Voice mail is not just for recording messages anymore. The 21st century version of this phone system add-on acts more like a personal secretary than a mere answering machine these days.

Today's systems are more personalized. For example, if your company has Caller ID, incoming callers can receive different messages based on their phone number. This gives you the flexibility to customize greetings for specific callers, which can be very useful if you have staff members who assume multiple roles in the organization.

Modern voice mail is also more proactive. It no longer simply waits for you to check messages. When you are out of the office, you can be notified of new voice mail messages with a feature known as "cascading off-premise message notification." With this feature, your system calls a series of phone numbers to let you know that someone has left a message.

Voice mail can also serve as your personal gatekeeper with features like call screening. Callers are greeted by a message where they are asked for their name. The system then puts the caller on hold and contacts you. With this feature, you can hear who is calling and decide whether to take the call or send them into voice mail.

Advanced voice mail systems can also act as your personal organizer. If you find yourself constantly checking email, faxes and voice mail, unified messaging lets you monitor all these incoming messages from one computer screen. With a graphical interface, you can better manage and prioritize your messages as you can quickly view and choose which messages you want to listen to, store, or even forward.

Despite what you may hear, most phone systems that can support voice mail can work with multiple voice mail systems. (Note: there are older and pint-sized phone systems that have little to no voice mail compatibility at all.) The level of integration can vary, though. Take the time to check whether the specific features you want can be attained with the system you are considering. For a free quote for a voice mail system, go to http://www.buyerzone.com/savvy/vm.html

No matter which system you choose, make sure it is easy to use. A bad user interface can contribute to much in-office misery since these systems are typically accessed multiple times per day. Take the time to test the voice mail system both as an internal user and incoming caller.

The good news is that voice mail is thankfully not as costly as it once was. Where it once cost tens of thousands of dollars to have voice mail, you can now get a solid feature-rich system for thousands of dollars. But you should remember that "batteries" like Caller ID are not included. Remember to factor in the cost of such phone company features when totaling your expenses.

If it has been a while since you last evaluated voice mail options, it may be time to look again. And hire yourself a secretary that can work 365 days a year.