Inbound Call Queue¶
This page is a reference of all inbound call queue settings. If you are setting up incoming calls from scratch, follow the step-by-step guide Set Up Inbound Calls. For the queue list itself β assigning agents, relations and widget schemes β see Queue Basics.
The inbound call queue is where incoming calls wait and from where they are distributed to your agents.
Recommended starting values
A new queue works with its defaults, but a few of them surprise first-time admins. Start with these and tune them later using your statistics.
| Setting | Default in Daktela | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| When to record calls automatically | Do not record | Record after call is bridged | Without recordings you can't play calls back, and Speech-to-Text, AI QA and AI Topics can't run on the queue. Recording needs a Call Recording licence. |
| Max. waiting time | Unlimited | 2β3 minutes | With no limit, a caller waits until they hang up. |
| Target if not answered | Terminate (hang up) | A missed call or an announcement | Decides what callers get when Max. waiting time or a queue condition sends them out. |
| Enter queue conditions and Remove from queue conditions | None | Disable when no agents are logged in / When there are no agents logged in | Without them, callers enter and stay in the queue even when nobody is logged in. |
| Agent ring time | 20 seconds | 15β20 seconds | Long enough to answer, short enough that an absent agent doesn't hold the call up. |
| Distribution strategy | Least recent | Least recent | Shares calls fairly. Change it only for a reason β see Distribution Strategies. |
| Wrap up time | None | 10β30 seconds | Gives agents time to finish their notes before the next call rings. |
| Automatic Pause | Off | On | An agent who misses or rejects a call goes on the Inactive pause, so the next call doesn't ring an empty desk. |
| Missed activities | Off | On, with a Call queue for callbacks | Without it, callers who gave up leave no callback list. Missed calls stay listed until midnight unless you change Missed display time. |
| Threshold max time and the other thresholds | None | e.g. 30β60 seconds | Long waits turn red in Realtime and on wallboards. |
Calls Inbound Queue Details¶
Fill out the Unique queue number, Title and Description (optional), then set up your queue.
Queue Number Auto-Suggestion Daktela will automatically suggest the next available number based on previous numbers of the same queue type (including deleted ones).
Warning
After you create your inbound call queue, make it the destination of one of your call routings β usually through a time condition. Until then, no call reaches it.
Tip
Don't forget to set up which user rights can use the queue, the queue's relations and its widget scheme. See Queue Basics for instructions.
Queue Field Details¶
Open more settings using the Extended button in the top right corner.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Call steering description | Enter hint words for the call steering application. |
| Advanced settings | |
| Allow description | Turn on to activate the description field as part of the activity created using this queue. Agents can enter a description of the activity. |
| Form save time (Extended) | Select the time agents have to fill out and save the activity form after the interaction with the customer ends. The Inactive pause will automatically be set after this time runs out. The default is Unlimited. |
| CID prefix | Text added before the Caller ID name on extensions using this queue. Example: with prefix "Sales:", a call from John Doe displays as "Sales:John Doe". Max. 64 characters. |
| Recording for agent | Select a recording that will be played back to the agent before they are connected with the caller. E.g. "this call is from the Sales queue" or "the following call is from the Technical support queue". To add more recordings, go to Settings β Routings β Calls β Advanced settings β System recordings. |
| Play recording before joining (Extended) | Select a recording that will be played back to the customer before they join the queue. To add more recordings, go to Settings β Routings β Calls β Advanced settings β System recordings. |
| Play recording after joining | Select a recording that will be played back to the customer after they join the queue. To add more recordings, go to Settings β Routings β Calls β Advanced settings β System recordings. If your recording is longer than Max. waiting time, it will not be played to the end. |
| Ringtone | Select the music that will be played back to the caller while they are waiting in the queue. You can upload your own music in Settings β Routings β Calls β Advanced settings β Background Musics. Inherit: the ringtone from the previous application will be used. Ring: the standard ringing tone is played without any music, and the call is not actually answered until an agent picks it up. This option can only be used if no announcements before entering the queue or queue IVR are used β if they are, the Ringanswer option is played instead. Ringanswer: the standard ringing tone is played without any music. The actual call is already answered and the ringtone is being played from the media. Default: our own predefined music. None: no music (silence). |
| On-hold music | Select the music played to the caller when an agent puts them on hold (standard hold or transfer hold). This is a separate setting from Ringtone. Default (the default): our own predefined music. None: no music (silence). You can upload your own music in Settings β Routings β Calls β Advanced settings β Background Musics. |
| Max. waiting time | The maximum time a customer can wait in the queue. When it runs out, the call is routed to Target if not answered. The default is Unlimited β the caller waits until they hang up. Time spent ringing at an agent (Agent ring time) may be added to the maximum time; see the Notes for an example. |
| Max. waiting count (Extended) | The maximum number of activities waiting for distribution in the queue. Activities already ringing at an agent don't count. When the limit is reached, the next activity is routed to the next target. Checked only once, when the activity enters the queue. |
| Priority | Set the queue's priority for distribution of activities to agents: 0 β highest, 10 β lowest. When agents are logged in to several queues, activities from queues with a higher priority will be distributed to them first. |
| Enter queue conditions | Select the conditions under which the caller can't enter the queue and is sent to Target if not answered instead β e.g. Disable when no agents are logged in or Disable when all agents are on a break. None are selected by default. |
| Remove from queue conditions | Select the conditions under which a caller already waiting is removed from the queue and sent to Target if not answered β e.g. When there are no agents logged in. None are selected by default. |
| Find specific agent | Select if you want the caller to be connected to a specific agent before the distribution strategy is used. Don't find (the default): use the distribution strategy. Last agent: try the agent the caller spoke to last time; set up Last agent hours. The last agent is only prioritised for the first distribution round β if they reject the call, don't answer before Agent ring time runs out, or aren't available, the call falls back to the distribution strategy. The time spent ringing the last agent counts towards Max. waiting time. CRM Contact owner β if available: try the owner of the caller's CRM contact in the first distribution round; if they are not available, use the distribution strategy. CRM Contact owner β exclusively: only ever connect the caller to the CRM contact owner. |
| Last agent hours | How far back (in hours) the system looks for the agent who last spoke to the caller. Used when Find specific agent is set to Last agent. |
| Automatic Pause | Select if an agent that rejects or doesn't answer an activity should automatically be put on the Inactive pause. Off by default. |
| Agent ring time | Select how long the agent has to answer the call. Calls will be routed to the next agent after this time passes. The default is 20 seconds. |
| Wrap up time | The pause an agent gets after finishing an activity before the next one can be routed to them (the length of the Wrap pause). The default is None. |
| Call busy agent | Turn on to allow call distribution to agents that are already speaking to someone on another call. Use only with one agent β turning this setting on overrides the distribution strategy! Used mostly when agents have external phone numbers linked through an external call routing system. |
| Auto answer (Extended) | Turn on if incoming activity should be answered automatically. |
| Distribution strategy | How calls are allocated to agents. The default is Least recent. See Distribution Strategy below. |
| Multiple statuses | Allow or disallow users to set multiple statuses for activities using this queue. |
| Tab autofocus | Turn on to automatically open the tab with the activity. |
| Missed activities | Turn on to activate missed activity notifications which you can use to contact customers back. Off by default. Set up the queues you want to use for this purpose in "Missed activity settings" below. |
| Idle activity notification | If an agent in another browser tab doesn't interact with an open activity for this amount of time, they receive a notification. |
| Blacklist database | If you select a database, agents whose user rights allow blacklisting in this queue can ban a customer in the activity of this queue. The ban will be added to the blacklist of that database. For call type queues, you have the option to choose the "Global for all calls and incoming SMSes" database, which allows you to block the caller's number across all incoming routes and prevent any outgoing calls to that number. |
| Missed activity settings | |
| Missed display time | Select for how long missed activity notifications stay in Missed activities. The default is Midnight β the list is cleared at the end of the day. |
| Call queue | Select the outgoing call queue you want to use to call customers back from Missed activities. |
| Time limit | Choose the minimum time a call has to ring to be considered a missed call. |
| Auto call back | Turn on to automatically call missed calls back when an agent is available. If you select a calls outbound queue, the agent must have rights to the selected outbound queue to make automatic callbacks. Auto-callback also follows the distribution strategy configured for this queue. |
| SMS queue | Select the SMS queue you want to use to text customers back from Missed activities. |
| Email queue | Select the email queue you want to use to email customers back from Missed activities. |
| Periodic announcement | |
| IVR menu jump | The IVR played to waiting callers when no agents are available. The IVR is part of the queue and its menu can only contain single-digit options. Turn on "IVR immediately" to start it as soon as the call enters the queue; otherwise the delay before the first playback is set by "IVR repeat". The IVR keeps repeating at that interval until "Max. waiting time" runs out and the call is sent to the next target. |
| IVR repeat | How often the IVR is repeated. The interval is counted from the start of the IVR playback β take the length of your recording into account. If "IVR immediately" is turned off: β this is also the delay between the call entering the queue and the first IVR playback. β if you select "Don't repeat", the IVR is not played at all. |
| IVR immediately | Turn on to play the IVR selected in "IVR menu jump" immediately when the call enters the queue and no agent is available. When off, the first playback starts after the "IVR repeat" interval. |
| Position announcement (Extended) | Turn on to let the caller know how many people are ahead of them in the queue. |
| Position announcement repeat (Extended) | Select how often the position announcement should be repeated. The interval is counted from the beginning of the announcement playback. |
| Announcement language | Select the announcement language. |
| Monitoring | |
| Show monitoring notifications to agent | An icon is placed in the call activity showing that call monitoring is active for the specific agent. |
| Play monitoring audio notification in call | A recording played in the call which notifies the agent about monitoring start and stop. Select your recordings in the fields below. |
| Recording at monitoring start | Select a recording that will be played when call monitoring is started. |
| Recording at monitoring stop | Select a recording that will be played when call monitoring is ended. |
| Recordings | |
| When to record calls automatically | Select if and when calls using this queue are recorded automatically. The default is Do not record. This setting exists on both the user and the queue β if either is set to record, the call is recorded. Do not record: calls are not recorded automatically. Record from call start: recording starts from the moment the call first reaches the queue, which usually includes the ringtone and early media. Record after call is bridged: recording starts when the call parties are connected. Internal transfers and consultations between agents are always included. Record after call is bridged including external call transfer: same as above, but also covers calls that end up connecting two external parties with no agent activity to attach the recording to (e.g. after a transfer to an external number) β a standalone recording, not linked to any user, is created so that part of the call isn't lost. |
| Who to record | Select whether the recording contains only the agent, only the customer, or both sides of the call (the default). If the user and the queue are set differently, the queue setting is used. |
| Allow call recording start and stop | Select if the users calling via this queue can control when calls are recorded. If When to record calls automatically is Do not record but this is on, users can start recording manually. This setting exists on both the user and the queue β if either is set to "Yes", users can control recording. Off by default. |
| Recording retention | Select how many days to keep recordings of calls made using this queue. The value can't be more than the Maximum recording retention value which is set globally for the entire contact centre. Leave empty or set to 0 to use the Maximum queue recording retention value. |
| Notification when recording is started | Select the sound played when call recording starts. |
| Notification when recording is stopped | Select the sound played when call recording stops. |
| Thresholds (Extended) | |
| Threshold max time (Extended) | Calls waiting longer than the set time will turn red in the realtime panel and on wallboards. All three thresholds are unset (None) by default. |
| Threshold free users (Extended) | When fewer than the set number of agents is available, agents will turn red in the realtime panel and on wallboards. |
| Threshold waiting calls (Extended) | When more than the set number of calls is waiting, calls will turn red in the realtime panel and on wallboards. |
| Forms | |
| Use record form | Turn on if you want to use a record form. Don't forget to add the record form to your widgets using the grey Widgets button in the Actions column of the queue list. |
| Select records | Turn on to allow agents to manually pick and call any campaign records that meet the relevant conditions. |
| Skip records | Turn on to allow agents to manually pick and call any campaign records that meet the relevant conditions. |
| Campaigns | Select the campaigns you want to connect with this queue. If a call's phone number is part of a record in one of the campaigns selected here, agents can assign the call to the campaign record in the campaign widget. Example: Agent Fred opens a campaign form and makes a call but the customer does not answer. The customer calls back when they see the missed call and gets through to agent Jane. She will be able to assign the call to the original campaign and be able to use the same form as Fred. If no campaigns are selected , the new record will automatically be created in this queue. |
| Next targets | |
| Target if not answered | Select where the call will be routed if it is not answered β i.e. when Max. waiting time, Max. waiting count, Enter queue conditions or Remove from queue conditions are met. The default is to terminate (hang up) the call. |
| Target if answered | Select where the call will be routed after an answered call is ended by the agent. |
| Macro links (Extended) | |
| Links (Extended) | Set up an external URL, e.g. a customer card, that can be opened when using this queue. Name: enter the button label that appears when multiple addresses are set up. URL: enter an external URL address. You can use wildcards that will automatically be replaced with current values (all activity properties are available, e.g. {{user.title}} is the title of the user assigned to the activity). Open: enable to automatically open the external URL when an agent accepts an activity using this queue. Unique: when an agent has multiple activities in this queue open at the same time, enable to open each external URL in a separate new window. Disable to open in the same window. Popup: enable to open the external URL in a popup window instead of a new tab. Set up the width and height of the popup window. |
| Macro transport | |
| Transports (Extended) | Set up predefined activity transfers and invites for agents using this queue. Title : enter the name that will be displayed in the transfer/invite dropdown menu. Destination : enter the phone number queue or user number that you want to transfer to/invite Transfer and Invite : turn on the option you want to use or both. |
| Tickets | |
| Category | Select a category that will automatically be assigned to tickets created in activities using this queue. |
Distribution Strategy¶
The distribution strategy you select determines how activities that use the queue will be allocated to your agents, taking into account each agent's priority in the queue. The four strategies β Everyone, Everyone in Priority Order, Least Recent and Random in Priority Order β are described with examples in Distribution Strategies.
Notes¶
Auto call back: when a customer's call is missed, Daktela automatically calls the number back once an agent is available. The agent needs a device online and must not be on a pause, otherwise the auto callback won't work.
Max. waiting time and Agent ring time: even though Max. waiting time defines how long the caller can stay in the queue before being sent to the next target, in some cases they may actually remain in the queue longer β potentially up to the sum of Max. waiting time and Agent ring time. This is because Agent ring time defines how long agents have to answer calls. If the call starts ringing at an agent just before Max. waiting time runs out, the caller will stay in the queue until the agent answers or the agent's Agent ring time runs out too.
Example: Max. waiting time is set to 10 seconds and Agent ring time to 10 seconds.
- The caller is waiting in the queue for a free agent.
- After 7 seconds, an agent becomes available.
-
The call starts ringing at the agent.
- The agent doesn't answer and after 10 seconds, the call is routed to the next target. Total wait time is 17 seconds.
- The agent answers after 5 seconds. Total wait time is 12 seconds.
Not Working?¶
Calls don't ring, or callers wait forever? See Troubleshooting for the checks, in order.