In commemoration of its 25th anniversary, Lenz, an integrated marketing company located in Decatur, recently announced the addition of Rochelle Miller, bookkeeper, to its office-wide, turn-key voicemail system, which records retrievable incoming phone messages and stores them in a centralized digital repository.

John R. Lenz, Lenz Vice President, is credited with spearheading the initiative. “My role at Lenz is to stay ahead of the latest IT trends and make sure our company is at the cutting-edge of the communications field. After nearly 25 years of observing and analyzing market trends, I determined voice mail for Rochelle Miller to be an aggressive, but sound investment for the company.”

Lenz uses the Partner voice mail system made by Avaya, Lucent phones, and phone service provided by Cbeyond. Lenz President/CEO Richard Lenz supports the effort. “For years, we were concerned that a voice mail service for Rochelle Miller would put one of our less productive employees out of a job,” he said. “But eventually, we determined the system to be additive. After all, the employees that used to take messages for Rochelle are now free to mow my yard.”

For some at Lenz, however, there is concern about how quickly Rochelle will adjust to the transition. “I’ll never forget my first experience with voicemail,” said Lenz Art Director Ben Barnes. “I was at an off-site meeting when my wife called to say she was stuck at the airport and was passed to my voicemail. I didn’t check it for two weeks! Let’s just say I’ve been designing dog houses ever since.”

Aside from the learning curve that is inherent with any breakthrough technology, most of the Lenz staff is adjusting quite nicely and enjoying enhanced quality of life of being able to transfer calls to Rochelle’s voicemail box. Since the system’s installation, job satisfaction is up nearly 23 percent.

For Rochelle Miller, Lenz Bookkeeper, the system offers more than mere practical advantages. “Growing up, I was always number 18 on my flag football team because I so admired Payton Manning,” she said. “Now I’m extension 18, which is equally rewarding. My voice mail truly feels like an ‘extension’ of my personality.”

According to Wikipedia, voice mail is a centralized system of managing telephone messages for a large group of people.

For more information, contact: Ben Barnes, extension 34, Carey Blankenship, extension 33, Chelsea Hoag, extension 16, Christine Mahin, extension 11, John Lenz, extension 13, Josh Grizzle, extension 14, Lizzi Livingston, extension 23, Meagan Maron, extension 12, Michael Killeen, extension 24, Michelle Lee, extension 20, Jon Waterhouse, extension 21, Rachel Cushing, extension 15, Richard Lenz, extension 25, Ricky Pattillo, extension 22, or Rochelle Miller, extension 18.