PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM 9.1 Multichannel Applications PeopleBook

Working with Unified Agent Desktop

This chapter provides an overview of Multichannel Toolbar functionality and discusses how to use Multichannel Toolbar.

Understanding Multichannel Toolbar Functionality

When an agent (configured for voice, multichannel, or both queues) logs on to PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture and the application dispatcher launches successfully, the Multichannel Toolbar appears in a pagelet on the Pure Internet Architecture home page. The system then automatically logs the agent on to the voice queue and multichannel queue that are selected in the agent configuration. When logon completes, the toolbar notifies the agent of any incoming tasks that are passed from the agent's assigned queues.

Note. To use the Multichannel Toolbar, users must add the CRM Multichannel Toolbar pagelet to their home page and they must be configured as voice, multichannel, or blended agents.

The application dispatcher processes all events that happen between the Multichannel Toolbar and the Computer Telephony Interface (CTI) and universal queue servers.

Use the Multichannel Toolbar to:

Receive and process calls, emails, chat requests, and generic tasks.

The Multichannel Toolbar can display a maximum of two incoming task notifications concurrently waiting to be accepted. For voice tasks, appropriate action buttons appear based on the current state of the task. For example, if the voice task is currently in transfer, available actions are Hold and Release, not Accept and Release Hold.

Agents continue to receive incoming tasks until their preset maximum workload limit is reached. When this limit is reached, the agent status changes to unavailable for that queue.

Note. If agents are configured to automatically accept tasks, no notifications will be sent for those tasks. The task-specific work page appears automatically.
Resynchronize queues.

Sometimes the CRM CTI system may not be synchronized with the CTI switch. While the application dispatcher monitors the two systems and resynchronizes them when needed, agents can perform this action manually as well. A resynchronization restores the correct CTI state from the CTI system and updates it on the Multichannel Toolbar.
View queue statistics.

Agents can view statistics of the queues to which they log on. Information such as the number of tasks in a queue and the average wait time for tasks in the queue are available for review.

Important! It is recommended that you run Unified Agent Desktop on Internet Explorer version 7 or later.

Using Multichannel Toolbar

This section discusses how to:

Connect to voice and multichannel queues.
Accept incoming tasks.
Review queue statistics.
Navigate to different tasks.
Process phone calls.
Use the phone directory.
Process emails.
Process chat requests.
Switch agent status.
Switch to another queue.
Disconnect from voice or multichannel queues.

Connecting to Voice and Multichannel Queues

When agents (voice, multichannel, or blended) first log on to PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture, they are automatically logged on to the voice queue and the multichannel queue (if marked with the auto-login property) that are selected in the agent configuration through Multichannel Toolbar. The queue status of the connection is shown on the toolbar while the logon process is in progress. If the logon process fails, for example, the CTI server or multichannel queue server is not in service, error messages appear. Contact the system administrator and log on to the system at a later time.

If the connection to the corresponding server drop after an agent logs on to the system, the queue status automatically changes to Not in Service.

Accepting Incoming Tasks

Click task notifications that appear on the Multichannel Toolbar to accept new tasks.

For chat, email, and generic tasks, if the accept mode of any of these window preferences is set to automatic, notifications do not appear. When any of these tasks is routed to an agent, the acceptance becomes automatic and the corresponding workspace appears.

These examples show task, call, email, and chat notifications on the Multichannel Toolbar:

Note. If the length of the task description exceeds one single line, the remainder is truncated and displayed in ellipsis. To view the entire description, place the mouse over the task icon.

If an agent works on more than one open task concurrently, task-related action buttons for these tasks appear on the toolbar in each task window.

After an agent accepts a new incoming task, the application dispatcher passes state-specific details to allow the toolbar to:

Remove the notification from the toolbar and display the current task.
Render task-related action buttons on the toolbar, depending on the current state of the agent.
Register the accepted task in the task list.

The task appears in the task navigation window when the agent clicks the Switch To button on the toolbar.
Make task-specific queue statistics available in the queue status window.
Maintain the status or state of queues on to which the agent logs.

Note. If the agent closes the application dispatcher window while working on some tasks, the status area of the toolbar on each Unified Agent Desktop (UAD) window shows “Activate UAD Toolbar.” To relaunch the application dispatcher and reregister current tasks with the application dispatcher, the agent must click the “Activate UAD Toolbar” message in each task window. For voice task windows, it is recommended that the agent close them before restarting the application dispatcher.

The agent should log on to the PeopleSoft application again if all browser windows (including the initial home session) are closed.

Reviewing Queue Statistics

Click the queue status (this status must be available) on the Multichannel Toolbar to access queue details in the Queue Status window.

This example shows the Queue Status window:

Note. For voice queues only, the Resynchronize Queue option is available in the Queue Status window. Agents use this option to synchronize the CRM CTI system with the CTI switch manually. A resynchronization restores the correct CTI state from the CTI system and updates it on the Multichannel Toolbar.

Navigating to Different Tasks

Click the Switch To button on the Multichannel Toolbar to access the task navigation window.

If the agent works on multiple task windows concurrently, use this window to navigate to another open task or the initial browser session (indicated by the house icon) by clicking the appropriate icon or text description.

Processing Phone Calls

Access the call-related transaction page that appears after you accept a call on the Multichannel Toolbar.

When a call arrives, it carries call details to the CRM system. Call details contain a transaction ID that is used to identify the CRM transaction that appears on the agent's desktop when the call is accepted. For example, if the customer call is an inquiry to case number 116, its call details contain the transaction ID for the Case component and case number 116. Upon acceptance, the Case component appears in a separate browser window with information about case number 116.

Call-Specific Action Buttons

Depending on the current state of the call, different action buttons that pertain to the state appear. For example, when a call is on hold, only relevant action buttons, such as release, dial (using the other line), retrieve, and complete, are available on the toolbar. These call-specific action buttons are available for call processing:

(dial)	Click to dial out using an available phone line. A phone directory appears for phone number selection. Phone book entries are defined in the agent configuration.
(retrieve)	Click to retrieve the customer call from a hold state and continue the phone conversation.
(release)	Click to release the customer call after a transfer or the conversation ends.
(hold)	Click to place the customer call on hold. Click the Retrieve button to resume the call.
(transfer)	Click to transfer the customer call to an agent, a queue, or an external number without talking to the target party.
(conference)	Click to invite a target agent to join the customer call that is in progress. When the target agent accepts the conference request and session bookmark details are attached to the request, the customer chat window appears on the target agent's desktop and the task is registered to the task navigation list.
(consultative transfer)	Click to transfer the customer call to an agent, a queue, or an external number after talking to the target party. The customer call is placed on hold while waiting for the target party to respond. The agent can either retrieve the call if the target party doesn't reply or release the call after transferring the call to the target party.
(consult)	Click to dial out to an agent, a queue, or an external number using a second line while talking to a customer on the first line. The customer call is placed on hold while the agent awaits a response from the target party. After consultation completes, the agent releases the line 2 phone call and resumes the customer call on line 1.
(complete)	Click to end the customer call when it is in a hold state, to complete a transfer to an internal agent, or to join another voice agent to a conference.

Categorization

The agent needs to categorize the call after it is released or completed.

This example shows the Category field on the Multichannel Toolbar:

Category and Categorize

Select a category for the closed phone call and click the Categorize button to confirm the categorization. Default options are:

Case Inquiry.

Order Capture Inquiry.

Support Issues.

These category codes can be modified based on the business model of the customer.

See Defining Category Codes.

Using the Phone Directory

The phone directory appears when users perform these call actions: dial, transfer, conference, transfer, and consultative transfer.

This example shows the Phone Directory page:

The Phone Directory grid lists phone number entries that are defined in the agent's phone book.

Send Current Page	Click to attach the current page to the call segment and transfer it to the target party.
Recently Dialed	Displays the 10 most recently dialed phone numbers that agents can use to make calls.
Line 1/2	Select an open phone line to make an outbound call.
Phone Directory	Displays the phone book entries that you set up on the Voice Configuration page of the Configure Agent component.

Processing Emails

Access the email workspace to process email after accepting (manually or automatically) an email notification on the Multichannel Toolbar.

See Working with Inbound Email.

Processing Chat Requests

Access the chat workspace to process a chat request after accepting (manually or automatically) a chat notification on the Multichannel Toolbar.

Agent Chat

Click to initiate a chat session with any agent on the buddy list, whether or not the target agent is currently logged on or in an available state.

Agent buddy list for chat is established in the agent configuration.

Chat-Specific Action Buttons

(conference chat)	Click to access the Conference Chat dialog box to select an agent with whom to discuss the customer issue.
(forward chat)	Click to access the Transfer Chat dialog box to select a queue to transfer this chat session.
	Click to close this chat session. The chat window displays a drop-down list box for categorization purposes. Categorize the chat session appropriately using the values provided.

See Working with the Customer Chat Window.

Switching Agent Status

Click the queue status to switch agent status in the Queue Status window.

The agent uses this window to switch to another status by clicking the appropriate icon or text description.

Switching to Another Queue

Access the Switch Queues window by clicking Queues... in the Queue Status window.

This window lists all the available queues for the logon user. The queue onto which the agent currently logs is marked by a green check mark. To switch to another available queue, click the Login button of the target queue.

Disconnecting from Voice and Multichannel Queues

Click Disconnect Toolbar or Logoff in the Queue Status window to terminate all sessions, close the application dispatcher, and log off from the server. A message appears for agents to confirm the action.

Note. If the agent wants to reactivate the toolbar and clicks Activate UAD Toolbar on a window, the system first starts the application dispatcher if it's not up already, and registers only that window session to the application dispatcher. To reactivate the toolbar in other previously terminated window sessions and register them with the application dispatcher, click Activate UAD Toolbar in each of them.