Create Voice Queues

What is a Voice Queue?

A Voice queue is a way to route incoming calls to a group of agents.
Callers waiting in the queue can hear an announcement, informing them of their waiting time and their position in the queue.

Note that a phone number needs to be connected to the Queue via an Inbound route once the queue is created. Read more about Inbound routes >here<.

This article explains the following steps in creating a Queue:

• Create a new Queue
• Settings
• Announcements
• Advanced
• Add/remove agents from a Queue

How to create a Voice Queue

To create a new voice queue, go to Voice -> Voice Queues. Then click the plus in the bottom right corner:

Fill out the fields: 

Name: Give the queue a unique name

Strategy: Decide which dial strategy you would like to use. Read more about queue strategies >here<.

Description: Add a clear description as to what this queue is used for.

Click Add Voice Queue:

To configure the queue, click the three dots to the right of the queue and then Edit Voice Queue:

Settings

Name: The name can't be changed once the queue is created.

Strategy: You can change the chosen strategy.

Timeout: How long (in seconds) an agents device should ring before the call is distributed to another agent in the queue.

Maximun Length: The maximum number of callers allowed to wait in the queue. 0 = unlimited.

Retry: The time in seconds to wait before passing a call to another agent, after a previous agent timeout expiration.

Wrapup Time: The time in seconds a queue member must be unavailable after completing a call.

Weight: A value to associate to the queue weight, in case an Agent belongs to several queues. If an agent is a member of several queues, calls in queues with a higher wight will have a higher priority.

Join when empty: Leave the default value "yes" if you want a caller is passed to a queue even if no member is available to answer (otherwise insert "no").

Leave when empty: Insert "yes" if you want the callers are moved from the queue if no member is available to take the call (otherwise leave the default value "no").

Music On Hold: The music played for the customer while waiting in the queue. Read >this article< to learn how to add your own Music on Hold.

Announce To Agent: Click on this field to choose one of the available sounds to be played to the agent just before answering the call

Description: You can change the description here.

AnnouncementsAnnounce Frequency: How often to announce the caller’s position and/or estimated hold time in the queue (zero to disable).
Minimum Announce Frequency: Minimum announcement frequency (useful when the caller’s position changes frequently).

Periodic Announce Frequency: Frequency of periodic announcements to the caller (periodic announcements are added under "periodic announce").

Random Periodic Announce: If yes, the defined periodic announcements will be played random.

Announce Hold Time: Plays the estimated hold time along with the periodic announcements (Yes/No/Once).

Announce Caller Position: Used to define if the caller’s position in the queue should be announced: No=never; Yes=always; Limit=only if it is within the limit defined by announce-position-limit below; More= only if it is beyond the value defined by announce-position-limit below.

Announce Position Limit: Used if Announce Caller Position (above) is defined as either 'limit' or 'more'.

Report Agent Hold Time: Enables reporting caller’s hold time to the agent in queue prior to connection.

Periodic Announce: You can add several periodic announcements, they are played in the order that they are added. If you want to add your own sound files go to Tools -> Sounds.
Hold Time Announce: Choose a Sound defined in Tools -> Sounds. Default=“Hold time”. Undefined=no announcement.
'You are next' Announce: Choose a Sound defined in Tools -> Sounds. Default=“You are now first in line”. Undefined=no announcement.

'There are' Announce: Choose a Sound defined in Tools -> Sounds. Default=“There are”. Undefined=no announcement. 

Waiting Calls Announce: Choose a Sound defined in Tools -> Sounds. Default=“calls waiting”. Undefined=no announcement.

Estimated Hold Time Announce: Choose a Sound defined in Tools -> Sounds. Default=“The current estimated hold time is”. Undefined=no announcement.

Minutes Announce: Choose a Sound defined in Tools -> Sounds. Default=“minutes”. Undefined=no announcement.

Minute Announce: Choose a Sound defined in Tools -> Sounds. Default=“minute”. Undefined=no announcement.

Seconds Announce: Choose a Sound defined in Tools -> Sounds. Default=“seconds”. Undefined=no announcement.

'Thank You' Announce: Choose a Sound defined in Tools -> Sounds. Default=“Thank you for your patience”. Undefined=no announcement.

Advanced

After Call Work: If enabled the agents will be set on pause after handling a call on the queue.

After Call Work Duration: Enter the amount of seconds the agents should be paused on After Call Work.

Auto Pause: Set to Yes if you want to pause the member who fail to answer a call; this will work on all queues the agent is member of 

Ring In Use: Enables/disables delivering a call to the agents already engaged in a conversation. 

Member Delay: Specify the number of seconds to add as a delay before the call is passed to the agent.

Timeout Restart: If yes, this resets the timeout for an agent to answer when either a BUSY or CONGESTION status is received from the channel.

Recording Format: Specify here the file format to use when recording (choose a value from the list). If the value is inactive, calls will not be recorded.
Please consider that the recording file size depends on its format. For example, recording one minute conversation will issue a file approximately of the following size:
- WAV: 944 KB; - WAV49: 97 KB; - GSM: 98 KB

Conext: Can be skipped in most cases.
Allows a caller to exit the queue by pressing a single DTMF digit. If a context is specified and the caller enters a number, the digit will be matched in the context specified and, if it is found, the dialplan execution will continue there.

Set Interface Variables: Can be skipped in most cases.

If set to Yes, just prior to the caller being connected with an agent; the following variables will be set on the caller and queue member channels (see Asterisk wiki for more information):

• MEMBERINTERFACE is the interface name (eg. Agent/1234),

• MEMBERNAME is the member name (eg. Joe Soap),

• MEMBERCALLS is the number of calls that interface has taken,

• MEMBERLASTCALL is the last time the member took a call,

• MEMBERPENALTY is the penalty of the member,

• MEMBERDYNAMIC indicates if a member is dynamic or not,

• MEMBERREALTIME indicates if a member is realtime or not

Set Queue Variables: Can be skipped in most cases.
If set to Yes, just prior to the caller being connected with an agent (set on the caller and queue member channels) and just prior to the caller leaving the queue (see Asterisk wiki for more information):

• QUEUENAME name of the queue,

• QUEUEMAX maximum number of calls allowed,

• QUEUESTRATEGY the strategy of the queue,

• QUEUECALLS number of calls currently in the queue,

• QUEUEHOLDTIME current average hold time,

• QUEUECOMPLETED number of completed calls for the queue,

• QUEUEABANDONED number of abandoned calls,

• QUEUESRVLEVEL queue service level,

• QUEUESRVLEVELPERF current service level performance

Set Queue Entry Variables: Can be skipped in most cases.
If set to yes, just prior to the caller being connected with an agent; the following variables will be set on the caller and queue member channels:

• QUEUEHOLDTIME callers hold time,

• QUEUEORIGINALPOS original position of the caller in the queue

Servicelevel: Used for service level statistics (calls answered within service level time frame)

Mandatory disposition: Enable if agents should be forced to dispose the interactions managed before closing them. Choose which pause status to set during the operation.

Above icons explained from the left:

• Add a team to the queue
• Add an agent to the queue
• Go to Realtime for the queue

How to add or remove agents from a Queue

There are two ways to add/remove agents from a Queue:

1. Edit the voice queue and click this icon:In the left list are agents who are not associated with the queue and in the right list are agents associated with the queue.
Add agens
Click on the agents to the left to add them in the right list, or add all agents by clicking the two arrows pointing to the right at the bottom.
Remove agents

Click on the agents to the right to add them in the left list (remove them from the queue), or remove all agents by clicking the two arrows pointing to the left at the bottom.

Then click Save and save the Queue.

2. In the list of all Queues click the three dots to the right of the queue and then Add Agent to Voice Queue:

Follow the steps described above.