Activating and configuring omnichannel routing

Fastpath: Admin Center > Objects and rules > Omnichannel routing > Routing configuration

There are multiple considerations and steps required to activate and begin using omnichannel routing with unified agent status. This article explains how to activate the feature and manage your settings.

It contains the following topics:

• Considerations before turning on omnichannel routing
• Turning on omnichannel routing
• Setting up a routing configuration

Considerations before turning on omnichannel routing

Omnichannel routing can be used to route tickets from email, calls, messaging, web form, side conversations, and the API. To use omnichannel routing, the Agent Workspace must be activated for your account. If your account has a Chat subscription, native messaging or Sunshine Conversations must also be activated. See the omnichannel routing requirements and limitations.

Additionally, before you activate omnichannel routing, you need to define capacity rules to balance the assigned work between agents. There is a built-in capacity rule that is enabled by default, but you can define alternative rules that better meet your unique needs.

You should also review your unified agent statuses. When you enable omnichannel routing, default agent statuses are automatically available for agents to use across channels. The default statuses can't be edited, but it's important to understand how they're configured. On Professional and Enterprise plans, you can also create custom unified statuses for agents to use across channels.

Turning on omnichannel routing

After defining capacity rules and configuring unified agent statuses, turn on omnichannel routing and configure it with an auto-routing tag and trigger. The tag controls whether or not an email ticket is automatically routed. The tag isn’t required for messages or calls because they are automatically routed to an available agent.

To turn on omnichannel routing

1. In Admin Center, click Objects and rules in the sidebar, then select Omnichannel routing > Routing configuration.
2. On the Manage settings page, select Turn on omnichannel routing.

   

3. Under Auto-routing tag, enter a unique name for your auto-routing tag, then click Copy to copy it to your clipboard.

   This tag is used to indicate which tickets originating from email, web form, side conversations, and API you want to be routed by omnichannel routing.

4. Next, click the trigger link and create at least one Support trigger that will be used to add the auto-routing tag to email tickets (including web form, side conversations, and API) you want to route. See Requirements for the routing triggers.
5. When you are done, close the triggers tab and then, on the Manage settings page, click Save.

   Now any tickets with the auto-routing tag will be automatically assigned to the group you selected and also be set to the priority you selected.

6. Finally, review and adjust your routing configuration as needed.

If you need to turn off omnichannel routing, see Disabling omnichannel routing.

Requirements for the routing trigger

Before a ticket can be assigned to an agent, it must be assigned to the appropriate group. Additionally, email tickets (including web form, side conversations, and API) must have the auto-routing tag to be routed. You can manually assign the group and add the routing tag, but triggers provide an automated way to accomplish this.

Triggers that are used for omnichannel routing must have the following parameters:

• Conditions that define the tickets you want to route, such as a channel or tag. See Building trigger condition statements.
• Actions to define the routing. The following actions are required:
  • Assign a group
  • Assign a priority
  • Add the auto-routing tag (email tickets only)

See Building trigger action statements.

Note: Triggers run only on new or updated tickets. Other tickets won’t be processed.

Examples of adding the routing tag and groups

• You want email tickets that come in from the “Very important bank” organization to be assigned the routing tag and assigned to the “VIP” group:
  • Create a trigger with the condition Organization > is > Very important bank.
  • Add an action Add tags > (_your routing tag name_).
  • Add an action Group > VIP.
• You want messaging tickets from a requester named “Celia Jones” to be assigned to the “Human Resources” group:
  • Create a trigger with the condition Requester > is > Celia Jones.
  • Add an action Group > Human Resources.

Setting up a routing configuration

Now that you’ve turned on omnichannel routing and set your routing tag, your final step is to configure how it distributes the messages. Once again, you’ll do this from the routing configuration page. An initial routing configuration is supplied with omnichannel routing. You can edit this to suit your needs.

To set up a routing configuration

1. In Admin Center, click Objects and rules in the sidebar, then select Omnichannel routing > Routing configuration.
2. On the Routing Configuration page, click Edit next to the Initial routing configuration.
3. On the Initial routing configuration page, you can see the name and description for the routing configuration. On Professional and Enterprise plans, you can also configure the following values:
   • Turn on skills-based routing: (EAP) This routes email tickets to agents with matching skills who also have an eligible status and spare capacity. If you also select Fallback to routing model, work may be assigned to agents without the matching skill if none of the agents with the skill are available at the time. If you don't choose to fallback to the routing model, tickets with skill tags remain in the queue until an agent with the matching skill becomes available.
     Note: To use this feature you must be part of the EAP and have defined skills for your account.
   • Turn on messaging reassignment timing: This reassigns work to a different team member if it isn’t addressed in the time you specify (Professional and Enterprise only).
   • Messaging timing (seconds): If messaging reassignment timing is enabled, specifies the time in seconds before work is reassigned to another agent. The timing is 30 seconds on Professional plans, and customizable on Enterprise plans.
   Note: On Enterprise plans, you can also set a reassignment timing threshold for incoming calls with the Call offering time limit setting on the Admin Center > Channels > Talk and email > Talk page. See Managing Talk line settings.
4. When you are finished, click Save.