The Agent workspace is not part of an administrator’s view but forms an essential part of the TMS. This is where a high-productivity user will work from and requires an extension enabled as an agent.  


The main reasons for enabling agent extensions are Time & Attendance, Productivity, and Workforce Management features and reporting. 


This section is for users whom the business wants to be highly productive and for whom communication is an essential part of their role; however, these users do not need to be part of a call centre. The features around th agent/ high productivity user role are designed to encourage and enhance their productivity and allow their performance to be monitored and reported on.


Queue membership, is part of, but not limited to agents. Any extension can have the queues feature enabled (some extension types do by default) whilst not having the full advanced analytics; these extensions are termed “participants” and do not have the same statistics and functionality as agents.



 Agent vs Participant

Below are detailed a few of the differences between an agent and a participant:


Agent

Participant

Access to Agent Workspace

No access

Login/Logoff Functionality which drives Time and Attendance reporting

No Login/Logoff

Time & Attendance Reporting

None

Can be part of a queue

Can be part of a queue

Pause functionality is global

Can pause in individual queues

Full pause reporting including summaries

Only individual pause details available

Differentiation between productive and unproductive pauses

No differentiation available

Cannot make or receive calls if not logged in or paused

Can still make and receive calls whilst paused

Dispositions

No ability to disposition calls

Disposition and Outcome reporting

No Disposition reporting available

Integrated system webhooks

Only device level webhooks possible

Realtime Agent Status reporting

Only Realtime Queues available to show status

User and Permissions Management built in

User and Permissions management is a feature with an additional extra cost

Randomise Pools for CLI

Randomise is not available for CLI


Agent Activation

In order for an extension to be an agent, it must have the Agent Extensions or Queue Agent Analytics activated. Then, the functionality should be enabled on the “Agent” tab within the extension using Extension Manager. 


If the feature is not enabled, there will be an error message as such:



When the feature has been activated, but not yet enabled, the Agent tab will display such:



Once, the agent has been enabled, the Agent tab will reflect so:



It is important to set an outbound queue for an agent, otherwise they will not be permitted to make such calls. This is simply because without the queue being nominated, it is not possible to log the statistics of these calls.



External Client/WebRTC

In order to log in to the Agent Workspace, the agent will need a phone engine to transport the calls between the workspace and the server. Two such engines are available, the External Client ot WebRTC.


External Client

WebRTC

G729 Codec

Opus

Windows Operating Systems only

Cross platform

Able to use Vibe tunnel

Unable to use Vibe tunnel

Audio controlled by Operating System

Audio controlled by browser

Supports Conferencing

Does not support conferencing currently


The External Client is recommended to use, if possible. Refer to The External Client Troubleshooting Guide if need be.



Status Toolbar 

The Agent Workspace is an environment designed for agents to be able to work quickly and efficiently, it is broken up into various sections with the status toolbar at the top of the window. This toolbar will change contents according to the current situation. 



On the left hand side, it will indicate the agent’s current status and the duration of this state. Next to that, the dialpad button which will enable an agent to make a manual outbound call. It is important to note that the buttons available to the agent will depend on the permissions set for that extension on the agent tab.


At idle, the status toolbar will offer some buttons on the right hand side of the toolbar, including:

  • Pause 

  • Logoff

  • Mappings 

  • Settings


Pause

The pause button enables the agent to enter a pause state, this will mean that they will not receive calls whilst this state persists. The agent’s state will change in the status toolbar, as well as in the Realtime Agents page, and any Realtime Queues or Campaigns that they are members of. 


When pausing, it is important that the agent selects the appropriate pause reason. This reason will be displayed next to the status indicator whilst paused, as well as a timer of the duration that this pause has been in effect.


The duration and details of all pauses taken by the agent are available in Agent Analytics pages, as well as automated reports for the administrator’s use.


The dialpad button is not available during a pause, as an agent may not make nor receive calls whilst paused.


Agent Logoff

When an agent has completed their work day, they should log off. This information is captured along with the cumulative login duration for the day, and is available in time and attendance reporting as well a login summary in Agent Analytics.


Agent Mappings

Agent mappings allows an agent to see if they have leads available for them. This is a diagnostic tool to be used if an agent is not receiving calls, and they are expecting to.


The mappings will list any contacts available for any campaigns the agent is currently assigned to, as well as showing them in the lists currently active and lastly if they are assigned or unassigned leads. Assigned leads being that this agent is specified to receive them, or unassigned as in a pool of leads with no agent specified, so they are available to anyone.



Setting

If an administrator has selected for Auto Answer to be “Optional” within an extension’s agent settings, then the Settings button will produce a window that allows the agent to set Auto Answer on or off.


Auto Answer is an easy way to improve productivity, but agent should be notified of it, and be ready for the call. There is an audio beep to notify the agent of an incoming call, just prior to connection to avoid awkward situations.





Performance Toolbar

The Agent Workspace is designed to give the agent maximum productivity, and help them achieve the performance targets set out for them each day. In order to do this, it is important that they are aware of the expectations of them, and how they are performing in relation to these.


The performance toolbar that shows between calls when an agent is idle will display key performance indicators linked to calls and call outcomes. Besides “Calls”, these will only be populated by calls that have been dispositioned. Dispositions are set up within campaigns or queues, and the available options will depend on how the call came to the agent, i.e. if this was a call from a campaign, then the campaign dispositions will be available for selection on disposition, if this call came from a queue and dispositions have been enabled for that queue, then those will be the ones available for selection.



  • Calls - the total number of calls that the agent has performed today.

  • Successful Calls 

  • Unsure Calls

  • Failed Numbers - as it is not possible for a call made either manually outbound or inbound via a queue to have more than one number associated with it, Failed Numbers will only be populated from campaigns.

  • Failed Contacts



Most Recent Activity

The Most Recent Activity section enables an agent to view all information pertaining to recent calls including the date and time of the call, the number dialled, the disposition category (status) and outcome, as well as any notes that have been made during the call and CRM Tags.

This history allows an agent to also redial a contact by selecting the number.



Within the contact column, each call will have an icon next to it. These icons represent the direction and function of a call:


Icon

Meaning

Internal Incoming call (between extensions)

Internal Outgoing call

Incoming Queue call

Outgoing 

Campaign/Dialer call


Alternatively, if there is an incomplete disposition for any reason such as a break in connectivity, then the incomplete link will also show within the Most Recent Activity area, and allow for an agent to select it, and complete the disposition.



Dialling Activities within Agent Workspace

When selecting the call button in the status toolbar, a dialpad box will appear to enable the agent to begin dialling.



Whilst typing a name or number, a directory lookup will be conducted to search extensions and entries in the directory for matches. Extensions that match will also display their status, for example idle or offline.


 


If an entry is selected, it will populate the number into the dialpad; select the dial button to initiate dialling.


When a call is in progress, the status bar will update accordingly, as well as displaying several call control buttons. Which buttons are present will depend on the configuration on the agent tab in the extension settings. Below the Performance Toolbar, there is an area in which any additional information regarding the call is displayed.



If everything has been permitted, then these buttons will be available:

  • Dialpad - to allow for DTMF input if necessary

  • Hold

  • Mute

  • Volume control

  • Transfer

  • Hangup

  • Line

  • Conference



Call Transfers

When transferring a call, the input does a similar lookup as on dial, allowing the agent to tell if the destination is available before transferring to them. Transfer window also enables the agent to decide whether this transfer will be an “Attended Transfer”, meaning that the agent will speak to the recipient before transferring the call through or a “Blind Transfer” where the call is transferred with no communication between the agent and the recipient. The “Call First” button enables Attended Transfers, whilst the “Transfer Now” button is for Blind Transfers.



When connecting an Attended transfer, an additional confirmation will appear within the Transfer window, allowing to confirm the transfer or terminate it.


Adding a Line

Whilst on a call, an agent may need to pick up another line, for purposes of a second call or conferencing. Whilst on call, if the line (+) button is selected, an additional dialpad will appear allowing for another number to be dialed.



Once the number has connected, two lines will be identifiable beneath the status toolbar, and by clicking on a line, the agent is able to toggle between them. The line currently not connected to the agent is placed on hold.



When one of the lines is terminated, the other remains, but in a hold state. The agent can resume the call by selecting the Hold button.



Conferencing

Conferencing is not currently supported with WebRTC.



Campaign Dialling

When the agent workspace is used by an agent for a campaign, if a script was defined in the campaign setup, it will appear in an area below the Performance Toolbar and above the call information. The call information area is populated with the information provided in the list, as well as any custom fields that were defined in the campaign as well.




 The right hand side of the Call Information area is used for any In-Call webhook buttons, as well as the “Add New Customer” and “Edit Customer Information”, if they have been enabled for the campaign. There are also inputs for CRM tags or notes whilst the agent is on the call. Any information entered in here, will pull through to the disposition window that appears at the end of the call.


Editing Existing Contact

Whilst in the call, should the agent select the “Edit” button, a pop-up window with the current contact information will be presented, allowing the agent to modify existing data or adding to it, for example adding an alternative number.


When additional numbers are added to a Preview campaign list, they will be prioritised as the next number to be dialled.


Additional numbers added to a Power Dial campaign will only be dialled when the list cycles.






Add a New Customer

Similar to Edit, it is possible for an agent to add a new contact to the list whilst in a call, if it has been allowed in the campaign settings. Selecting the “Add New Customer” button will bring up a screen where the details can be added. Multiple numbers can be added with the use of the Add (+) button. Adding new contacts defaults to the current list.


When additional contacts are added to a Preview campaign list, they will be prioritised as the next contact to be dialled.


Additional numbers added to a Power Dial campaign will only be dialled when the list cycles.



Dispositioning Calls

After a call, an agent will be required to report on the outcome of the call, this is referred to as Dispositioning. In order to make this as flexible as possible for clients’ reporting requirements, and as easy as possible for agents, the first selection is the disposition category, being Fail, Unsure or Success. The Call Outcome drop down will then be populated according to that category as is configured within the campaign (or queue) settings.


Any notes or CRM tags captured during the call will populate automatically in this screen, alternatively can be captured at this point.


Whilst the agent is performing this wrapup, they will automatically be paused in the state “Wrapup”, which is a system pause state, and is considered a productive pause. Wrapup has a timeout value, which if runs out will submit a disposition of “Unsure - No agent submission” on behalf of the agent.


Miscellaneous

An agent TMS Account automatically gets logged off at 12 pm at night.