IVR Workflows

Let's dive into the details. 

Benefit of IVR workflows

IVR systems allow you to customize the customer experience in real-time by:

• Collecting crucial user information (booking numbers, account numbers, etc)
• Accessing CRM or other systems through APIs
• Identifying the caller
• Creating unique routing and behavior according to the individual caller’s needs

This enables more efficient use of Agents and, in some cases, even allows the customer to resolve their question through self-service.

IVRs do not replace the need for a live agent, but they improve customer satisfaction while freeing Agents available to handle complex inbound calls. Not only that, they provide a self-service option that can be accessed outside of business hours. 

Workflow steps

Dialpad's bespoke IVR steps allow you to guide your callers through personalized steps, using your voice and verbiage, ensuring the menu selection is on brand with your product.  Add as many IVR workflows as you require, and edit them anytime!

Workflow options include:

• Menu - Plays the menu prompt and collects the caller's menu choice
• Collect - Collects DTMF input (great for collecting account numbers, pins etc)
• Play - Plays audio file prompts
• Go-to - Moves the caller to another IVR Workflow or step inside the current workflow
• Transfer - Transfers the call to another Office, Department, User, or phone number
• Hang-up - Ends the current call
• Branch - Evaluates a variable (system or workflow specific) for a condition and proceeds down a different path based on the result
• Expert - Performs API calls, logic decisions, variables, and other advanced operations
  • Expert flows must be enabled by our Professional Services team. Please reach out to your Customer Success Manager for more information
    

Learn more about each IVR step in this Help Center article.

Enable IVR Workflows

First things first, IVR Workflows must first be enabled at the Company level. 

Self-enablement is available for companies located in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Companies in all other locations must contact Support to enable this feature. 

To enable IVR workflows from your Admin Portal:

1. Navigate to Company Settings
2. Select IVR workflows
3. Slide the toggle to Enabled

Once enabled, you can create a Standard IVR Workflow.

Create an IVR Workflow

To create an IVR workflow, head to your Admin Settings at Dialpad.com 

1. Select IVR Workflows 
2. Select Create Workflow
3. Name your workflow
4. Select the desired actions and transfers 
5. Select Publish (or Save, if you'd like to save a draft)

Assign an IVR Workflow

Once an IVR workflow has been published, you need to assign it to an Office, Department, or Contact Center.

Head to your Admin Settings at Dialpad.com

1. Select the desired Office, Department, or Contact Center 
2. Select Business Hours and Call Routing
3. Navigate to Call Routing
4. Select Edit Call Routing
5. Choose Open Hours Routing or Closed Hours Routing
6. Select Other Routing Options
7. Select To an IVR Workflow
8. Select the desired IVR Workflow

Once an IVR is assigned, you'll see the number of Entry Points appear beside each IVR workflow. 

Edit an IVR Workflow

To edit an IVR workflow, head to your Admin Settings at Dialpad.com 

1. Select IVR Workflows 
2. Click the more menu beside the workflow you want to delete
3. Select Edit
4. Make the desired changes
5. Select Save to save your changes
6. Select Publish to push your edits live to connected numbers

Delete an IVR Workflow

To delete an IVR workflow, head to your Admin Settings at Dialpad.com 

First, you’ll need to remove any connected numbers from the IVR Workflow.

1. Select the desired Office, Department, or Contact Center that is currently assigned to the IVR Workflow you need to delete
2. Select Business Hours and Call Routing
3. Navigate to Call Routing
4. Select Edit Call Routing
5. Choose Open Hours Routing or Closed Hours Routing
6. Change the routing option to something other than IVR workflows. 

Next, return to IVR Workflows from your Admin Settings.

1. Select IVR Workflows 
2. Click the more menu beside the workflow you want to delete
3. Select Delete
4. Confirm deletion

Fallback options

Use a fallback action to route callers to an alternate line in the rare event that a step in your workflow becomes unresponsive.  

To set a fallback action, head to your Admin Settings from Dialpad.com

1. Select the desired Contact Center, Department, or Office
2. Select Advanced Settings
3. Navigate to IVR Workflows Fallback Action
   • You'll only see the Fall Back Action option for Contact Centers, Departments, and Offices that already have an IVR workflow configured.
4. Choose the desired fallback option
   • Voicemail: Sends the caller to the Contact Center's voicemail
   • Operators: Sends the caller to Operators
   •  Contact Center / Department / Offices: Sends the caller to a specific Contact Center, Office, or Department
   • Team member: Sends the caller to a specific team member
   • Room phone / external number: Sends the caller to a specific room phone or number

Frequently asked questions

Is there a cost for IVR Workflows?

Standard IVR Workflows are included in your Dialpad plan. If you need Expert Mode for advanced API calls, CRM integrations, notifications, and other extended features, an additional professional services investment is required. Contact your CSM or Sales for more information.

Are IVR Workflows HIPAA and PCI compliant?

Not directly. However, a fully compliant solution can be created by leveraging complementary technologies like Digital Deflect to handle PCI / HIPAA-dependent sessions.

Is there a maximum number of steps we can use in an IVR menu?

Yes, the maximum number of steps is 70.
For easier management of larger use cases, we do suggest dividing up your application into separate functional workflows and using the Go-To step to reference other functional areas.

Can Admins edit and delete any IVR workflows, or only the ones they create?

Administrators have full access to all IVR workflows created for their company, however, an IVR workflow can only be deleted when it has no entry points.

Why don't I see the option for IVR Workflows?

IVR Workflows must first be enabled by Dialpad at the company level. Self-enablement is currently available only for North American companies, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager, or Contact Support to turn on this feature if you don't see the self enablement option. 

Can more than IVR workflow be assigned to a single Office, Contact Center or Department?

You can only apply one IVR workflow at a time, however, you can call multiple IVR workflows based on your workflow conditions (ex: using the Go To option).

You can also choose to use a different IVR for your open and closed routing options. 

Are there any analytics for IVR workflow performance?

Phone number and routing analytics are available now. We will be adding call flow analytics soon to help you analyze and optimize the customer journey through the IVR Workflows.

Will you be adding more IVR functionality?

Yes! Stay tuned, our engineers are busy working on the following enhancements:

• Transfer to an outside number
• Dial by name / Dial by number 
• Speech Recognition
• Text To Speech (this is currently available in expert only)
• Call Journey Analytics

What happens when a call fails?

When a call fails, the caller is transferred to the default setting, which is voicemail. 

Set a fallback option for each IVR step to control where callers will be sent in the event of a call failure. 

Why don’t I see the IVR Workflows menu on my Office Settings?

Only Office and Company Admins can configure IVR Workflows.

Why aren't my changes live? 

When editing an IVR workflow, you must press Publish to push changes live.

Save allows you to work on an IVR flow and save the changes without activating them. This is especially useful if you would like a colleague to review the updated flow.