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.

What happens when I am offered a call?

If the application is open, the Phone tab blinks red, indicating an inbound interaction. Click to answer the phone, the end-user record opens in a browser tab, even if the 8x8 Contact Center app is closed.

What is a typical inbound call flow?

When a call is offered, the phone tab blinks red.
If the caller is an existing customer, the end-user record opens in a browser tab, allowing you to preview the customer details and prepare to greet accordingly.
Answer the call.
In the 8x8 Contact Center app, click the Search tab.
If there is a matching record for the caller in the CRM, the record appears in Salesforce.
Note: If Search does not work (does not return results), a possible reason is that you do not have access to one or more of the following fields in Salesforce: Contact, Entity, or Lead. Contact your administrator if this issue occurs.
To add your notes for the interaction, while on the call, go to the Search > Wrap up > Notes and enter your notes regarding the interaction. When you click Save, your notes are saved in the Salesforce database and associated with the contact. It enables you to take notes while still on the call, hence increasing your speed and efficiency

Note: We can customize other fields such as outcome, due date, and more. Contact 8x8, Inc. Professional Services for more questions.
Click Save.
Click End Call. The post-processing time initiates. It gives you more time to wrap up notes for the call.
Note: Your administrator sets the post-processing timer. If the post-processing countdown interval reaches zero, 8x8 Contact Center automatically sets your status to Available.
If applicable, click End Post Processing or wait for the call to terminate.
At the termination of the call, 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, and more.
Click Work Offline if you need more time to complete any post-processing task.

What is the screen pop behavior for a phone call?

If enabled by your administrator, you can receive a screen pop. During an inbound call, the 8x8 Contact Center application looks up the phone number of the caller and then searches for a matching record in the CRM. 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 search may return:

A single match: The matching record is presented in a new browser tab. Upon the termination of the call, 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, etc. The optional information added by the agent, also appears on the call log.
Multiple matches: In the event of multiple matching contacts, the 8x8 Contact Center app lists all matches in the Search tab. By default, the call log is associated with the top matching record in the list. You can select another record in the list to associate the call with and view the call log details. Click next to the desired record to view the details.
No match: In the absence of matching records, a new case opens up ready to update. Upon ending the Post processing, a call log will be created and attached to the task.

What is the call log behavior?

Upon terminating a call, the 8x8 Contact Center app generates a call log. The call log includes information such as transaction ID, the time the call was answered, and the duration of the call. A call log is created for inbound and outbound interactions and automatically saved as a Task. You can change the status of the activity to complete or any desired state.

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

Single match: If there is a matching record, the call log is created and associated as an Activity or a Task to the record.
Multiple matches: In the event of multiple matching contacts, there is no screen pop. The call log is created and associated as an Activity or a Task to the first record in the list.
No match: In the absence of a matching record, a message indicates the lack of a matching record. The call is logged.

How to place outbound calls?

You can place outbound calls to agents and customers using the control panel or click-to-dial. If your contact center administrator has set up phone codes, you must also select the correct code to apply the right calling line ID to your outbound calls.

Making calls using control panel: You can make outbound calls from the control panel by simply entering the desired number in the Phone tab and clicking Dial. The 8x8 Contact Center app uses a two-step process to dial an outbound call:

Your agent telephone rings first. Answer the call.
The call is then directed to the destination. Your external phone number rings next.
If the phone number is linked to a contact, the contact record pops after the call connects. A task page appears after the call is terminated with a call log attached to that page.
Note: If the off-hook connection is enabled by the administrator, and agent in the agent Profile, the offered calls are instantly connected. You can hear 8x8 Contact Center ringing the customer for the outbound calls without the need to connect the agent’s workplace phone for every call handled. For details, see our content about off-hook in Agent Console Guide. Contact your supervisor for your contact center's policies to place outbound calls.

Making calls using Click-to-dial: If configured by your administrator, you are able to click and dial phone numbers from records inside the CRM.

Select Outbound Phone Codes

If your contact center administrator has set up phone codes, you have to select the appropriate codes to apply the right calling line ID to your outbound calls.

To select Outbound Phone Codes:

Dial a number to call, and click Dial in the Control Panel.
The outbound phone code list shows.
Select a code from the list and click Dial.
The calling line ID associated with the code applies to the call and the call dials out.

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.