Priority call handling in ContactPad

If priority call handling is enabled and configured for your account, agents eligible to receive priority calls can perform additional tasks relating to the calls. The feature also enables you to specify which calls are a priority. Such calls appear in priority calls lists in ContactPad. 

What are priority calls?

Calls that Vonage Contact Center routes to an agent's personal queue are, by default, priority calls. For information about personal queues, see Personal queues and Personal queues in ContactPad. Personal queue calls are priority calls for that agent only.

In addition to personal queue calls, you can define which calls are priority calls based on the skills required to handle them. For example, you can configure VCC to identify calls tagged with VIP or Urgent skills as priority calls. For information about configuring priority skill combinations, see Configuring virtual queues. Skills-based priority calls are for all agents with the required skills.

Priority calls in ContactPad

When the priority call handling feature is enabled for your account, ContactPad must be able to display multiple interactions. For information about multiple interactions in ContactPad, see ContactPad with multiple interactions. In addition, so that agents can handle priority calls effectively, ContactPad has some further changes.

If an eligible agent is available at the time that a priority call arrives, the call is routed to that agent as normal. If no eligible agent is available to handle the priority call, the call waits for one to become available.

When enabled for your account, an extended priority list appears in the queue information panel in ContactPad. In the extended priority list, up to five priority calls appear for eligible agents.

Priority calls appear in the priority calls list in ContactPad for all eligible agents. A black star appears alongside calls that are considered to be priority calls based on skills, rather than personal queue calls.

The screenshot shows two calls in the priority calls list. The first is a priority call based on required skills, the second is a personal call. The list shows up to a maximum of five calls.

If you want to set a value other than the caller's CLID to appear alongside the priority call in ContactPad, you can configure a display name. For information about setting a display name, see Setting a display name for an inbound interaction.

What happens when a call arrives in an agent's priority call list?

If enabled for your account, when an inbound call arrives in an agent's priority calls list, Vonage Contact Center sends a priority call notification to the agent's browser, and the agent can answer or accept the call in the usual way. The agent can also receive an audible notification of the call. For more information about call notifications, see Call notifications in ContactPad.

What can an agent do with a priority call?

If the agent is available when the call arrives, Vonage Contact Center routes the call to that agent as with non-priority calls. If the agent is working on another call or interaction and is therefore unavailable, the call appears in the priority calls list in ContactPad for all eligible agents.

When a priority call appears in their priority call list, the agent can claim the priority call. They can optionally end their existing call to receive the priority call immediately.

Claiming a call

When an agent has one or more priority calls in their priority calls list, the agent can claim one of the calls. Claiming a call removes it from all other eligible agents' priority call lists and reserves the call for the agent. Claiming prevents multiple eligible agents from ending their current calls to receive a call that only one agent will receive.

If the agent becomes available within the time that the claim is valid — 20 seconds — the call is delivered to that agent. If the agent does not become available before the claim expires, the call is no longer reserved and appears in the priority call lists for all eligible agents.

Expired claims appear in the information panel in the agent who claimed the call's ContactPad.

For more information about claiming a call, see Handling priority calls in ContactPad.