Creating Call Queues

Let's begin this course by going over the Call Queue creation process.

Call Queue Types

Before showing you the steps to create a queue. Here's a reminder of each Call Queue Type:

●       Round-robin - Route callers to the available agent that has been idle the longest.

●       Ring All - Route callers to all available agents at the same time.

●       Linear Hunt - Route callers to the available agents in a predefined order. The order is defined when editing the queue's agents.

●       Linear Cascade - Route callers to groups of available agents in a predefined order. The order is defined when editing the queue's agents.

●      Call Park - Place the caller on hold until an agent retrieves them.

Call Queue Creation

1.      Start by going to the Call Queues tab.

2.     Click on Add Call Queue.

3.     In the Basic tab, do the following:

1. Give the queue a name in the Name field.
2. Give the queue an extension number in the Extension field. We normally use the 8800 range.
3. Choose a Type.
4. Ignore the Phone Number field as you will sort the call routing later.
5. Ignore the Record Calls field as well since Recording is an optionalUser feature.
6. Set Statistics to Yes, even if the client is not interested. If they are at a later time, they will already have stats collected to look at.
   

4.     Click the Next button.

5.     In Pre Queue Options, you can change the following optional settings (Based on Customer preference):

1. Require agents: Set to No, callers will be able to be placed in the queue even if there's no one logged in. If set to Yes, callers will not be allowed to be placed in the queue.
2. Queue Audio: Leave this to Music on Hold.
3. Require intro MOH: If the queue has an Intro Message (covered in the next course), Yes will allow the message to play in full before queuing the caller. If set to No, the caller will be placed in the queue right away, and the message will begin to play. It could be interrupted if an agent answers the call right away.
4. Max Expected Wait (sec): The average wait time is calculated automatically as callers enter and exit the queue. If at any point the average wait time exceeds this value, callers will not be allowed to be placed in the queue.
5. Max Queue Length: If the amount of callers in the queue equals this value, any new caller above this limit will not be allowed to be placed in it.
6. Allow Callback option: Set this to Yes to give callers the choice of leaving a callback number when the timeout occurs. This feature is currently hidden and needs Manager approval. When triggered, callers can press 3 and confirm their callback number. When an agent receives this call, they will be prompted to press 1 before they can speak with the caller.
7. Forward if unavailable: In this field, you must enter a destination for any scenario where a caller is not allowed to be placed in the queue. It could be the queue's voicemail or any other User. It only applies itself to the Default Time Frame. 
   

6.    Click the Next button.

The next screen is the In Queue Options. They will be different for each type of queue, so let's look at each of them in turn.

For Round-robin and Linear Hunt:

●       Queue Ring Timeout (sec): How long the queue will attempt to ring agents before following an exit option.

●       Agent Ring Timeout (sec): How long the queue will ring agents before moving on to the next available. This should be less than the Queue Ring Timeout.

●       Logout agent on missed call: If set to Yes, agents will always be logged out automatically if they miss a call. Recommended to leave to No unless they have a Supervisor that wants that feature.

●       Forward if unanswered: This is where callers go if agents fail to answer the call before the Queue RingTimeout. It can be the queue's voicemail or any other User. It only applies itself to the Default Time Frame.

●      Voicemail: If set to Yes and Forward if Unanswered is not configured, callers will have the option to leave a voicemail or keep waiting at the Queue Ring Timeout.

For Ring All:

●       Queue Ring Timeout (sec): How long the queue will attempt to ring agents before following an exit option.

●       Forward if unanswered: This is where callers go if agents fail to answer the call before the Queue RingTimeout. It can be the queue's voicemail or any other User. It only applies itself to the Default Time Frame.

●      Voicemail: If set to Yes and Forward if Unanswered is not configured, callers will have the option to leave a voicemail or keep waiting at the Queue Ring Timeout. 

For Linear Cascade:

●       Queue Ring Timeout (sec): How long the queue will attempt to ring agents before following an exit option.

●       Agent Ring Timeout (sec): How long the queue will ring agents before moving on to the next available. This should be less than the Queue Ring Timeout.

●       Initial Agent Group to Ring: The first group of agents to ring based on their predefinedOrder. All agents with the chosen Order and lower will ring. For example, if you choose 5 for this option, all agents with Order 5 or lower will ring.

●       Agent Group to Add After Timeout: This adds an additional group of agents to ring when the Agent Ring Timeout is reached. The queue will ring the first group of agents and added agents with the chosen order or lower simultaneously. For example, if you choose 5 for Initial Agent Group to Ring and 5 for this option, it will now ring all agents with Order 10 or lower. It will add 5 and ring all agents with that Order or lower on every Agent Ring Timeout that is reached.

●       Logout agent on missed call: If set to Yes, agents will always be logged out automatically if they miss a call. Recommended to leave to No unless they have a Supervisor that wants that feature.

●       Forward if unanswered: This is where callers go if agents fail to answer the call before the Queue Ring Timeout. It can be the queue's voicemail or any other User. It only applies itself to the Default Time Frame.

●      Voicemail: If set to Yes and Forward if Unanswered is not configured, callers will have the option to leave a voicemail or keep waiting at the Queue Ring Timeout. 

When you are satisfied with all options, click the Add button to finish.

Call Park Queues

This type of queue works differently than the other types. Call Park Queues are used to transfer a caller to in order to place them on hold and free up your phone. The person placing the call in that queue can then retrieve or have someone else retrieve it from another phone.

When creating this type of Call Queue, you must start with 8851 and keep going up the range for any additional ones.This is very important since you will need to add entries in the Domain's Dial Translations manually. Optionally, you can also add keys to the phone to retrieve and park calls.

It's important to know that without the extra Dial Translations, any Call Park Queue that you create will not work. You can visit this article from the Knowledge Base to learn more about creating the necessary Dial Translations. To add keys to the phone, you can use the HotkeyBuilder or follow the same article's steps to do it the old way.

Managing Call Queues

In this section, we will cover the different ways you can manage Call Queues.

Editing Call Queues

If you need to change any of the configurations covered in the previous section, you can click on the Call Queue's name or click on the Edit button on the right.

The layout is the same as we saw before.

Deleting Call Queues

In order to delete a Call Queue, you can click on the red X button on the right. This will also delete the Queue's User automatically.

Changing Music On Hold

You can click on the music note button on the right to change the Music On Hold (MOH). We will cover this concept in full detail in the next course.

Adding/Removing Agents

Finally, let's take a closer look at the process of adding and removing agents. You can click on the Edit Agents button on the right to begin.

1.     Click on Add Agent.

2.    Modify the following:

1. Agent Phone: Enter the Device(s) of the User(s). You can enter 1 or more. This is useful if you are bulk-adding users that will share the same settings.
2. Status: Choose if their initial status in the queue will be Online or Offline.
3. Wrap up time (sec): Choose how much time the user will have after a call before they start receiving more available calls. The default value is 0 seconds.
4. Max Simultaneous Calls: Choose how many queue calls the user can receive at the same time. The default value is 1.
5. Order in Linear Hunt: This option only appears on Linear Hunt and Linear Cascade queues. Choose which order the agent will be in the queue.
6. Queue priority for agent: If a user is a member of multiple queues, you can use this feature to prioritize calls from certain queues.
7. Request Confirmation: The agent will hear a message asking them to press a key to answer the queue call if enabled.
8. Auto Answer: The call will be answered automatically on the agent's phone if enabled.
   
   
   

3.    Click on Save Agent.

Once you have agents added, you can edit or delete them using the buttons on the right.

Finally, you may have noticed in the image above that User 100 is there twice. If a User has multiple devices (100 and 100b in this case) and wants to be able to log in the queue with either device, both must be added. It's important to note that they will work independently from one another. The user should only log in to the device that they are using at the moment.

Call Queue Routing Scenarios

Now that you know how to create and manage Call Queues let's go over different types of common routing configurations.

Pre Queue and In Queue Forward Options

Before we begin, it's important to know how Forward if Unavailable from the Pre Queue Options and Forward if Unanswered from the In Queue Options settings affect the Answering Rules. Pre Queue Options turns on Forward when busy, while In Queue Options turns on Forward when unanswered.

It's also good to know that they will only trigger these within the Default Time Frame. If you are creating aCall Queue with different time frames; it's best never to touch those fields and manually change your Answering Rules.

Infinite Wait Time and No Voicemail

The most basic routing configuration is when the caller enters the queue and waits until an agent answers or hangs up. While this is not recommended because there is no exit options and the caller has no choice to wait if they really want to talk to someone; it can be a good setup for a customer with low call volume and a high answer rate.

To configure this routing, you need togo in the In Queue Options and set Voicemail to No. You can leave the Queue Ring Timeout to the default 30 seconds value or change it to Unlimited. The main difference is that if you leave the timeout, the Music On Hold will cut every time it is reached.

Your answering rules should look like the below image. You should know as well that the Ring for " " seconds is the same as the Queue Ring Timeout.  Changing one will change the other.

Infinite Wait Time withVoicemail/Callback at Interval

This queue routing configuration is very similar to the first one. The only difference is that now, the caller is presented with an opportunity to leave a message and/or a callback number at a set interval. This setup is recommended over the first one since you now give the caller a choice.  If the customer wants this option, you should make sure they have a valid email address associated with the queue and a voicemail greeting.

To achieve this routing configuration, you need to set Voicemail to Yes in the In Queue Options and choose a Queue Ring Timeout. This timeout will be the interval at which the caller will hear the prompt to leave a message or wait. If your customer also wants the Callback option, set it to Yes in the PreQueue Options. You can use one or the other or both at the same time. Callers will be prompted to press 2 for voicemail, 3 for Callback or stay on the line to keep waiting.

The answering rules should look similar to this example.

Specific Wait Time with Termination to Voicemail

Another common routing configuration is where the caller waits for a set amount of time and is sent to voicemail when the timeout occurs. You can also use any other destination instead of voicemail if the customer wants to send the call somewhere else after the timeout.

If you want to configure this routing setup, you can go to the In Queue Options, set the Queue Ring Timeout requested by the customer and enter a value in the Forward if unanswered field. Alternatively, you can go to the Answering Rules and enable the When Unanswered Call Forwarding Rule and enter a value.

The answering rules for this scenario will look like this.

Queues and Time Frames

To wrap this section up, let's look at adding a Time Frame to our Test Queue. Just like Auto Attendants, you can have different routing between business hours and after hours. You may need to do this if you have a DID going straight to the Call Queue or if your Auto Attendant doesn't use a Business Hours/After Hours setup, and you want your queue to go straight to voicemail when the office is closed.

Here's an example where during Office Hours, the caller waits up to 60 seconds and goes to voicemail if there is no answer. After Hours, the Default time frame will be active, and the caller will go straight to voicemail.

Any of the scenarios presented in the previous course can be applied to queues as well. You should be able to configure almost anything the customer requires!