Queues
Queues section allows you to manage Queues, which allow you to accomplish the following:
- Place incoming calls in multiple Queues in order the calls are received
- Allow Agents (Queue members) to login and answer calls
- Define strategies for how to handle calls and choose the agents for answering
- Configure the Music-on-Hold played to callers while they are waiting in the Queues
- Play periodic announcements to callers and Agents
- Record calls
- Real time monitoring of Queues and Agents
- Allow managers to listen to the conversations and help Agents when necessary
- Save the information for Call Center reports and analytics
Multi-Login Restriction: When users are assigned as static queue members or messaging queue members, their multi-login setting is automatically disabled. This ensures proper message assignment and call routing in the contact center. If any of the assigned users have multi-login enabled, the administrator will be warned and multi-login will be turned off for those users upon saving.
Create/Edit Queue
Queue Settings
Queue name. Unique alphanumeric name for this queue.
Description. Queue description, optional.
Tag. Optional tag for organizing Queues.
Department. Optionally assign the Queue to a Department. Defaults to “Not assigned”.
Maximum Callers. Maximum number of callers that can wait in the Queue (0 is unlimited).
Ring busy members. Determines whether the queue will be sending calls to members whose devices are known to be in use.
Connect to members in parallel. Allow waiting callers to connect with available members until there are no more available members or no more waiting callers.
Announce Hold Time. Specify whether the hold time is to be announced and when.
Hold Time Announce frequency. Specify how frequently the hold time will be announced.
Periodic Announcement to caller. Specify whether the periodic announcements are played to the caller.
Periodic Announcement frequency. Specify frequency of periodic announcements.
Rounding of hold time. If this is non-zero, then seconds rounded to this value will be added to the wait time announcement.
Agent timeout. How long can the agents phone ring before a timeout.
Agent retry. Retry timer between attempts to call queue members.
Report hold time to agent. Specify whether the caller’s hold time will be announced to the agent when the call is connected.
Announcement to agent. Specify whether an announcement will be played to the agent when they answer a call.
Call Recording. Specifies whether the call recording will be enabled for this queue, as well as the recording format.
Combine recorded files. Specifies whether 2 files containing recorded conversation should be joined together.
Ring Strategy. Strategy for distributing calls to members (Agents or Static Queue Members) that may be:
- ringall - ring all available members until one answers (default)
- leastrecent - ring a member which was least recently called by the Queue
- fewestcalls - ring the one with fewest completed calls from this Queue
- random - ring randomly
- rrmemory - next call will go the agent after the last one who answered
- roundrobin - take turns ringing each available member
- linear - ring in the order interfaces are listed in the configuration files
- wrandom - ring randomly while using Penalty
Music-on-Hold. Specify music-on-hold for the queue.
Other queue options. Additional options for the queue.
Queue Join/Leave Conditions
Queue Join/Leave Conditions control when callers can join Queues and when they are forced to leave Queues, based on the statuses of the Queue Members.
Static Queue Members
Static Queue Members are phones (SIP Endpoints) that are always in the Queue with no login or logout required.
Penalty controls which members are called first - Queue won’t try to call a Static Queue Member if any Static Queue Member or an Agent with lower Penalty is available.
Agents
Agents can log in into the Queues by either dialing a Feature Code (611 is the default) or using web UI. Penalty controls which agents are called first - Queue won’t try to call an Agent if any Agent or a Static Queue Member with lower Penalty is available.
Contact Center Policies
When Contact Center is enabled for a tenant, queue forms include a Policies tab with settings for ACW (After Contact Work), disposition codes, messaging session management, and customer idle detection. Policies follow an inheritance hierarchy: Global → Tenant → Queue. Each level can inherit from the parent or define its own values.
ACW & Disposition Settings
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Disposition required | When enabled, agents must select a disposition code after each interaction |
| Disposition timeout (sec) | Time allowed for agent to select a disposition code before the default is applied |
| Default disposition code | Code applied automatically when disposition times out or is not required |
| Disposition ends ACW | When Yes, selecting a disposition immediately ends ACW. When No, agent stays in ACW until the time limit |
| ACW time limit (sec) | Maximum time in ACW state before agent becomes available automatically |
| ACW extension duration (sec) | Seconds added each time agent requests an ACW extension |
| Max ACW extensions | Maximum number of times agent can extend their ACW period |
Messaging Session Settings
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| No agent delay (sec) | Wait time before retrying agent selection when none are available |
| No agent retries | Maximum retry attempts before returning a “no agents” error |
| Agent accept timeout (sec) | Time for an agent to accept a request before trying another |
| Agent assign timeout (sec) | Time to wait for a queue/assign response |
| Auto-close timeout (sec) | Maximum session duration before auto-close, regardless of activity |
| Customer idle timeout (sec) | Close session when customer has not responded for this long after agent’s last message. Disabled = no idle detection |
| Customer idle warning (sec) | Warning message is sent this many seconds before session closes due to customer inactivity |
| Soft queue limit | Warning threshold for messages in queue |
| Hard queue limit | New messages rejected when this limit is reached |
Customer Idle Detection
The customer idle timeout provides a two-step warning-then-close mechanism for inactive messaging sessions:
- Timer starts when the agent sends a message and resets on every customer response
- Warning sent — at
idle_timeout - idle_warningseconds of inactivity, the idle warning message is sent to the customer - Session closed — at
idle_timeoutseconds, the session is auto-closed and the auto-close message is sent
For example, with a 5-minute idle timeout and 2-minute warning: after 3 minutes of customer silence the warning fires, and if the customer still hasn’t responded after 5 minutes total, the session closes.
The warning message supports a ${minutes} placeholder that is replaced with the remaining time before close.
Messages
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Greeting message | Sent when agent connects with customer. Use ${name} for agent name |
| Goodbye message | Sent when agent ends the conversation |
| Hold message | Sent when agent puts customer on hold |
| Unhold message | Sent when agent returns from hold |
| Auto-close message | Sent when session is automatically closed |
| Idle warning message | Sent when customer is idle and session may close soon. Use ${minutes} for remaining time |