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Portal Agent Groups

A portal agent group is created for a group of agents that log in to an agent portal, either voice or text. The agent signals availability to the messaging system upon sign in.

The schedule is used to define the hours during which the contact center is open. Should an agent sign in outside of the defined hours, the state appears Call Center Closed and they are unable to receive calls.

Use a portal agent group to:

  • create daily and recurring schedules for the agent group
  • manage multiple outbound sub-campaigns with a single agent group
  • use the system hold queue
  • access an automatically managed hold queue, ensuring that the requested number of simultaneous calls is delivered
  • use remote and at-home agents
  • access an outbound ACD
  • improve campaign performance by enhancing the customer experience and reducing abandoned calls
  • allow agents to remain connected between calls when contacts are in the messaging system hold queue so that they can handle the next call without hanging up
  • decrease hold time for call recipients
  • improve agent utilization
  • assign each agent a unique phone number
  • access the Contact Center Control Panel with individual agent view
  • create detailed reports and statistics on individual agents

Agent Portal applications, Voice and Text, utilize portal agent groups. Contractual access is required.

Create or Edit a Portal Agent Group

Important
Note that the agent group type (standard, enhanced, portal or transfer) cannot be changed. You must delete the group and configure a new one.
  • To create a portal agent group, click New from the Agent Groups tabbed page.
  • To edit a portal agent group, from the Agent Group list, select the agent group from the Agent Group list and click Edit.

Now enter or edit the following:

  1. In the Name box, enter a unique name for the agent group.
  2. From the Time Zone list, select the time zone in which the agents will be operating.
  3. Select from the Hang-up after call options.
  4. Select the Maximum after call duration option, which is the amount of time to allow agents for after call work. Note that this will limit the amount of time the agent has to enter custom Disposition Codes, possibly resulting in the code being lost. Select Unlimited to allow agents unlimited time to do after call work.
  5. Select the Pause before dialing extension option, which is the amount of time to allow before dialing an extension. Select None in order for the connection to an agent to take place without a pause. To play a disclaimer message before connecting clients to an agent, select the amount of time needed to play the disclaimer before dialing the agent's extension. For example, if it takes 20 seconds for the disclaimer to play, select at least 20 seconds so that the disclaimer can play completely.
  6. If the ability to transfer a call has been contractually enabled, select from the Transfer options.
  7. If the ability to record a call has been contractually enabled, select from the Recording and Retention options.
  8. If the ability to preview client information before launching a call to a mobile device has been contractually enabled, select from the Preview options when creating or editing a portal agent group.
  9. Select the Manual Dial options
  10. In the Skill(s) field, enter the associated skills, separated by commas.
  11. Click Create Agent Group to create the agent group or Save Agent Group to save the edits.

See Agent Group Schedule to learn how to create and edit an agent group schedule.

Hang-up After Call Options

The following hang-up after call options are available:

  • Always - Select this option to disconnect the line after each client call. Selecting this option forces all calls to be routed through your ACD or PBX. (This may increase the amount of time it takes a client to connect to an agent.)
  • Never - Select this option to keep the phone line open between client calls. Leaving the phone line open may significantly decrease the time a client remains on hold, as the system does not dial in to an ACD or PBX for each call. The first call an agent receives comes through the ACD or PBX but, assuming there are clients in the messaging system hold queue, the agent presses a telephone key to receive the next call. Note that this Hang Up option must be selected in order for agents using the Direct Bridge feature of the Agent Portal for Voice.
  • When no work - Select this option to disconnect if there is no call in the queue.

Transfer Options

  • Internal transfer permitted - Select this option to allow the agent to transfer a call to another agent in the skill group.
  • External transfer permitted - Select this option to allow the agent to transfer a call to a preset external number. To allow the agent to manually enter a phone number to which the call will be transferred, select the sub-option External manual transfer permitted.

Recording and Retention Options

If call recording is contractually enabled, you can access the following options when creating or editing a portal agent group.

Recording

  • Enabled - Select this option to enable the recording function in this agent group. To disable recording for the agent group, clear the check box.
  • Agent Delete Permitted - Select this option to allow the agent to delete recordings.
  • Agent Pause/Resume enabled - Select this option to allow the agents to pause and resume recordings in progress.

Retention

  • Percent recorded - The number entered into the Percent recorded field identifies the percentage of calls that will be recorded. You can select a lower number than the default maximum number which was set at the Account level, but you can not increase the percentage of calls to be recorded.
  • Minimum Duration Saved (0-7200 sec) - The number entered into the Minimum Duration Saved field identifies the minimum number of seconds that a call must continue before the recording is stored. If a call lasts fewer than the minimum number of seconds identified, any recording which was begun will be deleted. You can select a number lower than the default, which was set at the Account level, but you can not increase the percentage of calls to be recorded.
  • Agent Recordings Saved (1-180 days) - The number entered into the Agent Recordings Saved field identifies the default number of days that a recording will be retained in the messaging system. You can select a number lower than the default, which was set at the Account level, but you cannot increase the number of days.

Preview Options

If the ability to preview client information before launching a call to a mobile device has been contractually enabled, select from the following Preview options when creating or editing a portal agent group:

  • Skip permitted - Select this option to allow the agent to preview the client information and then choose to skip the call itself. To disable the option to skip a call for the agent group, clear the check box.
  • Countdown duration options (This field identifies the maximum number of seconds that the agent can view the client information on the preview screen before the call is launched.):
    • Unlimited - Select this option to allow the agent unlimited time to view the preview screen before launching the call.
    • Timed - Select this option to limit the amount of time the agent can view the preview screen before the call is automatically launched.

Manual Dial Options

You can select from the following manual dial options when creating or editing a portal agent group:

  • Enabled - Select this option to allow the agent to manually enter a phone number.
  • Free-Form Permitted - Select this option to allow the agent to select a campaign, enter a client_id and a device and launch a call.
  • Follow-up Permitted - Select this option to allow the agent make a follow-up call to another number associated with the contact.
  • Contact Scheduling Permitted - Select this option to allow agents to schedule outreach at a future time and date.
  • Days Ahead Contacts can be Scheduled (0-30 days) - Use this option to define (at the Enterprise level) the number of days into the future the outreach may be scheduled. The default (and recommended) value is 14 days, and can be changed at the Agent Group level.

Portal Agent Group Menu Options

The agent group command menu for portal agent groups contains the following menu options:

  • New - Use this command to create a new portal skill group.
  • Edit-Select this option to edit the agent group.
  • New Agent - Select this option to add individual agents to the agent group.
  • Import Agents - Select this option to add agents to the agent group by importing their information.
  • Delete - Select this option to Delete the agent group, along with all phone numbers and associated schedules. You cannot delete an agent group that is currently assigned to a sub-campaign.
  • View
    • Expand all - Select this option to expand all the agent groups in the list in order to view the assigned sub-campaigns and passes.
    • Collapse all - Select this option to collapse all the agent groups in the list.
    • Archived - Select this option to view the archived campaigns.
  • Pacing
    • Speedup / Slowdown - When the current rate of calling is not resulting in the desired number of Direct Connects, select this option to adjust the calling rate up or down. Note that adjusting the rate up or down may cause an undesirable change to the system defined constant rate per minute of outbound messages when using Auto Pacing.
    • Set Agents / Priority - Select this option to set the priority of each pass (High, Medium or Low) relative to the other passes in the sub-campaign. The number of agents assigned to each pass is adjusted accordingly.
    • Manage Pacing - Select this option to display the Manage Pacing dialog, where you can edit all pacing options in one place.
  • Reporting
    • Create Summary Report
    • Create Detail Report
    • Refresh

Add Portal Agents

Add an agent to a portal agent group in one of three ways from the Agent Groups tabbed page:

  • Select the Agent Group row and select Edit -> New Agent,
  • Select the Agent Group row, right click and select New Agent
  • Select List Agents - New.

The New Agent dialog appears with the following options:

  1. In the User ID field, enter the agent's email address as the User ID. Use the format firstName.lastName@companyName.com. Duplicates will include a number added to the last name. These system assigned IDs cannot be edited, so in order to use actual email addresses for logins, new agents will have to be created.
  2. In the First Name field, enter the agent's first name.
  3. In the Last Name field, enter the agent's last name.
  4. In the Skill(s) field, enter the associated skills, separated by commas.
  5. Select the portal agent group to which the agent will belong from the Agent Group list.
  6. Select the schedule group from the Schedule Group list.
  7. If the agent is to use an Agent Portal, there is no need to identify a schedule. Select Default to direct the system to indicate the agent's availability when they are logged in.
  8. Enter and confirm the agent's password.
  9. Select the time zone from the Time Zone list.
  10. From the Channel list, select Voice or Text and select the applicable options, as described below.
  11. Click Create Agent to add the agent to the agent group and return to the Agent Groups list.

The agent is assigned the user role of Agent, added to the recurring schedule group and becomes available based on the days and times defined in the schedule of the schedule group.

Voice:

  1. If the agent is using the Voice channel, select the connect method from the Connect Method list.
  2. Select Outbound if the Agent will be receiving calls from the messaging system, and In the Phone Number field, type the agent's 10-digit phone number (for example, 888 555 0001, 8885550001, or 888-555-0001). If the agent's phone number includes an extension, enter a space following the 10-digit phone number followed by the letter "x" and the extension (for example, 888-555-0001 x1234).

Inbound Toll and Inbound Toll Free are available only if you have contractual access to Agent Voice Portal's inbound calling feature.

Text:

  1. If the agent is using the Text channel, select the Message Permissions option.
  2. Select Full to allow the agent the ability to create and respond to messages in a free-form fashion, or select None to restrict the agent to using prepared responses.
  3. Select the Device Permissions option: select Full to allow the agent the ability to enter a device (phone number) and send messages in a free-form fashion to that device, or select None to prevent the agent from initiating a text message

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Delete a Portal Agent Group

When you delete a portal agent group, all agents are moved to the Unassigned list. The agents can then be assigned to another portal agent group, as required.

To delete a portal agent group:

  1. On the Agent Groups list, select the agent group to be deleted.
  2. From the menu bar, select Edit > Delete, or right click the selected agent group row and select Delete. The Delete Agent Group Confirmation dialog appears.
  3. Click Yes. The Agent Group list is refreshed, without the deleted agent group.

Related Topics

This page was last edited on August 1, 2017, at 14:47.
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