Call Queues
A call queue (formally known as Agent Group), also known as automatic call distribution (ACD), is an account that routes incoming calls to a specific group of agents. Before connecting to an agent, callers are placed inside a queue, allowing agents to deal with incoming calls without losing other callers to busy signals or unanswered phones. While waiting, callers hear music and pre-recorded announcements. Call queues can be monitored using a number of monitoring methods.
Call queues are often found in offices that handle high-volume customer calls from callers who do not need to speak with a specific person but who require assistance from any of multiple persons, like sales representatives and or support staff. Call queues have a wide range of features.
By default, agents are logged into the queue. They can log themselves in and out. While they are logged out, they are still agents of the queue and will show for example in reports, but the system will not route calls to the agent. When an agent puts herself on do-not-disturb (DND), this agent is logged in however the system will also not route calls to the agent.
Agents are organized in pools. The agents in the primary pool are included unconditionally. The agents in the other pools are included when the condition for the pool is true. This makes it possible to add additional agents for example when waiting times are getting too long or all of the primary agents are logged out.
List of Call Queues
The table of the call queues shows the account number, the name, the agents of the queue and the number of calls currently in the queue. To edit a call queue, click on the account number link.
Adding a Call Queue
- In the account number(s) field, enter an account number. If you wish to give the ring group multiple names, use a semiconon to seperate the numbers. You can also use phone numbers (DID) as number.
- In the display name field, enter a descriptive name for the queue.
- The system will automatically generate a profile picture for the queue. If you can, use a different picture for the queue.
- If you want to use settings from another call queue, you can have those settings being cloned from that queue in the clone settings from account field.
Configuring a call queue
Identity
Account Number(s): The number or numbers assigned to this account.
Name: A descriptive name for the account.
Short name: A short name for the account. This short name is used in places where there is not much space, for example on soft labels of certain VoIP phones.
Note field: A general purpose for taking notes on the account. This field is not used by the PBX and it is only visible to the administrator.
Outbound number (ANI): The ring group uses an ANI (automatic number identification) when sending a caller to an external number. For more information, see Trunk ANI.
ANI for SMS: With this feature the agents can show a different ANI when SMS is sent out to external numbers.
Profile picture: You can load a new profile picture for the group.
Account class name: The account class name for the ring group, which can be used for billing purposes.
Agent Setup
Primary Agents: The primary agents which are always considered for routing incoming calls.
Extensions that can add themselves: This setting controls which agents can add themselves as primary agent to the call queue. If a star is used in this field, all extensions that use *64
will automatically be listed in this field. Agents are automatically logged in when they add themselves. Extensions can not remove them as agent, however agents can log out from the queue.
Number of logged in agents required to allow log out: This setting specifies the number of agents that must be in the queue before agents are permitted to log out. This setting is needed because agents that use VoIP phones typically are not able to see how many agents are logged in at a time.
Agent recovery time: Agents typically need some time after a call to take notes, take a breath or log out (this is also sometimes called wrap-up time). During this time, none of the queues will route a call to the agent. In some environments, a recovery time is also needed for the phone to settle the last call.
Duration for flagging a missed call: This setting determines how long a call must have been ringing before it is considered a missed call for an agent. For example, if a call rings for only 1 second and the caller hangs up, it would be unfair to flag a missed call for the agent.
Show missed call on phones when caller hangs up: Most VoIP phones show missed a missed call when the caller disconects the call. This can cause confusion if another agent picked the call up, especially if the agent decides to call the number back because it is not clear weather call was in a queue or directly to the agent. Depending on the phone model, the system can suppress the missed call indication.
- When there is only one agent ringing: The system will show a missed call if the call was exclusively routed to the ringing agent.
- Always: The system will always inducate a missed call to all agents that were rung up.
- Never: The system will not indicate a missed call for any agent.
Allow multiple calls on agent - even if busy: This setting allows a call to be sent to an agent even if that agents are busy. This will cause a call waiting for the agent. This breaks the rule that one call is routed after another and makes the queue behave more like a ring group, while retaining other options the queue like logging in and out.
Allow agents to divert incoming calls: If this setting is turned on, agents can use their VoIP phones to deflect incoming calls to another destination. Please note that some phones will send call redirections by themselves, for example because a local call redirect after timeout or a call redirect for all calls was set on the device.
Allow multiple calls to ring agents in parallel: When this flag is set, the queue will proceed ringing more agents even if there are more calls ringing up agents. This generally makes sense when there are only one or only few agents added in each stage or there are a lot of agents available for accepting calls.
Agent Selection
Algorithm for Selecting next agent: The agent selection algorithm allows you to establish the method that will be used by the system when connecting a caller to an agent. Choose from the following options:
- Random: This algorithm randomly selects the next agent. This is a reasonable algorithm in environments where it is not important as to which agent processes the call.
- Ring longest idle first: This algorithm is designed to balance active call time amongst all the agents. The queue keeps a list of the agents and moves an agent to the end of the list when an agent connects a call. This ensures that the agent with the longest idle is at the front of the list.
- Use preference from the Agent's setting: This algorithm uses the extensions listed in the agent setting. The agent listed first will be tried first. If that agent is busy, then the system will continue with the second one and so on.
Position for adding agent: Depending on your setting, newly logged in agents will be positioned at the front of the queue or the back.
Ring stage duration (secs): At regular intervals, the system checks agent availability and determines whether the next caller should be pulled out of the waiting state. The ring stage duration setting establishes this interval. For larger queues, shorter intervals are recommended, as it is quicker to get callers out of the queue and into a ringback state. The default value for this setting is 5 seconds.
Number of agents added per stage: In every scheduling interval, the system adds only a limited number of agents from its pool of available agents to its list of ringing agents. For large call queues, a typical value would be one or two, as this will ensure that not all agents receive calls at the same time and so that the system CPU is not overtaxed with simultaneous calls.
Use the login status for agents: Before considering an agent, by default the system checks if this agent is logged in. This option allows to ignore the login status for additional agents or for all agents.
Including additional pools
This section allows you to define condions under which the agents from the additional pools will be added to the list of agents for this queue. There are up to 5 additional pools available.
The conditions can also be used to color a call. This feature is useful when using the apps that are able to show the color of the call. For example, it makes sense to color a call red if the caller waited already more than five minutes.
When service flag is active: The additional agents from this pool will be added if the service flag is active.
When service flag is not active: The agents will be added if the service flag is not active. Having both active and inactive options make it easier to use office hours service flags.
Waited longer than …: If a caller has waited longer than the indicated time, additional agents will be added.
Number of waiting calls exceeds …: If there are more than the inducated number of calls, additional agents will be added.
No agents available: This condition is true, if so far no agents have been found for taking the call. Please note that this option can be used multiple times to further escaate the search for agents that can take the call.
No primary agents available: This condition is true, if the pool of primary agents has no agents available.
After hearing ringback for (s) …: If the caller hears ringback for longer than the indicated time, additional agents will be added. This is typically the case if none of the primary agents pick the call up.
After talking for …: This condition makes only sense for selecting a color. For example this can be used if an agents is stuck with a specfic caller and needs help to resolve the situation.
After holding for …: This condition also makes only sense for selecting a color. It is typically used when an agents keeps a caller on hold for too long and needs a reminder to continue with the call.
Redirecting calls
In contrast to adding additional agents to the pool, the system can also redirect the call out of the queue. The redirection target can be any number that the queue can dial, including a mailbox (possibly using the mailbox prefix), an external number, a different queue, an auto attendant or a specific manager extension. For the redirection, the following options are available:
After hearing ringback for … redirect the call to the destination: This condition fires if the caller hears ringback for the indicated time, like with the agent inclusion above. However the queue will not include agents, but instead redirect the caller to the provided destination.
If the caller already waited longer than … redirect to the destination. Like with the agent inclusion, the condition will fire if the caller waited a certain time. Again, instead of adding more agents the call will be redirected.
Automatically log agents out after redirecting a ringing call: This setting will log agents out if the call in the queue was redirected while agents were ringing. Agents need only log back in to return to the call queue. This settings is useful to avoid callers to get stuck again and again with the same agent that has already left for the day without logging out.
Redirect destination for suspected SPAM calls: If the queue inbound call has been suspected as a SPAM call by the PBX (from the domain / admin level SPAM detection settings) then number entered here will be where these calls will be redirected.