ADMINISTRATOR GUIDE Call Queuing Administrator Guide V x8 Call Queuing. Administrator Guide. Version 2.0 February 2011

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1 8x8 Call Queuing Administrator Guide Version 2.0 February 2011

2 Table of Contents Introduction...3 How an 8x8 Call Queue Works...4 Example: Primary and Secondary Queue Extension Group...4 Getting Started...5 Queue Phone Number Configuration...5 Create a New Call Queue...6 Creating a New Queue...6 Agent Assignments...7 Configuring IVR Messages...7 Queue Status...11 Queue Login Management...11 Queue Voic Box Auto-Attendant Integration...12 Configure Call Queue in Auto-Attendant Agent Quick Reference Guide

3 8x8 Call Queuing includes: Up to 20 callers per queue Up to 102 queues A secondary queue extension group for each queue Free voic box for each queue Introduction Ever call a company and hear a pleasant recorded message something like this? Thank you for calling. Your call is very important to us. Please remain on the line and your call will be answered in the order it was received. That s call queuing. It places your callers in a queue or line while your agents or employees are busy with other customer calls. The queued calls are distributed to your next available agent or representative in the order received, allowing you to serve your customers promptly, courteously, and efficiently. It s an ideal feature for a small business that receives incoming calls into functional areas such as sales, technical support, or customer service. 3

4 How an 8x8 Call Queue Works When a new call comes into the queue, the call is distributed in priority order to the agents in the queue extension group. A queue extension group is a group of agents who will take the calls that come into that queue. The participating agents, and their priority within the queue, are defined by the queue administrator when the queue is set up. Each queue can also have a secondary queue extension group set up to handle overflow calls to the primary queue extension group. Primary and secondary extension groups work like this: Agents in the primary extension group are called first (in priority order). When all agents in the primary group are busy, calls in the queue are routed to the secondary extension group until the maximum number of callers in the secondary queue has been reached. Call Queuing places your callers in a queue or line while your agents or employees are busy with other customer calls. When the maximum number of callers in the queue has been reached and all agents in the primary and secondary extension groups are busy, the next caller is forwarded to the queue s voic . The maximum number of callers can range from 1 to 20 and is set by the queue administrator. Calls coming through the queue are distributed on a round robin basis based on agent availability and which agent took the last call. If all agents on your primary and secondary queue extension group are busy and the maximum number of callers in queue has not been reached, the next call that comes into the queue will hear the Queue IVR message. Queue administrators can set how often this repeating message plays as the caller waits for the next available agent. If all agents remain busy, this caller hears the hold music, followed by a repeating Queue IVR. At this point, the caller has the option to leave a voic in the Queue voic box or to continue to hold until the next agent becomes available. Example: Primary and Secondary Queue Extension Group Primary Queue Extension Group Example setup with four agents Secondary Queue Extension Group Example set up with two agents Queue maximum Set to 10 callers for this example Using the scenario above, if seven simultaneous calls come into the queue, the first four calls go to the four agents in the primary group, the next two go to the two agents in the secondary group, and caller seven hears the queue IVR until the next available agent picks up the call. 4

5 Since the queue maximum is 10 in this example, calls are only automatically forwarded to the queue voic box if there are 11 or more simultaneous calls in the queue: the first six calls are distributed to the agents in the primary and secondary queue extension groups, the next four calls are placed in the queue, and the eleventh simultaneous call will be forwarded to the queue voic box. In this example, round robin queue distribution handling works like this: If Agent 3 is the last person to take a call and Agent 1, 2 and 4 become available to answer calls, the next call in the queue goes to Agent 4. Getting Started Once you have ordered Call Queuing, log into the Self Service Portal to setup your Call Queues. Click on Forgot your password? or Forgot your login? to retrieve your login and password, if needed. After you have logged on, go to the line item that says Call Queue and click on Configure CQ to begin configuration. Queue Phone Number Configuration If you have purchased a Call Queuing Toll-Free Number or Virtual Number, we recommend you configure the Queue before you attach the phone number to the Queue. Once you have configured your Queue, you can configure the Toll-Free or Virtual Number by clicking on Configure TN or Configure VN. Select your Parent Account ID to attach the phone number to your Call Queuing extension. 5

6 Create a New Call Queue Click on Create New Queue to begin. Creating a New Queue 1. In the Create New Queue screen, enter the name for the new call queue in the Name field. This label identifies your queue. 2. The queue extension number is automatically assigned by 8x8. You have the option to purchase an actual phone number (US local, international or toll-free). 3. Enter the call queue voic password in the Voic Password field. This password will be used by your agents to access this queue s voic box. 4. Enter maximum number of callers you will allow in the queue (Limit: 20 callers per queue). 5. Enter the number of seconds for the Time before next call (in seconds). This number determines the length of time an agent has between calls before the next call in the Queue rings his/her extension. 6. Scroll down to Agent Assignments. 6

7 Agent Assignments 1. Under Agent Assignments, you can indicate whether or not you will allow agents to log in and out of the Queue by selecting either the Yes or No radio button from Allow agents to login and logout from assigned queues. By selecting Yes, agents can log themselves in or out using their IP phones, the Login Management IVR or through their Self Service Portal account. By selecting No, agents are always on Auto-login for the queue. As the queue admin, you can still log these agents in and out of their queue using the login tool under Queue Status. 2. You can assign agents to the Queue by selecting their phone numbers/extensions under the Primary Extensions dropdown menu. Click on the to add phone numbers and to delete phone numbers. Please avoid entering duplicate phone numbers in the primary queue. 3. If desired, add agents to the Secondary Extensions dropdown. 4. If all agent extensions on the Primary and Secondary extension groups are busy and the maximum number of callers is reached (whatever you define up to 20), the call is sent to the Queue voic box. Configuring IVR Messages 8x8 Call Queuing offers queue administrators the flexibility to upload or record customized IVR (Interactive Voice Response) queue messages in addition to the queue default IVR messages. How the Queue IVR Messages Work If all agents on your primary and secondary queue extension group are busy and the maximum number of callers in queue has not been reached, the next caller who comes into the queue will hear the queue IVR message. The first IVR message is the initial queue greeting. The default greeting for Initial Queue Greeting is: All our representatives are busy, please remain on the line and your call will be answered as soon as possible. 7

8 If all agents continue to remain busy, the caller will hear the hold music, followed by a repeating Queue IVR. The default greeting for Repeating Queue Message is: Your call is important to us. Your call will be answered in the order it was received, please continue to hold or press 2 to leave a message. At this point, the caller has the option to leave a voic in the queue voic box or to continue to hold until the next agent becomes available. While waiting in the queue, the caller hears the Repeating Queue Message at an interval set by the administrator. By default, the interval is set at 60 seconds. For example at the default setting, while the caller waits in the queue, he/she will hear this message repeated every 60 seconds. You can listen to the current greetings by clicking on the sections. under each of the IVR message 8

9 Manage Greetings Administrators can choose to upload or record their own greeting, music, or messages. From the Manage Greetings section, administrators can view and listen to existing greetings, select which greeting to play in the queue, upload a new greeting, record new greetings, and turn on or off the option to go to voic while waiting in the queue. To view and listen to existing greetings: Click on the play button next to each audio file. Note: The System Default file is called System_Default.au and cannot be deleted. Greetings that you have recorded will be saved as CustomGreeting_<numbers>.au and can be identified by the time and date timestamps. Greetings that you have uploaded retain your naming convention. You can edit the custom greeting and uploaded greetings as well. To select greeting: Click on the check box under Current Greetings. Note: You can only select one greeting at a time. To upload a new greeting: 1. Click on Upload Custom Greeting 2. Click on Upload File 3. Locate the file from your computer 4. Click on Upload Note: Supported audio files include.au,.wav,.mp3, and.vox. The file size should not be any larger than 5MB and should be saved on your computer. The ideal sampling rate is 8KHz at 8bit encoding. 9

10 To record a custom greeting: 1. Click on Record Custom Greeting. 2. Enter your ten-digit phone number. 3. Click Start Recording. 4. The system will ring the phone number you entered. 5. Pick up the phone and follow the Recording IVR instructions. 6. Once you are satisfied with your recording, the system will immediately update the IVR greeting on the queue with your new recording. 7. Once you have hung up, you can click on Done. Note: We recommend you use your Virtual Office phone service for the best recording quality. You cannot make your recording from an international phone number. Once you have selected to update your IVR message, the changes take effect immediately on the Queue. To edit a greeting name: 1. Click on the edit icon next to each file name. 2. Enter the new file name. 3. Click the save icon. Note: You cannot change the name of the System Default greeting. To allow callers to leave voic Under Repeating Queue Message, you have the option to turn the Leave voic option on or off. This option allows the callers to leave a message in the queue s voic box by pressing 2 on their phone dial pad if they choose not to wait in the queue. Note: If you create a customized greeting for the Repeating Queue Message and want callers to have the option to leave voic , please be sure to let them know they can press 2 to leave a message. 10

11 Queue Status On the Manage Queue Home Page, each queue you create has a Status link. Clicking it gives you information on: 1. Average Wait Time Average time a caller has to wait in the queue prior to getting to an agent. 2. Refresh Clicking the Refresh button refreshes the queue status information. 3. Agent Status View Gives you a view of: agents assigned to the queue, which group the agents belong to (primary or secondary), agent extension(s), and last agent status update. 4. Logged In Checking this box logs the agent into the queue. Unchecking the box logs the agent out. 5. In Queue Status View Gives you the list of callers currently waiting in the queue. Queue Login Management 8x8 Call Queuing allows agents to be logged in and out of the queue through the following ways: 1. Administrators can also give agents login management privileges by selecting the Allow agents to log in and out from assigned queues option. 2. Under Agent Status View, Administrators can log individual agents in and out by checking or unchecking the Logged In checkbox. With this option on, agents can log in and out of the queue two ways: Agents call the 8x8 login management IVR by dialing extension number 557 and following the IVR instructions to log in and out of the queue. Agents can use their IP phones (6755i, 6757i CT or 6753i) to log themselves in and out of the queue. 11

12 Queue Voic Box Each queue is assigned a voic box. The queue administrator sets the password to the voic box. To access the queue voic box: Dial 500. At the prompt, enter the queue extension number (e.g. 621 followed by #). Enter the queue voic box password followed by #. Auto-Attendant Integration Once you have your queues set up, you can configure your auto-attendant to transfer calls to the queues by selecting transfercallqueue from the dropdown menu. Configure Call Queue in Auto-Attendant 1. Pick which number your caller needs to press to get into the call queue (e.g. 0 ). 2. Select transfercallqueue. 3. Select which queue to transfer the caller to. The queue is identified by the queue extension (e.g. x621) and the queue name (e.g. CQ Test IP). 12

13 Agent Quick Reference Guide You can use the guide on the following pages as a quick way to brief your agents on how to log in and log out of their queue using the IVR, their phones or the Self Service Portal. It also contains instructions on accessing the queue voic . Logging In and Out of the Call Queue If given the option by the queue administrator, queue agents can log in and out of their assigned queue. With the Login Management Option on, agents can log in and out of the queue two ways: 1. Agents call the Call Queue Login Management IVR (Interactive Voice Response) menu by dialing extension number 557 and following the instructions to log in and out of the queue. 2. Agents can use their IP phones to log themselves in and out of the queue. Note: Queue Administrators must select the Allow agents to log in and out from assigned queues option under Agent Status View in the Call Queue section of the Self Service Portal in order for agents be able to check themselves in and out of the queue. Login Management Using the IVR Through the Call Queue Login Management IVR, queue agents can log into all queues they are assigned to, log into a specific queue, log out of all queues they are assigned to, log out of a specific queue one at a time, or review which queue they currently belong to as well as which queue they are currently logged into. 1. Using their 8x8 phones, agents dial 557 to access the login management IVR. 2. Agents make the selection of their choice based on the IVR. 3. Agents can press 3 to exit out of the Login Management IVR without having to hang up their phone once they complete their queue login management. Login Management Using an IP Phone Queue agents with 8x8 IP or Polycom phones can use their phones to log into all queues they are assigned to, log into a specific queue, log out of all queues they are assigned to, log out of a specific queue one at a time or review which queue they currently belong to as well as which queue they are currently logged into. 1. Using their 8x8 phones, agents can click on Call Queue on their phone display to access the IP phone login management menu. 2. Once Call Queue is selected, the IP phone menu selection changes to allow users to choose between Login, Login All, Logout, Logout All and Status. 3. To go out of the menu, agents can select Exit on their phone. 13

14 Login Management Using the Self Service Portal Queue agents can log into their 8x8 Self Service Portal to log into any queues they are assigned to, log out of any queues they are assigned to or review which queue they currently belong to as well as which queue they are currently logged into. 1. Log into the Self Service Portal account by signing in to My Account from the 8x8 website. 2. Click on Features from your extension line item. 3. Click on the Manage Call Queues tab. 4. You can view all the Queues that you belong to. 5. If your system administrator has allowed it, you can also log in and out of your assigned queues by checking or unchecking the login box. Queue Voic Box Each queue is assigned a voic box. Your queue administrator sets the password to the voic box. To access the queue voic box: 1. Dial At the prompt, enter the queue extension number, e.g. 621 followed by #. 3. Enter the queue voic box password followed by #. If you don t know the queue password, ask your queue administrator. P: (Toll-Free) P: (Outside US) F: NASDAQ: EGHT The 8x8, Inc. logo is a registered trademark of 8x8, Inc. 8x8, Inc. is a publicly traded company. PM264/210