Handle calls

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.

Set up phones to receive calls

To be able to receive calls, you must ensure you are using the correct phone number. To change your 8x8 Contact Center telephone number:

  1. Log in to the 8x8 Contact Center app.
  2. Click the status menu option and change your status to Work Offline.
  3. The app makes you unavailable for new interactions.
  4. Go to My Profile > Settings.
  5. Select and enter your Workplace Phone or Workplace SIP URI. You must validate your workplace setting to begin processing phone interactions. See how to validate your workplace number.
  6. Click Call phone to verify if the phone works.
  7. For information about valid telephone numbers, see How to format your telephone number entries.
  8. Click Save settings.

Note: If you do not have permission to change your phone number or the SIP Phone URI, the phone number fields are disabled.

View assigned queues

To process phone and chat interactions from the 8x8 Contact Center, 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 queue.
  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.

Note: 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 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 there is a matching record for the caller in the Salesforce CRM, the customer record pops. If no customer record is found, a New Case pops.

Note: If the call times out, the 8x8 Contact Center app changes your status to on Break.

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 Salesforce CRM for a matching customer record. Depending on the situation, the search may return:
  • No matching records: The search yields no results for the customer and the CRM screen pops a New Case tab.
  • A single matching record: The search yields a single matching record and pops the customer record.
  • 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. Click the avatar and manually select the record to link the call log to.

Note: By default, the CRM matches the case to the first match in the list.


  1. To add your notes for the interaction, while on the call, select Notes under the call controls. Type the relevant notes in the 8x8 Contact Center section. The notes display in the comments section of the call log generated post wrap up.

    2. Note: Additional notes fields may display in the 8x8 Contact Center app. These custom notes fields are set up by the 8x8 Professional Services team.

  2. Click Hang up to end the call. The post-processing time initiates.
  3. If required, select a disposition code.

    4. Note: The 8x8 Professional Services team may provide customization for disposition codes.

  4. Click Wrap up.
  5. A call log is automatically generated and added to the task record. The call log typically includes information on the transaction ID, call initiation time, call termination time, call duration, tenant, queue, notes, and more.

What is the screen pop behavior for a phone call?

If enabled by your administrator, you can receive a screen pop when receiving a call. During an inbound call, the 8x8 Contact Center application searches the Salesforce CRM for a matching customer record. On finding a matching record, it presents the record for you to preview and prepare for the call. This process is referred to as screen pop. With Salesforce integration, the screen pop occurs when an interaction is connected for inbound calls or when an outbound call is offered.

The number of matching records is displayed in the call panel and in the lower left of the customer’s avatar after accepting the interaction.

When an interaction is offered, the CRM search may return:

  • No matching records: The search yields no results for the customer and the CRM screen pops a New Case tab.

  • A single matching record: The search yields a single matching record and pops the customer record.

  • 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. Click the avatar and manually select the record to link the call log to.
    By default, the CRM matches the case to the first match in the list.

What is the call log behavior?

Upon terminating a call, the 8x8 Contact Center app generates a call log. The call log typically includes information on the transaction ID, call initiation time, call termination time, call duration, tenant, queue, and more.

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

  • No matching records: In the absence of a matching record, the call panel displays in text that zero matching records were found. After answering the call, the avatar also shows the number zero to indicate there are no matching records found. The call is logged.
  • A single matching record: If there is a single matching record, the call log is created and associated as a task to the record. The call panel displays in text that one record was found. After answering the call, the avatar also shows the number one to indicate there is one matching record found.
  • Multiple matching records: If there are multiple matching records, the call panel displays in text the number of records found. After answering the call, the avatar also shows a number which indicates how many matching records were found . The call log is created and associated as a task to the record selected by the agent or the first record in the list.

Note: The call log behavior changes when Auto selected possible match is enabled. For more information, refer to Matching the call log to a record when Auto-selected possible match is enabled.

Matching the call log to a record when Auto-selected possible match is enabled

The Auto-selected possible match feature enables the 8x8 Contact Center app to automatically select the active CRM record as a possible match for the call log even if it was originally matched to another contact. If you select another object before wrapping up the call, the 8x8 Contact Center app matches the active object to the call log. To ensure the correct record is assigned to the call log, click the avatar and manually select the desired record.

The Auto-selected possible match feature is enabled at customer level by default.

Let's say as an agent, you are in the process of contacting Anna from AcmeJets regarding an outstanding invoice. While previewing Anna's contact details, you receive a call from Robin, another customer. Upon answering the call, Robin's contact details pop in a new tab. While on the call with Robin, you select Anna's contact tab. When you end the call with Robin, because the active tab is that of Anna, the CRM selects Anna as a possible match for the call log. To ensure the call log is matched to the correct record, click the avatar and select Robin from the list. After you wrap up the call, the call log pops and displays the selected customer record.

How to place outbound calls?

You can place outbound calls to agents and customers using the 8x8 Contact Center app or click-to-call. If your contact center administrator has set up phone codes, you must also select the correct code to apply to your outbound calls.

To place an outbound call from the 8x8 Contact Center app:

  1. Enter the phone number in the Make a call field.
    -OR-
    Click Add interaction > Call and use the dial pad to enter the phone number.

    2. Note: If the number has been dialed before, it displays in the call history list; when you see the correct phone number, select it.

  2. When prompted, select a reason for the call.

    3. Note: The system remembers your selection. If you wish to change the reason for calling, click Change.

  3. Click the phone icon to initiate the call.
    If the phone number is linked to a contact, the customer record pops.
  4. Your agent telephone rings first. Answer the call.
  5. The call is then directed to the destination.

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 have8x8 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.

Set reminders

Follow-up tasks/reminders can be scheduled for both 8x8 Contact Center and Salesforce if required.

To configure reminders, contact the 8x8 Professional Services team.