ACD Queues Depending on how your VirtualPBX is used, callers might contact your company to obtain sales information, product support, status on a service requests, or similar tasks without knowledge of who, specifically, they can speak with to resolve their issue. A Virtual PBX ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) Queue is an intelligent call distribution feature that connects callers to a group of extension owners, representing a department, that can effectively handle such requests. Each extension owner, or agent, logs into a single or multiple ACD Queues (as granted by the system administrator). Once logged in, the Virtual PBX automatically recognizes that the agent is available to take calls. Callers arriving through the ACD Queue are dynamically routed to all of the extensions logged into the queue. Callers can be routed to an ACD Queue either by pressing a Menu Option on the main Auto- Attendant Menu assigned to the ACD Queue; by calling a phone number that routes directly to the ACD Queue; or, by calling from an area code or phone number that has a VirtualDID (Virtual Direct Inward Dial) Routing that is set to direct callers to a particular ACD Queue. ACD Queues List Definitions The ACD Queue list provides a summary about all available ACD Queues in a given VirtualPBX. Name: Name of the ACD Queue. ID: ACD Queue ID Number Logged: Number of extensions logged into the queue Avail: Number of extensions that are available to receive a call. Unavail: Number of extensions marked as unavailable. Hold: Number of callers waiting in the holding queue. Config: Accesses the Queue Configuration pages for the respective queue. Manage: Accesses the Queue Extensions Login/Management page for the respective queue.
Clicking on any of the Logged, Avail, Unavail, or Holding count links brings up the ACD Queue Monitor for that ACD queue. The monitors list Extensions or callers and their status. The "Config" link allows the system administrators to edit the configuration of the ACD Queue, including setting the maximum number of callers waiting, which extension acts as the operator for the ACD Queue, Music- On- Hold, and other settings that modify the behavior of the queue. The "Manage" link allows the system administrator to view and change the login status for each extension in the Virtual PBX as well as grant permissions and set ranks when Skills Based Ranking is enabled. A maximum of 8 ACD queues can be defined in any one VirtualPBX. Extension Owners and ACD Queues Extension owners can login to an ACD Queue or multiple ACD Queues to tell the VirtualPBX that they are available to take calls. When the login occurs, extensions are also given a time- stamp that is used as sorting criteria for the ACD Queue. Unless the Skills- Based Ranking is enabled, calls are always routed to the extension that has been waiting the longest in the ACD Queue. When a caller selects an Extension directly, there is no decision for the VirtualPBX to make. The call is routed to the specified extension using the call routing instructions contained within its configuration. If a call goes unanswered or is rejected, the caller is sent to that extensions voicemail.
When a caller transfers to an ACD Queue, the VirtualPBX looks to see if any Extensions are logged into the queue. If no Extensions are logged in, then the caller is routed to the Operator Extension for that ACD Queue, or to an Overflow Queue if one is defined. An Operator Extension can be any Extension in the VirtualPBX. If it has no outbound connection privileges or if it is marked as unavailable, then the Operator Extension acts as voicemail for the ACD Queue. If the Operator Extension belongs to a live person with a valid Phone Number, then the VirtualPBX routes the caller to the Operator Extension. Typically, the Operator Extension is setup as a Mail Only Extension. Round Robin Call Distribution (Default setting) When Skills- Based Ranking is disabled, the VirtualPBX uses Round Robin Call Distribution for the ACD queue. If there are extensions logged into the ACD Queue, and they are not taking calls, the call is routed to the next available extension according to the "Waiting Since" time- stamp as shown on the "Available Agents" ACD Queue Monitor. If all of the Extension owners are busy taking calls, then the caller is placed in the holding queue for that ACD Queue. Callers waiting in the holding queue can be viewed in the "Holding Queue" monitor. Each ACD Queue can specify the Maximum Number of Callers waiting in the holding queue, from 1 to 32. Once the Maximum Number of Callers are waiting in the holding queue, then additional callers are routed to the ACD Queue Operator, or to an Overflow Queue if one is defined. Skills- Based Ranking The VirtualPBX Skills- Based Ranking is a way for a VirtualPBX System Administrator to control which Extensions login to an ACD Queue to answer calls, and to prioritize the routing of calls to those Extensions. When Skills- Based Ranking is enabled for an ACD Queue, only Extensions which have been given the proper privileges may login to the ACD Queue. Once logged into the ACD Queue, each Extension has a rank set by the System Administrator between 1 and 9, where 1 is the highest rank, and 9 is the lowest rank. Skills- Based Ranking is enabled from the ACD Queue Advanced Configuration link under the Config link on the ACD Queues page. The System Administrator grants permission to an Extension to login to a queue from the Ext. Login page by virtue of assigning the Extension any rank other than Blocked. Any Extensions
marked as blocked are not allowed to login to the Queue. An Extension whose rank is set to "Blocked" that is already logged into the Queue will not be re- inserted into the queue after taking a call. The extensions logged into a queue are sorted according to Rank, and then within each Rank are sorted according to the Waiting Since time- stamp of the time they last answered a call, or logged into the ACD Queue. In this manner, the VirtualPBX tries to route calls to the Extensions with the highest rank first, and within a particular rank to the Extension that has waited the longest since the last call. Once all of the extensions of the highest rank in the queue are on the phone taking calls, the ACD Queue will route callers to extensions in the next highest rank, and so forth, until all of the extension owners logged into the queue are taking calls. Note: Extensions may be the same rank. Once the extensions have the proper ranking, log each extension out of the ACD Queue then log them back into that ACD Queue. Test the new prioritized queuing once you're finished. Note: When a new extension is created, including extensions that have system administrator privileges, the Skills Based Ranking for that extension is set to Blocked. Once an extension has been given a ranking, the extension owner can be entered into an ACD queue. Queue Admin Rights With Skills- Based Ranking enabled, system administrators can assign each extension owner specific Queue Admin Rights. For a given queue, an extension owner can be given any combination of queue monitor access, queue management access, or queue configuration access. Extension owners who are given system administrator status have all Queue Admin Rights enabled but are blocked from logging into a queue until they are given a Skills- Based Ranking. Monitor Extension owners with Monitor rights can view the real- time monitor for a given queue. At a glance, an extension owner can see which agents are logged into which queues; which agents are busy or available to take calls; and how many callers are currently on hold.
Manage Extension owners with Manage rights can view all the extensions on a system; log other agents in and out of queues, and assign a Skills- Based Ranking to another extension owner. Furthermore, extension owners with system administrator privileges can alter the Queue Admin Rights of other agents from their own Admin Pages by clicking on the ACD Queues link in the Admin navigation area. The following figures demonstrate these separate capabilities. Extension owner 'Manage' rights displayed In this example, the extension owner has accessed their Manage rights from their Call Routing page.
Different Login/Management page for system administrators The extension owner in this example has system administrator privileges. Additional navigation is provided by the Admin tab and a series of menus on the left- hand side of the page. These are highlighted in orange. By clicking on the edit links, outlined in blue, further Queue Admin Rights can be changed. The Queue Admin Rights page is shown below. Config Extension owners with Config rights can alter all the settings and routing behavior for a specific queue just like a system administrator. The settings include, but are not limited to:
Max. Callers Waiting: The maximum number of callers that can wait in a queue. Caller Hold Time The maximum amount of time that a caller can stay on hold. Wrap- Up Time The amount of time that a queue's agents are given to "wrap- up" administrative tasks. Music- On- Hold The music selection that is played for callers while they are on hold. Call Preview Detail The announcement that each extension hears when they answer a call from the ACD queue The following figure shows the basic settings that are available from the extension owners Call Routing page. NOTE: Config rights should be granted judiciously as seemingly simple changes to a queue's settings can drastically affect a caller's experience. Extension owners can be given different types of Queue Admin Rights and different combinations of Queue Admin Rights. The following figures illustrate several possibilities.
In this example, the extension owner can login to the Sales queue, and Monitor and Manage the queue. Contrarily, login is not available for the Support queue even though Config rights can be accessed. Since Queue Admin Rights are only available on Skills- Based queues, and having some level of Skills- Based Ranking provides an extension owner with the ability to login to a queue, we can come to the following conclusions: Both ACD Queues have their Skills- Based rankings enabled The system administrator has enabled the extension owner's Monitor and Manage Queue Admin rights for the Sales queue The system administrator has only enabled the extension owner's Config rights for the Support queue In the example above, the extension owner has Monitor, Manage and Config rights for the Sales queue but is without Queue Admin Rights for the Support queue even though the agent can login. Several explanations are possible: Both ACD Queues are Skills- Based queues and the system administrator has enabled the individual Queue Admin Rights for the Sales queue while not enabling the same rights for the Support queue. In addition, the extension owner has been given a Skills- Based Ranking for the Support queue but not for the Sales queue. Only the Sales queue is a Skills- Based queue and the system administrator has enabled the individual Queue Admin Rights but has not defined a Skills- Based Ranking for the extension. The Support queue is just a standard ACD Queue.
Advanced System Administrator Settings A System Administrator can use the Skills Based Ranking mechanism to enforce permissions to login to the ACD queue and still use a Round- Robin Call Distribution by granting every Extension that has permission to login a rank of 9. Any Extension that has a rank of "Blocked" can not login to the ACD queue. The System Administrator can select unique Music- On- Hold for the VirtualPBX and each ACD Queue from the music jukebox, or custom information- on- hold messages can be played to the caller while they are waiting for the call to be transferred. The Music- On- Hold can be previewed and selected by the Administrator from the Admin tab on the vconsole. Custom information- on- hold messages are uploaded by contacting your VirtualPBX service provider. System administrators can log an extension owner into and out of an ACD queue either through the Extensions Manager or through the specific ACD Queue s Extensions Login/Management list. ACD queue login/logout through the Extensions Manager 3. From the list of extensions, locate the Extension Owner that you would like to login/logout of an ACD queue. 4. Click the Edit link for the extension. 5. The window that pops- up is known as the Extension Manager. By default, the CALL ROUTING tab will be open. 6. Locate the ACD Queues settings. 7. Below the Login column, any ACD queue that an extension owner is logged into will have a check by the Name of the queue. Any ACD queue that an extension owner is not logged into will not have a check by the Name of the queue. Click on an unchecked checkbox to log an extension owner into an ACD queue. Click on a checked checkbox to log an extension owner out of an ACD queue. 8. Click the button to save your changes. ACD queue login/logout through an ACD Queue s Extensions Login/Management list 3. Click on ACD Queues from the left menu. 4. From your list of ACD queues, locate the queue where your extensions owner needs to be logged- in/out. 5. Click the Manage link for the chosen queue. 6. Locate the name of the extension owner that needs to be logged- in/out. 7. Click the checkbox from the Login Column of the ACD Queue s Extensions Login/Management list to enter an extension owner into a queue.
8. Click the checkbox from the Login Column of the ACD Queue s Extensions Login/Management list again to remove an extension owner from a queue. 9. Click the button to save your changes. Changing the name of an ACD queue 3. Click on ACD Queues from the left menu. 4. From your list of ACD queues, locate the queue that needs its name changed. 5. Click the Config link for the chosen queue. 6. Locate the Queue Name settings. 7. Enter the new queue name into the available text box. 8. Click the button to save your changes. Music on hold 3. Click on ACD Queues from the left menu. 4. From your list of ACD queues, locate the queue that needs its music on hold modified. 5. Click the Config link for the chosen queue. 6. Locate the Music On Hold settings. 7. Click the button. 8. Select a music category from the Select Music Category listing. 9. To hear a preview of a particular song, click on a selection below the Song Title column. 10. Click the radio button next to the song you want to use for Music On Hold. 11. Click the button to save your changes. Call Preview Detail 3. Click on ACD Queues from the left menu. 4. Click on the Advanced ACD Queue Options link below the ACD Queue Configuration heading. 5. Locate the Call Preview Detail settings. 6. Click on the button to help you determine which Call Preview Detail settings to use. 7. Once you have determined your settings, click the checkbox next to each option that you would like your extension owners to hear when they receive a call from and ACD queue.
8. Click the button to save your changes. To change an extension owner s ranking 3. Click on ACD Queues from the left menu. 4. From your list of ACD queues, locate the queue that you want the extension owner to access. 5. Click the Manage link for the chosen queue. 6. Locate the extension owner from the ACD Queue s Extensions Login/Management listing. 7. From the Rank colum for the extension, choose a ranking for the extension. 8. Click the button to save your changes.