your virtual receptionist to your main business line.
2. Monitor the First 50 Calls: Real behavior often differs from testing. Use QA to fine-tune.
3. Advanced Routing: Set up time-of-day routing so the agent behaves differently on weekends versus workdays.

With Oration, your virtual receptionist can handle the routine tasks, leaving your team free to focus on the deep work that grows your business.