Working as a Contact Center Agent

From answering and transferring calls to setting call dispositions and statuses, let's dive into the basics of working as a Contact Center agent.

Go on duty

To receive calls, you'll need to go on duty by adjusting your availability status to Available and setting your on duty status to Active. 

1. Beside Contact Centers, select Off Duty 

2. Select Available

Next, its time to set yourself to Active.

Select the Contact Center from the sidebar, then toggle on the Active slider.

Answer a call 

Answer a call from the Dialpad app, or by using the floating notification.

To answer a call, select Answer.

While you're being rung, and during an active call, you cannot change your availability status. 

As soon as the call ends, you can modify your availability status again.

Contact Centers ring out to agents based on routing rules, which are set by the contact center's admin(s). If no agent answers, the call gets moved into the hold queue or a fallback option.

Declined and missed calls 

When you decline or miss a call, and Dialpad automatically sets your availability status to off-duty.

We'll alert you via pop-up and push notification, so you can decide whether to stay in that state or return to Available. Depending on your contact center's settings, you may also hear an audible notification to signal that you have been placed into an off-duty state. 

Keep in mind that agents cannot block a number; only admins can block a number for a shared line.

Call recording

Many Contact Centers will enable automatic-call recording. If a call is being recorded, you'll see a notification at the bottom of your active call.

Place a call

Agents can place calls using the Contact Center's number rather than their own direct number.

From the Dialpad app:

1. Select the Call icon

2. Navigate to New Call From 

3. Select the Contact Center you want to call from

4. Enter the number or contact name, then press enter

Both primary and secondary numbers belonging to the shared line can be used to place outbound calls.

The selected number will remain as your caller ID until changed again.

Wrap-up time

Wrap-up time is the period between the end of an agent's last call and an open opportunity to receive a new call, think of it as a moment to breath and jot down any additional notes. 

When you're in the post-call wrap-up period, you'll see the banner at the top of your screen.

Once you've entered the details in the wrap-up window, the banner will disappear and you can enter your Call Dispositions.

Transfer a call

Contact center agents can transfer calls to another shared line or person. 

To transfer a call:

1. Select Transfer

   

2. Enter a name or number to transfer the call to

   

3. Choose the transfer type (Ask First or Transfer Now)

   

Recipients of a transferred call will have the option to answer or decline.

When a call is transferred between multiple contact centers, the incoming transfer will display only the contact center name that the call is being directly transferred from, not the details of previous transfers. 

Send a message

Agents can send and receive messages from any lines they've been assigned.

During an active call, type your message in the text box and press enter to send.

Contact Center inbox

Contact Center inbox displays the hold queue, live calls, agents and their statuses, new notifications, all notifications, voicemails, and recordings.

To access your inbox:

1. Select Contact Centers

2. Select the Contact Center

3. Select New
   

Agents can see a list of all calls awaiting an agent from the contact center inbox.

From the Dialpad app, navigate to your contact center inbox and select Hold Queue. 

Callers are redirected to the hold queue only if no agents are available (such as they're already on active calls).

The caller will hear hold music until they connect to an agent, or can be configured to allow callers to press a key to leave a voicemail.

If all agents are listed as off-duty, they'll be routed to the secondary handling option set by the contact center's supervisor.

Manage Contact Center activity in multiple Contact Centers

Use the Real-Time Contact Center Management page to view your Contact Center activity across all the contact centers you belong to.

This feature is part of an Early Adopter Program

To join this Early Adopter Program, please contact your Customer Success Manager.

This view can display up to two sections, customized based on the types of Contact Centers you belong to.

• My contact centers: Provides the complete list of Contact Centers to which the user belongs. Here, agents can easily update their active status across their Contact Centers or select a Contact Center name to see its real-time data.
   

• My conversations: Displays assigned digital interactions and access to the agent’s conversation history. 

  • Agents will only see the My Conversations tab if they are assigned to a Digital Contact Center. 

Enable email notifications

Choose how you'd like to receive notifications in addition to the types of notifications this Contact Center shares with you.

To update your notification preferences, head to Your Settings

1. Select Emails and alerts

2. Navigate to Contact Center Reports and Alerts

3. Select the desired Contact Center from the drop-down menu

4. Check the boxes beside the desired notification type 
   

Assigned calls

Supervisors and contact center admins assign calls to agents based on skill sets, call volumes, and individual preference. When a call is assigned, whether you’re in wrap-up, on a call, or during break, you will receive a notification that you’ve been assigned a call.  

When using Chrome, a notification will indicate a call has been assigned, from what queue, and by which supervisor. Chrome notifications must be enabled in order to receive the alert.  

When using the desktop app, a message will be pushed, alerting you a call has been assigned. 

Active status vs off-duty status

The off-duty status disables an agent's ability to receive calls to any Contact Center that they are assigned to, regardless of their availability setting (Active toggle) for that contact center.

The availability status (Active or not) only impacts the specific Contact Center line, not your individual line. 

Contact Center personal working hours

Personal Working Hours do not apply to Contact Centers. Even if you have determined your personal working hours, and present as unavailable for personal, department, and mainline calls, you will still be able to receive contact center calls as long as you are on-duty. 

When set as on-duty, your status displays as available in the Contact Center, and you can still receive Contact Center calls.  

To prevent inbound Contact Center calls, agents must set themselves to an off-duty status or DND for that specific contact center. 

Interested in learning more about Contact Centers? Visit this Help Center article for more info.

Frequently asked questions

Why can I change my availability in some Contact Centers, but not all?

If you can't change your availability in a specific Contact Center, your Contact Center admin has likely enabled an agent availability setting. When this setting is turned off, you cannot set yourself to unavailable. 

If you find yourself stuck in an unavailable state, please reach out to your Contact Center admin for help.