User Guide - Management Console - Functional Setup - Inbound Contact Center

User Guide - Management Console - Functional Setup - Inbound Contact Center

Functional Setup

Inbound Contact Center


The purpose of the Inbound Contact Center is to be able to automatically and efficiently direct inbound calls to the right place, and for that we need to define appropriate rules and the corresponding greetings and call flows.

The main mechanism in ChaseData CCaaS to handle Inbound Calling is the Call Queue. A Call Queue defines what to do with an Inbound call coming on a Source DID.

In its most basic form, a Call Queue is provisioned with a name (also referred to as Ring Group) to identify it, the Source DID that is receiving calls, the Agent Skills that are allowed to handle those calls, and the Campaign that defines the rules for that call.

To better understand it, if all we have is a Call Queue and a call is received on the Source DID:

  • The system verifies the Campaign (e.g. that it’s active); if not, it terminates the call

The system tries to connect the call to an available Agent matching the Skill list; if there’s no available agent, but there’s at least one logged-in, it waits for an Agent to be available and plays a default waiting message to the caller; if no Agent is logged-in, it routes to the default voicemail.

A Call Flow is an optional mechanism to enhance the Call Queue behavior; it is a mechanism to define how to react to caller interactive responses (e.g. a digit pressed).  During an inbound call, if the caller presses a digit, the system looks for a corresponding Call Flow.

A Call Flow has:

  • A set of response rules identified with a DID (Assigned Number); the system automatically determines the associated Call Queue based on the Assigned Number and the Campaign
  • Each response rule corresponds to a key pressed (Dial) by the caller
  • Each response rule defines what action to take (Route To), and the parameter or value for that action (Assigned To), if applicable

Each response rule could optionally define a Post Message, which is an announcement that is played posterior to the corresponding action.

Refer to the following pictures.




The ChaseData CCaaS system also adds a bypass mechanism with the use of Route by Call Source.  On top of that, Greetings & Announcements can be configured to support the navigation of the caller into the Call Center using customized messages.

It should be noted that a DID (Direct Inward Dialing) number can only be provisioned by the Master System Administrator (ChaseData Corporation); after this happens, the DID is made available in Call Queues, as Source DID.

So, now let’s get to the GUI.

To perform the corresponding configuration tasks, go the main menu area on the left and click to expand the Inbound menu, which will show the related configuration domains, as detailed in the next sub-sections; you would select either Greetings & Announcements, Call Flows & Call Queues, or Route by Call Source.  Refer to the following picture.



Greetings & Announcements


Taking into consideration that for inbound calls to be directed appropriately we may need to interact with the caller to determine the right path, we should configure voice messages for the corresponding greetings and announcements.

There are two groups of voice messages; Inbound Voice Prompts are triggered by an event (e.g. initial greeting when call is first connected) and may request an action from the caller (e.g. leave voicemail); IVR Prompts are played as response to a caller action or selection.



When you click on Greetings & Announcements from the Inbound menu, the configuration window panel presents two tabs, Inbound Voice Prompts (first in focus) and IVR Prompts.

Let’s first look at Inbound Voice Prompts; here we have the list of voice greetings/messages associated with a type of event (Event) and tied to either a campaign, ring group, extension, or skill (Assigned To).  Refer to the following picture.



To add a new item, click on the grey bar under Event; which will expand into a dialog box that includes a pull-down menu to Choose Event Type, together with a field to Upload a file (the corresponding audio recording) or a pull-down menu to select a Text-To-Speech (TTS) script (see Scripts).  Refer to the following picture.



We must set the other parameters, as well. Click the grey bar under Assigned To and a pull-down menu will open with all possible Campaigns, Ring Groups, Extensions, and Skills, so you can associate the event to one of them.  What this means is that this voice message will be used when the associated action (e.g. routed to an Extension) is in place. For example, a Call Queue may be associated with a Campaign, which may have a voice message assigned, but if during the call an action is taken to route to an Extension, the corresponding voice message associated with that Extension is played instead, if there’s one.

The next parameter to set is Termination, which specifies what action to take after the voice message for this event is played.  Next, Delay provides the time in seconds to wait before the Termination action is taken.  And finally, a radio-button to enable (when checked) this voice prompt; it’s possible to just provision the message and save it for later without making it active.

Following are the available IVR Event Types.

IVR Event Type

GreetingMessage

This is the first audio message that would be presented to the caller; should include a presentation of the options for the caller to select (e.g. “press 1 for…”). The message will be played in its entirety without interruption even if an agent is available. The system does not include a default message for this event, so one is required, or nothing will be played.

WaitForOperator

This is the audio message that is played to the caller when it’s put into the inbound call queue and will be interrupted as soon as an agent becomes available; it loops (repeats) until the call is connected to an agent or another condition is triggered. A default message exists and will be played if a custom one is not configured.

NoAvailableOperators

This is the audio message that is played to the caller when there are no agents signed in (logged in); note that if an agent is on break (Busy), this event type does not apply, since the agent could take the call (see WaitForOperator). Typical use is for after-hours (office closed); message could offer to leave a message (would need to set Termination appropriately).

LeaveMessageAfterTheTone

This is the audio message that is played to the caller to invite caller to leave a message after an action for Voicemail is triggered; the Termination parameters should be set appropriately.

ErrorHasOccured

This is the audio message that is played to the caller if something unexpected has occurred (e.g. no response, wrong digit pressed).

Whisper Notification

This audio message is not a voice messages played to the caller, but rather to the agent to notify about the inbound call.

GoToOperator

This is the audio message that is played to the caller when the caller chooses the connect-to-operator option

NonWorkingHours

This is the audio message that is played to the caller when the call comes outside of the defined Hours of Operation for the Campaign; the Termination parameters should be set appropriately.


Termination Options

None

Does not trigger an additional action to follow

Busy

Play a busy tone

Hangup

Just disconnect the call

Extension

Transfer to an extension or external number; requires to also specify an extension or 11-digit number

Voicemail

Transfer to voice mailbox; asks to also specify an extension, but can leave blank to use the campaign’s default

InboundSource

Transfer back to a Source DID; requires to also specify the number




Now let’s look at IVR Prompts; these are the response voice messages to play against inbound callers’ interactions.  These IVR Prompts are assigned to Call Flows as Post Messages; typically, this message is only needed when a Call Flow response rule (a row representing a digit-pressed option) is not configured to route anywhere.

To configure, click on the IVR Prompts tab of Greetings & Announcements, where we’ll find two columns, Recordings and Active.




To add a new item, click on the grey editing bar (“Click here to add new item”), which will cause the Recording part to expand; there you can either upload an audio file (i.e. MP3 file) or select a pre-defined TTS script from the pull-down menu (refer to Scripts section). The Active column presents a checkbox to enable or disable the message. Hit ENTER to apply the update.  Refer to the following picture.



Inbound Call Queues/Ring Groups and Call Flows


When you click on  Call Flows & Call Queues from the  Inbound menu, the configuration window panel presents two tabs,  Call Flow (first in focus) and  Call Queues .



Let’s first look at Call Queues (click on its tab if not in focus); here we have the list of pre-provisioned DIDs; we can label each Source DID as a Ring Group, and assign it other properties, to make it a Call Queue.  Refer to the following pictures.






The Parameters for each Call Queue are as follows.

Ring Group

The name or label for the Ring Group / Call Queue that the Source DID represents

Source DID

The number that is dialed by the caller, which is associated with, and defines, this Call Queue

Priority

Each time that an Active Skills is selected via the Select Skill drop-down menu, a value can be entered here to define the order in the list for the Skill to be added

Active

Indicates if this Call Queue / Ring Group is active, meaning that this Call Queue will be processed if a call comes in with this Source DID

Campaign

The Campaign that defines the behavior for handling calls with this Call Queue

Active Skills

The list of Skills of the Agents that can be connected to calls in this Call Queue; the system will parse the list in the order (Priority) set until it finds an available Agent; note that the Agent must also have Accept Incoming Calls set (see Agent Skills) to be selected

Delay

The time that the system will wait before moving to the next Skill in the Active Skills set


Let’s now look at Call Flow (click on its tab if not in focus); here we have the list of rules that apply to every desired combination of DID (Assigned Number) and caller response to the IVR options (Dial), which is what triggers the rule; if we group the rules for one Assigned Number, we have the Call Flow for tat Assigned Number (DID).  Refer to the following picture.






The Parameters for each Call Flow are as follows.

Call Queue

The name/label for the Call Queue. It is populated from the Call Queues tab; if it’s changed here, it will update everywhere it is in Call Flow and Call Queues.

Campaign

The Campaign that defines the Inbound Call Center behavior for this Call Queue. It is populated from the Call Queues tab, and it cannot be modified.

Assigned Number

The number to which this rule (and Call Queue as a group) is applied

Dial

The caller selection (digit pressed) that triggers this rule

Routes To

The action to be taken; some actions are status setting actions, other are call routing actions (see the Routes To Actions table that follows)

Assigned To

If applicable, parameters specific to the Routes To action (see the Routes To Action Parameters table that follows)

Post Message

The optional audio message to play to the caller before applying the actions defined for this rule; a typical case is when the action is to Route To Operator, first playing a message telling the caller to wait until he/she gets connected; the pull-down menu will show messages configured in the IVR Prompts tab of Greetings & Announcements.


Routes To Actions

Voicemail

Route the caller to voice mail; if no Extension is specified in the Assigned To parameter, it will be sent to the general mailbox

Operator

Route the caller to the operator; the system will try to route to an available Agent

Not Interested

Sets status of the inbound call to Not Interested; terminates the call and sets disposition/Wrap-Up Code accordingly

DNC

Sets status of the inbound call to a DNC disposition; terminates the call

Skill

Route the call to agent with the Skill as specified in the Assigned To parameter

Extension

Route the call to an external number as specified in the Assigned To parameter

Callback

Sets status of the inbound call to a Callback disposition; terminates the call

Agent Extension

Route the call to a specific agent Extension as specified in the Assigned To parameter

Ring Group

Route the call to another Ring Group / Call Queue as specified in the Assigned To parameter; useful when a main number is used to route to different department; care must be taken not to create infinite loops when each Call Queue routes to each other.


Routes To Action Parameters

Extension

Should enter a valid agent extension

Skill

Should enter a valid and compatible agent skill

Number

Should enter a valid telephone number

Ring Group

Should enter a valid Ring Group / Call Queue.


Route by Call Source


By clicking on  Route by Call Source from the  Inbound menu, we can configure inbound numbers to be treated in a special manner (e.g. hang up to a known spam number, direct a special customer to a specific agent or skill, etc.).  To do so, we configure the rule based on the caller ID of the inbound call.  Refer to the following picture.

Note that a Campaign may be set to Ignore Route by Call Source, which will effectively turn off these rules.








To put it into perspective, you may want to check that if you receive a call from a number with caller ID 555-111-0000, which corresponds to a lead (Contact) found in Campaign-A, and arrives on 888-555-4444, where 888-555-4444 is associated with Campaign-X, then send it to the specific agent Extension-N.

The Parameters for each rule are as follows.

Caller Id

The number that identifies the call source

Assigned To

An optional Campaign or Ring Group (Call Queue) associated with the number where the call arrived

Found In

An optional Campaign with which the corresponding lead (Contact) is associated with

Termination Mode

How to handle the call (where to route it); see following table for description of the options

Termination Data

Parameter value for Termination Mode, if applicable

Notes

Free text comment



Termination Mode

Voicemail

Route the caller to voice mail; if no Extension is specified in the Termination Data parameter, it will be sent to the general mailbox

Skill

Route the call to an Agent with the Skill as specified in the Termination Data parameter

Extension

Route the call to an external number as specified in the Termination Data parameter

Agent Extension

Route the call to an agent Extension as specified in the Termination Data parameter

InboundSource

Re-route the call to a different inbound source (e.g. number)

Busy

Play a busy tone

Hangup

Just terminate the call.


Termination Data

Extension

Should enter a valid agent extension

Skill

Should enter a valid and compatible agent skill

Number

Should enter a valid telephone number

Ring Group

Should enter a valid Ring Group / Call Queue

Source

Should enter a valid inbound source (e.g. number)




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