Callisto Knowledge Base

This page is optimized for desktop computers and tablets. To access it, try one of the following points:

  • Access this page from a different device.
  • If you’re on a tablet, rotate it.
  • Check the “Desktop site” option in your browser settings.
Return to CTModule homepage
Knowledge Base
ProfACD › Administration manual

Call queues

Table of Contents

In the Call Queues tab, user-defined queues can be configured. Every queue has its distinct settings that are applied individually. Select the queue you want to configure from the Choose… drop-down menu. The default call queue (as defined in the ACD tab) is always available. If a number is called which is routed to ProfACD by the OIM lines but is not associated with a specific queue, the call is routed to the default queue.

General settings


Language There are several options for language. Users can choose either English, German, French, Italian or Spanish. Regarding selected language, different options and different announcements will be applied.
Priority Each queue can have a priority. Queue with priority 1 has the highest priority. Agent can be assigned to multiple queues, in that case the call who is in the queue with bigger priority will be processed first by agent.
Prioritization of VIP Callers This option allows VIP callers to have privileges over other callers. These callers will be processed first.
Call Queue Welcome Set the announcement that will be played to the caller when the call enters the queue and before it's routed to the available agent.
Delayed call connection This option defines how long ringing should take before the call is connected.

Announcements

Each queue can have a custom set of announcements that plays after the Call Queue Welcome announcement. The value Seconds sets how long the announcement is played before playing the next announcement. If this value is not set, the complete audio track will be played.


Two dynamic announcements, Position in queue and Approximate waiting time, are also available from the drop-down menu.

Position in queue

This announcement informs callers about their position in the queue. For example, if a caller joins a queue in which five other calls are currently waiting, the caller will be informed that he is sixth in line.

To set these announcements, open the Callisto Explorer by clicking the Upload new audio file button. Navigate to the directory labeled POS, and then to the directory of the language your announcement is in. The names of the announcement’s audio files should be of the format <position in queue>.wav.

If the number of users exceeds the number of available announcements, the announcement with the highest number is played to those callers. Therfore, the audio file with the highest number should contain a generic announcement.

Example: If a caller is in the first position in the queue, the audio file 1.wav will be played to him, the caller in second position will hear 2.wav, and so on.

The files 1.wav to 10.wav contain announcements refering to the exact queue position, and the highest file, 11.wav, contains the announcement “More than ten callers are waiting in the queue.”

Approximate waiting time

This announcement informs the caller on the approximate waiting time until an agent is available.

To set these announcements, open the Callisto Explorer by clicking the Upload new audio file button. Navigate to the directory labeled WAIT, and then to the directory of the language your announcement is in. The names of the announcement’s audio files should be of the format <waiting time in seconds>.wav. ProfACD will use the file that matches the estimated waiting time most closely. Therefore, the audio file with the highest number should contain a generic announcement, as it will be played to callers with a waiting time exceeding the estimated time value.

Example: The file 30.wav will be played to a caller who is expected to wait another thirty seconds before an agent picks up the call.

The file with the highest number is 300.wav and contains the announcement “Your expected waiting time is over five minutes.”

Uploading and replacing announcements

Click the Upload new audio file button and the Callisto Explorer will appear, showing all uploaded files and available subdirectories. Upload files by using the section labeled Drop files here or click to upload at the bottom of the window.

Agents


Agent selection algorithm

There are four different algorithms available to determine which agent a call in the queue will be directed to.

Top-down

The call will be routed to the highest agent in the agent list who is not busy.

Example: The agents #1 to #4 are in the list in numeric order.

  • If agents #1, #2, and #3 are busy, the next call will be routed to agent #4.
  • If agents #1 and #3 are busy, the next call will be routed to agent #2.
Round Robin The call distribution uses a circular order. The first call will be routed to the first agent in the agent list, and every call will be routed to the agent listed after the one who picked up the prevous call. Once the last agent in the list has picked up a call, the next call will be routed to the first agent again.
Longest idle Any call will be routed to the agent who has been idle the longest.
Parallel The call is routed to all agents simultaneously (i.e., all agents’ phones will ring). The call will effectively be connected to the agent who picks up the phone first.

Hint: The options Top-down and Round Robin make use of the order in which the agents are listed. You can change the order by dragging the icons to the left of each list entry.

Agent settings

Show agent state permanently on phone Shows the agent’s state on the phone display. See also chapter Automatic call distribution.
Show queue number as redirecting number Enabling this option will display the number of the queue the incoming call is in as the redirecting number on an agent’s phone.
Handle caller sequence parallel (FIFO not guaranteed!) Any agent’s phone will ring immediately once a call is routed to them. If this option is selected, callers might not be connected to agents in their actual queue order.
Automatically logoff agents after number of missed calls Besides being able to log in and log off manually, agents can also get logged off automatically after the set number of missed calls is reached.
Postprocessing time Sets a time in which no new calls will be directed to an agent immediately after finishing a call. This gives an agent time to finish up any work after the call has ended before new calls are to be handled again.
Default Agent The Default Agent is contacted when all other agents are logged off. If no Default Agent is defined, a caller has to wait until an agent logs in or another routing criteria is met.
Agents ringing Timeout The time how long an agent’s phone will ring. If the phone is not picked up within the set time, the call will get rerouted to the next agent (in accordance with the active agent selection algorithm).
Last Agent If there are no agents available to take a call, it is routed to the Last Agent. If no Last Agent is defined, the call is routed to the next available agent(in accordance with the active agent selection algorithm).
Last Timeout Timeout for the last agent. After that timeout the call is routet to the defined last agent.
All Busy If all agents are busy, the call will be routed to the agent specified in this field.
Add prefix to caller number A custom prefix for incoming calls can be specified in this field. This prefix will be displayed on the agent phone display in front the caller’s actual number.

Advanced agent settings

Click the button Advanced… to access the advanced user settings.

Alarming E-mail If any of the alarms defined in the advanced agent settings is set off, a notification will be sent to this email address.
Last Timeout reached Send an alarming email when the Last Timeout (set in the agent settings) is reached.
Max Callers in Queue Set the maximum number of callers for the queue. If Alarming E-Mail is checked, an alarming email is sent when the caller limit is reached. If a call the queue while its caller limit is reached, the call can be rerouted to the nummer set in the Divert to Number field.
Max number of Calls during time If there are more calls active for a longer thime than the limit defined in the Calls and Minutes fields, an alarming mail will be sent if Alarming E-Mail is checked.
Threshold for number of Agents logged in If fewer agents are logged in than defined in the Agents field, an alarming email will be sent. Additionally, incoming calls can be rerouted to the number set in the Divert to Number field.
Threshold for number of available Agents in If fewer agents are available than defined in the Agents field, an alarming email will be sent. Additionally, incoming calls can be rerouted to the number set in the Divert to Number field.
Threshold for call duration If Alarming E-Mail is checked, an alarming email will be sent if a call in this queue exceeds the duration set in the Call Duration (Min) field.
Max number of unsuccessful tries of a Caller during Time If a caller has unsucessfully tried to reached for as many times and within the time defined in the Calls and Minutes fields, an alarming email will be sent.
ProfACD Viewer Settings

ProfACD Viewer will display Warning and Critical alerts respectively if the thresholds set here are exceeded.

  • Answered rate: Alerts will be displayed if fewer calls are answered than the percentages set here.
  • Ø QueueTime: Alerts will be displayed if the the callers in average need to wait longer than the values set here.

Timeout


A general timeout for the queue can be defined here. In the Announcement drop-down menu, select the announcement that will be played to inform the caller that he reached the waiting timeout. Afterwards, one of two actions can take place:

  • Voice Mail Box Number will give the caller the possibility to leave a voice mail to the mail box of the number defined in the field. In the DTMF (yes / no) field, set which numbers the caller may press to accept or deny the recording of the voice mail.
  • Transfer Destination will redirect the call to the number set in the field.

Transfer using ACD

For diverting numbers in the advanced agent settings as well as for both timeout options, the prefix acd: can be set in before the number. This will move the caller to the set number without using the transfer functionality of CUCM. The same syntax is also available for the non-business hours and holidays settings.