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Agent ID = DID??? 1

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mmagen

Technical User
May 24, 2010
31
US
I need to conduct a poll of Avaya users and administrators. We were told by Avaya Call Center Consultants to use a DID extension for the Agent IDs, and a non-DID extension for the telephones. Is this standard procedure? Does everyone do it this way? My problem is that we have only recently converted to EAS, so everyone in the call center still thinks that their Agent ID is their extension, so we have delays in addressing issues that pertain to the physical telephone, (i.e., abbreviated dials). If the agent isn't logged in, we don't know what station to modify. Oh, yes, and they MOVE ALL THE TIME, so we can't keep a list accurate more than a day or two. Just wondering what everyone else does in their Call Center. Thanks for any advice, Mike.
 
We DO NOT use DID numbers in most of my call centers, except for the department supervisors and managers. There is one exception - our collections department - where the agents actually do need to receive direct calls.

Part of the correct answer lies in the type of call center you are supporting, and the type of calls. If the majority of the calls NEED to be answered by a specific individual, then DID numbers are fine for the logon ID's (this is called Direct Agent Dialing). If, however, the majority of calls can be answered by any available agent with the appropriate skill set, then DO NOT use DID numbers.

In my largest two call centers (the ones where the staff moves around, oh, every few hours), I use non-DID numbers for both the stations and the logon ID's. However, I do publish the agent ID numbers in the phone list as the individual extension, and I have a coverage path (pointing back to the group queue) for each agent ID. That way, calls to the agent ID can still be answered if the agent is either on a call, or if they are not logged in. Stations are all set up identically to each other; no changes allowed. The station names are all "Call Center", and I use a group abbreviated-dial list for any AD needs.

Susan
“Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes.
Then, when you criticize them, you are a mile away ...
and you have their shoes.”
 
Susan, thanks! This is great advice that I can use to help make my Call Centers a little more "admin friendly". BTW, who's shoes do you have on today? :)
 
We do use DIDs for agent IDs and non-DID for the stations. We record all stations and our agents know it as we pay for perfomrance as well. Most all DID calls to an agent would be personal. As we keep our agents fairly busy with calls, most of their calls go to voice mail anyway.

 
Thanks, dlewis3414 for the info. This was also our reasoning behind the recommendation to use DIDs for Agent IDs. How do you handle moving of Call Center personnel? Any issues?
 
I have done it both ways. But I would agree with Susan. Standards phone setup in the call center. And only give out DID to the few supervisor that need them, or collection type units. In my last job, agents could only make personal calls on the break room phones. If they made them from there desk, it could get them canned.
 
Thanks, David. This is the approach I would like to take, but it can be difficult to change "what we've always done". I am trying to collect as much information as I can in a short time from actual users and administrators to make my case to my management and the Call Center management (not the same people, unfortunately).
 
When I was discussing the "no DID" strategy to my Call Center supervisors, the best selling point was the fact to moving staff around became an internal department-only activity, without the need to involve other departments/staff or to submit a ticket to our Help Desk for the move.

In addition, I set the stations up with a COR that is restricted to 911 and internal dialing only. Although personal calls are not forbidden, they are limited - and the users MUST be logged into the telephone in order to make them, so the record of the calls is available in all of our reporting adjuncts (CMS, call recording, etc., etc.)

Susan
“Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes.
Then, when you criticize them, you are a mile away ...
and you have their shoes.”
 
Thanks again, Susan. As you know, moves in the Call Center are like death and taxes - certain to happen. This is one of the things that has prompted me to start this thread looking for advice and information. When we first discussed EAS, I tried to get a concensus that we would program all of the agent phones the same (for the most part), make the agent ID their previous DID extension, and just add a 1 in front of their agent ID to be their phone extension. Sounds simple, right? WRONG! That worked for about two days. So now I have agents at phones that don't "match" anymore, and no easy way to undo what I've messed up. I thought I could control the moves, boy, was I wrong. The agents move anyway, and we get a ticket called in that they're not recording or can't log in, etc. Why did I take this job?
 
Call Centers vary by type and by management. That being said, here is my idea of a base line:
Supervisor Desk(s) – Phone extension DID; Reason-Supervisors are typically centralized and rotate around the same phone(s). If you need a supervisor, you typically don’t care which supervisor.
Supervisor Agent ID – Non-DID, unless they need individual voicemail.
Agent Desks – Non-DID. Talk to Center Supervisors/Managers about assigning Desk Numbers which are static and don’t move. Set Non-DID number plan that associates a phone extension to the Desk Number. Than Supervisors are responsible for assigning Agents to a desk for their shift.
Agent IDs – Non-DID unless they work in a billing capacity where they are called directly for certain accounts.
 
Thanks, Textron68, this is good info. I was wondering if Supervisors needed an agent ID, and if it should be DID or non-DID. I guess they do if they ever need to take calls, and wouldn't necessarily expect callers to leave a voicemail. I like the idea of associating the phone extension to a desk location of some sort, that will satisfy my need to know what extension is where. We still have older Call Masters that require labels, and they don't always survive the agent's carelessness.

Mike

Why does the light always have to be at the end of the tunnel?
 
I use DID for agent login ID then non DID for station. I also map the voicemail using agent login ID extension so that even though they move around the MWI will light up wherever they logged in. (If someone leaves a message)

Actually most of the deployment will based on customer requirement NOT the PBX administrator, its a matter of techniques how you deploy :)
 
Thanks, uzumaki, for this insight. You're right, it is a matter of customer requirement, and not necessarily PBX administrator. Everyone has their exceptions and special cases. I am curious how you get your MWI to work reliably by using the flag on the agent ID screen. Mine doesn't seem to work when I do that, so I have to change the station MWI all the time, which is a pain. Let me know what you've found that works. Thank you.

Mike

Why does the light always have to be at the end of the tunnel?
 
ummm... not so sure what is the exact page but it is on the "cha sys fea", you can choose where to point the MWI, either agent login ID or station. Look for the page wherein all about "call center" parameters.
 
Yes, it's on page 11, and I have it set for loginID, but it doesn't work. I still have to go in on the station form and mark the MWI there for the agentID extension. Is yours blank, or set for the extension or agent ID?

Mike

Why does the light always have to be at the end of the tunnel?
 
There is something else on your config thats why it doesnt work. How many digits is your station? Is your MWI TSC setup correctly? What voicemail are u using? MM, IA770 or LX?

On station form, configure it like the normal configuration that you do. Check your "disp sys cov". Because mine when i configured it, its flawless. I just followed the manual.
 
We have an Intuity Audix version 5.1, extension length is five digits for the station and four for the agent ID. We don't use QSIG for integration, just analog ports and CLAN. None of our locations is remote, so I only have one switch ID.

Mike

Why does the light always have to be at the end of the tunnel?
 
I know whats your problem. Can u post here the "disp sys fea" I'm about to sleep actually because im on the other side of the world hehe.
 
Sorry, I took the afternoon off, and just now getting back to you. Looks like I'll be waiting till tomorrow when you get back in. I didn't know if you needed to see the whole report or not, but here it is:

Voice System name: Headquarters - FEATURE-RELATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS
Self Station Display Enabled? y
Trunk-to-Trunk Transfer: none
Automatic Callback - No Answer Timeout Interval (rings): 3
Call Park Timeout Interval (minutes): 3
Off-Premises Tone Detect Timeout Interval (seconds): 25
AAR/ARS Dial Tone Required? y

Music (or Silence) on Transferred Trunk Calls? no
DID/Tie/ISDN/SIP Intercept Treatment: attd
Internal Auto-Answer of Attd-Extended/Transferred Calls: transferred
Automatic Circuit Assurance (ACA) Enabled? n





Abbreviated Dial Programming by Assigned Lists? n
Auto Abbreviated/Delayed Transition Interval (rings): 2
Protocol for Caller ID Analog Terminals: Bellcore
Display Calling Number for Room to Room Caller ID Calls? n

FEATURE-RELATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS
LEAVE WORD CALLING PARAMETERS
Maximum Number of Messages Per Station: 10
Maximum Number of External Calls Logged Per Station: 0
Message Waiting Indication for External Calls? n
Stations with System-wide Retrieval Permission (enter extension)
1: 5291 9: 17: 25:
2: 10: 18: 26:
3: 11: 19: 27:
4: 12: 20: 28:
5: 13: 21: 29:
6: 14: 22: 30:
7: 15: 23:
8: 16: 24:

Prohibit Bridging Onto Calls With Data Privacy? n
Enhanced Abbreviated Dial Length (3 or 4): 4
Default Multimedia Outgoing Trunk Parameter Selection: 2x64




FEATURE-RELATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS
TTI/PSA PARAMETERS

WARNING! SEE USER DOCUMENTATION BEFORE CHANGING TTI STATE

Terminal Translation Initialization (TTI) Enabled? y
TTI State: voice TTI Security Code: 123


Default COR for Dissociated Sets:

Unnamed Registrations and PSA for IP Telephones? n
Customer Telephone Activation(CTA) Enabled? n
Don't Answer Criteria For Logged Off IP/PSA/TTI Stations? n

EMU PARAMETERS
EMU Inactivity Interval for Deactivation(hours):

CALL PROCESSING OVERLOAD MITIGATION
Restrict Calls: stations-first


FEATURE-RELATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS
Reserved Slots for Attendant Priority Queue: 5
Time before Off-hook Alert: 10
Emergency Access Redirection Extension:
Number of Emergency Calls Allowed in Attendant Queue: 5
Maximum Number of Digits for Directed Group Call Pickup:4
Call Pickup on Intercom Calls? y Call Pickup Alerting? y
Temporary Bridged Appearance on Call Pickup? y Directed Call Pickup? y
Extended Group Call Pickup: none

Deluxe Paging and Call Park Timeout to Originator? n
Controlled Outward Restriction Intercept Treatment: tone
Controlled Termination Restriction (Do Not Disturb): tone
Controlled Station to Station Restriction: tone
AUTHORIZATION CODE PARAMETERS Authorization Codes Enabled? n




Controlled Toll Restriction Replaces: none


FEATURE-RELATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS

SYSTEM PRINTER PARAMETERS
Endpoint: Lines Per Page: 57

SYSTEM-WIDE PARAMETERS
Switch Name: American Gen Finance
Emergency Extension Forwarding (min): 10
Enable Inter-Gateway Alternate Routing? n
Enable Dial Plan Transparency in Survivable Mode? n
COR to Use for DPT: station

MALICIOUS CALL TRACE PARAMETERS
Apply MCT Warning Tone? n MCT Voice Recorder Trunk Group:
Delay Sending RELease (seconds)? 0
SEND ALL CALLS OPTIONS
Send All Calls Applies to: station Auto Inspect on Send All Calls? y

UNIVERSAL CALL ID
Create Universal Call ID (UCID)? n UCID Network Node ID:


FEATURE-RELATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS
Public Network Trunks on Conference Call: 5 Auto Start? n
Conference Parties with Public Network Trunks: 6 Auto Hold? n
Conference Parties without Public Network Trunks: 6 Attendant Tone? y
Night Service Disconnect Timer (seconds): 180 Bridging Tone? n
Short Interdigit Timer (seconds): 3 Conference Tone? n
Unanswered DID Call Timer (seconds): Intrusion Tone? n
Line Intercept Tone Timer (seconds): 30 Mode Code Interface? n
Long Hold Recall Timer (seconds): 0
Reset Shift Timer (seconds): 0
Station Call Transfer Recall Timer (seconds): 0 Recall from VDN? n
DID Busy Treatment: tone

Allow AAR/ARS Access from DID/DIOD? n
Allow ANI Restriction on AAR/ARS? n
Use Trunk COR for Outgoing Trunk Disconnect? n
7405ND Numeric Terminal Display? n 7434ND? n
DISTINCTIVE AUDIBLE ALERTING
Internal: 1 External: 2 Priority: 3
Attendant Originated Calls: external
DTMF Tone Feedback Signal to VRU - Connection: Disconnection:

FEATURE-RELATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS

CONFERENCE/TRANSFER
Abort Transfer? n No Dial Tone Conferencing? n
Transfer Upon Hang-Up? n Select Line Appearance Conferencing? n
Abort Conference Upon Hang-Up? n Unhold? n
No Hold Conference Timeout: 60

External Ringing for Calls with Trunks? n
ANALOG BUSY AUTO CALLBACK
Without Flash? n



AUDIX ONE-STEP RECORDING
Recording Delay Timer (msec): 500
Apply Ready Indication Tone To Which Parties In The Call? all
Interval For Applying Periodic Alerting Tone (seconds): 15
Audix Recording Display? n
POSTED MESSAGE
Require Security Code? n

FEATURE-RELATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS

ISDN PARAMETERS
PARAMETERS FOR CREATING
Send Non-ISDN Trunk Group Name as Connected Name? y QSIG SELECTION NUMBERS
Display Connected Name/Number for ISDN DCS Calls? y Network Level: 0
Send ISDN Trunk Group Name on Tandem Calls? y Level 2 Code:
Send Custom Messages Through QSIG? n Level 1 Code:

QSIG/ETSI TSC Extension:
MWI - Number of Digits Per Voice Mail Subscriber: 5
Feature Plus Ext:
National CPN Prefix:
International CPN Prefix:
Pass Prefixed CPN to ASAI? n
Unknown Numbers Considered Internal for AUDIX? n
USNI Calling Name for Outgoing Calls? n
Path Replacement with Measurements? y
QSIG Path Replacement Extension:
Path Replace While in Queue/Vectoring? n


FEATURE-RELATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS

CPN/ANI/ICLID PARAMETERS
CPN/ANI/ICLID Replacement for Restricted Calls:
CPN/ANI/ICLID Replacement for Unavailable Calls:

DISPLAY TEXT
Identity When Bridging: principal

INTERNATIONAL CALL ROUTING PARAMETERS
Local Country Code:
International Access Code:

ENBLOC DIALING PARAMETERS
Enable Enbloc Dialing without ARS FAC? n

CALLER ID ON CALL WAITING PARAMETERS
Caller ID on Call Waiting Delay Timer (msec): 200




FEATURE-RELATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS

Pull Transfer: n Update Transferred Ring Pattern? n
Outpulse Without Tone? y Wait Answer Supervision Timer? n
Misoperation Alerting? n Repetitive Call Waiting Tone? n
Allow Conference via Flash? y
Vector Disconnect Timer (min): Network Feedback During Tone Detection? y
Hear Zip Tone Following VOA? n System Updates Time On Station Displays? y

Station Tone Forward Disconnect: silence
Level Of Tone Detection: precise
Charge Display Update Frequency (seconds): 30
Date Format on Terminals: mm/dd/yy
Onhook Dialing on Terminals? y




ITALIAN DCS PROTOCOL
Italian Protocol Enabled? n


FEATURE-RELATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS
CALL CENTER SYSTEM PARAMETERS
EAS
Expert Agent Selection (EAS) Enabled? y
Minimum Agent-LoginID Password Length: 4
Direct Agent Announcement Extension: Delay:
Message Waiting Lamp Indicates Status For: loginID

VECTORING
Converse First Data Delay: 1 Second Data Delay: 1
Converse Signaling Tone (msec): 70 Pause (msec): 70
Prompting Timeout (secs): 10
Interflow-qpos EWT Threshold: 2
Reverse Star/Pound Digit For Collect Step? n
Available Agent Adjustments for BSR? n
BSR Tie Strategy: 1st-found
Store VDN Name in Station's Local Call Log? n
SERVICE OBSERVING
Service Observing: Warning Tone? n or Conference Tone? n
Service Observing Allowed with Exclusion? n
Allow Two Observers in Same Call? n

FEATURE-RELATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS

AGENT AND CALL SELECTION
MIA Across Splits or Skills? y
ACW Agents Considered Idle? y
Call Selection Measurement: current-wait-time
Service Level Supervisor Call Selection Override? n
Auto Reserve Agents: none


CALL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
REPORTING ADJUNCT RELEASE
CMS (appl mis): R14
CCR (appl ccr):

BCMS/VuStats LoginIDs? y
BCMS/VuStats Measurement Interval: hour
BCMS/VuStats Abandon Call Timer (seconds):
Validate BCMS/VuStats Login IDs? n
Clear VuStats Shift Data: on-login
Remove Inactive BCMS/VuStats Agents? n

FEATURE-RELATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS

CALL CENTER MISCELLANEOUS
Clear Callr-info: on-call-release
Allow Ringer-off with Auto-Answer? n
Service Level Algorithm for SLM: actual
Reporting for PC Non-Predictive Calls? n


ASAI
Copy ASAI UUI During Conference/Transfer? n
Call Classification After Answer Supervision? n
Send UCID to ASAI? n









FEATURE-RELATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS
REASON CODES
Aux Work Reason Code Type: forced
Logout Reason Code Type: none
Two-Digit Aux Work Reason Codes? n

REDIRECTION ON IP CONNECTIVITY FAILURE
Switch Hook Query Response Timeout:
Auto-answer IP Failure Aux Work Reason Code: 0

MAXIMUM AGENT OCCUPANCY PARAMETERS
Maximum Agent Occupancy Percentage: 100
Maximum Agent Occupancy Aux Work Reason Code: 9

FORCED AGENT LOGOUT PARAMETERS
Maximum Time Agent in ACW before Logout (sec):
ACW Forced Logout Reason Code: 9
Clock Time Forced Logout Reason Code: 9




FEATURE-RELATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS

SPECIAL TONE
Special Dial Tone? n


















FEATURE-RELATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS

PARAMETERS FOR INTEGRATED DIRECTORY OVER DCS (IDS+) SA7578

Number of Sessions Allowed: 20
Congestion Timer(msec): 3000
Session Time-out(msec): 5000
Congestion Cleared Timer(sec): 10
Signaling Group Limit: 20
DCS+ Message Format (digits): 5












FEATURE-RELATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS

AUTOMATIC EXCLUSION PARAMETERS
Automatic Exclusion by COS? n




Recall Rotary Digit: 2

Duration of Call Timer Display (seconds): 3
WIRELESS PARAMETERS
Radio Controllers with Download Server Permission (enter board location)
1: 2: 3: 4: 5:

IP PARAMETERS
Direct IP-IP Audio Connections? y
IP Audio Hairpinning? y
RUSSIAN MULTI-FREQUENCY PACKET SIGNALING
Re-try? n
T2 (Backward Signal) Activation Timer (secs): 20

FEATURE-RELATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS

INTERCEPT TREATMENT PARAMETERS
Invalid Number Dialed Intercept Treatment: tone
Invalid Number Dialed Display:
Restricted Number Dialed Intercept Treatment: tone
Restricted Number Dialed Display:
Intercept Treatment On Failed Trunk Transfers? n

WHISPER PAGE
Whisper Page Tone Given To: all

6400/8400/2420J LINE APPEARANCE LED SETTINGS
Station Putting Call On Hold: green wink
Station When Call is Active: steady
Other Stations When Call Is Put On Hold: green wink
Other Stations When Call Is Active: green
Ringing: green flash
Idle: steady
Display Information With Bridged Call? n
Pickup On Transfer? y

Thanks,

Mike

Why does the light always have to be at the end of the tunnel?
 
MWI - Number of Digits Per Voice Mail Subscriber: 5 --- make this blank.

Question: Is your voicemail working properly? I mean does it send MWI to other stations before?
 
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