Handle calls in the 8x8 integration for Microsoft Dynamics

To receive or place calls using the 8x8 Contact Center app, you must:

  • Be a member of the call queue to which the call is routed.
  • Set your status to Available.

What happens when I am offered a call?

If the application is open and your status is Available, when a call is offered, your phone rings and a call panel displays, indicating an incoming interaction. You can preview the caller info from the call panel. Answer the call. If the call is from an existing customer, the customer record opens in a new browser tab. If the CRM search yields multiple search results, the number of matches displays on the call panel and, after answering, in the customer’s avatar. Click the avatar and manually select the record to which to link the call log. Upon terminating the call, a call log displays in a new browser tab.

View assigned queues

To process phone and chat interactions from the 8x8 Contact Center app, you must be a member of phone and chat queues.

Note: Phone queues are separately defined for inbound and outbound communication.

To view your assigned queues:

  1. Log in to the 8x8 Contact Center app.
  2. Click Ready to work or Work Offline to start the session.
  3. Click My assigned queues to view the status of the queues you are a member of.
    -OR-
    Select Show menu > My assigned queues.
  4. Select the desired media queue such as chat queue or phone queue to assign them to yourself, or clear the queue assignment check box to opt out of a queue.
  5. Click Confirm selections and continue to work.

Notes:
- If no queues are listed, go to Change status > My Profile > Queues. Click the check-box to enable the desired media queue such as chat or phone queue and click Save queues.
- You can change the settings in My profile or in your assigned queues if permitted by your tenant administrator.

What is a typical inbound call flow?

  1. When a call is offered, your phone rings, and a call panel displays.
  2. Answer the call.
  3. The system searches the Microsoft Dynamics CRM for a matching customer record. Depending on the situation, the search may return:
    • No matching records: The search yields no results and the CRM screen pops a New Contact form in a new browser tab.
    • A single matching record: The search yields a single matching record and pops the customer record in a new browser tab.
    • Multiple matching records: The search yields multiple search results but the CRM does not generate a screen pop. The number of matches displays on the call panel and, after answering, in the customer’s avatar. Click the avatar and manually select the record to which to link the call log.
  4. To add your notes for the interaction, select Notes under the call controls.
  5. Click Hang up to end the call. The post-processing time initiates.
  6. If required, select a disposition code.
  7. Click Wrap up.
    The call log pops in a new browser tab.

What is the screen pop behavior?

  1. When a call is offered, your phone rings and a call panel displays.
  2. Answer the call.
  3. The system searches the Microsoft Dynamics CRM for a matching customer record. Depending on the situation, the search may return:
    • No matching records: The search yields no results and the CRM screen pops a New Contact form in a new browser tab.
    • A single matching record: The search yields a single matching record and pops the customer record in a new browser tab.
    • Multiple matching records: The search yields multiple search results but the CRM does not generate a screen pop. The number of matches displays on the call panel and, after answering, in the customer’s avatar. Click the avatar and manually select the record to which to link the call log.

What is the call log behavior?

Upon terminating a call, the 8x8 Contact Center app generates a call log. The call log opens in a new browser tab and includes information such as the caller name, call direction, call duration, call initiation time, call termination time, call duration, transaction ID, notes, and more. A call log is created for inbound and outbound interactions and is automatically saved as an Activity.

Depending on the number of matches, the call log can be linked to the customer record as follows:

  • No matching records: In the absence of a matching record, the call log indicates the lack of a matching record by displaying only the phone number in the call log details. The call is logged and can be accessed from the Activities page.
  • Single matching record: If there is a matching record, the call log is created and associated as an Activity to the record.
  • Multiple matching records: In the event of multiple matching records, there will be no screen pop. The call log is created and associated as an Activity to the first record in the list or the record selected by the agent.

How to place outbound calls?

You can place outbound calls using:

  • Control Panel: Allows you to dial outbound calls from the control panel by simply entering the desired number and clicking to place the call.

8x8 Contact Center uses a two-step process to dial an outbound call.

To place an outbound call:

  1. Enter a customer phone number directly in the Make a call field.
    -OR-
    Click Add interaction > Call, and enter the desired phone number in the dial pad.
  2. Click .
  3. If set up by your administrator, select the reason for the call.
  4. Click Confirm and dial.

Note: You are only prompted to select the dialing reason once. The Contact Center app remembers your selection. To change the dialing reason, after adding the phone number, click Change and select a different dialing reason.

  1. Your agent telephone rings first. Answer the call. The call is then directed to the destination. Your external phone number rings next.
  2. If the phone number is linked to a contact, the contact record pops in a new browser tab after the call connects.

Contact your supervisor for your contact center's policies to place outbound calls.

  • Click-to-dial: Allows you to click and dial the phone numbers from the customer records.

If configured by your administrator, you are able to click and dial phone numbers from records in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Transfer calls

Warm and cold call transfers between agents is now supported. This new integrated functionality aims to increase efficiency in communication and improve customer experience.

Let’s say as an agent, you receive a call from a customer with questions that are best suited for a more experienced agent. You can now transfer the call to the agent that can provide a solution to the customer. While on a call, click the transfer icon, and select:

  • Warm Transfer: Implies notifying the agent you wish to transfer the call to before transferring the call. The customer is placed on hold while you are connected with the other agent. After briefing the agent, you can complete the transfer.
  • Cold Transfer (blind transfer): The call is transferred without notifying the other agent. The agent receiving the call transfer will not see which agent transferred the call. If the second agent does not answer the phone, and the agent does not have 8x8 Contact Center voicemail set up, the call is dropped after the timeout period. For information about your contact center's timeout interval, contact your contact center administrator

Notes:
- A warm/cold transfer can only be performed if the agent you are transferring the call to has the status set to Available.
- The agent receiving the warm/cold transfer via an agent/queue/direct agent routing is presented with a screen pop with the customer information if a record of the customer already exists in the CRM. If the search does not yield a matching record, the system pops a new record entry screen.
- The call context such as the reason for the call, the reason for the call transfer, the agent's notes, etc., is not transferred.