Switchboard Operator Job Description

What Does a Switchboard Operator Do?

Callers to a hospital's or university's main number often want one person fast, and they rarely know the extension. Getting them there is what a switchboard operator does, answering, looking up and transferring calls on a console, paging on-call staff and passing on emergency codes.

Also known as: Senior Telephone Information Operator, Phone Directory Assistant, Telephone Information Operator

Switchboard Operator Duties and Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of a switchboard operator include:

• Answer incoming calls on a PBX console or softphone and transfer them to the right extension.
• Look up staff, departments and patients in the directory while callers wait.
• Page on-call doctors, technicians or maintenance staff and confirm they responded.
• Announce emergency codes and alerts on the overhead system using set scripts.
• Update the phone directory when staff join, leave or change departments.
• Take messages accurately for people who are away or unavailable.
• Route after-hours calls to answering services, security or the on-call manager.
• Monitor fire, elevator or building alarms where the switchboard doubles as a control desk.
• Handle abusive or threatening callers calmly and report them to security.
• Record call volumes and system faults and report them to the telecom team.

Required Skills and Qualifications

To succeed as a switchboard operator, you will need the following skills and qualifications:

• PBX consoles and softphone systems
• Fast directory searches
• A clear, calm speaking voice
• Hospital emergency codes and paging procedures
• Keyboarding while listening
• Composure with urgent or angry callers
• Attention to names and spellings
• Willingness to work nights, weekends and holidays

Education and Training

To become a switchboard operator, in most hospitals and campuses you will need a high school diploma and a clear phone voice to qualify for training. That training is short, BLS notes, and usually covers the console, the directory and emergency codes. Night and weekend shifts are common.

Salary and Job Outlook

BLS projects employment of switchboard operators, including answering service operators, to decline about 26 percent from 2025 to 2035. Automated phone menus, direct-dial numbers and online directories have taken over much of the work. BLS still expects roughly 3,100 openings a year, and hospitals remain a likely place to find them, since round-the-clock paging and emergency codes still need a person.

Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Switchboard operators, including answering service.