Customize Skills

Configure Screen Pops

Required permissions: Skills Edit

When you create a skillClosed Used to automate delivery of interactions based on agent skills, abilities, and knowledge in the platform, the Screen Pops section appears as part of the setup wizard. Screen pops are triggered by specific actions or events, and you can use them to give information to the agent, open a separate application, and so forth. Note that screen pops are only supported in Agent.

These steps explain how to configure screen pops in the platform. You must also build them into your contact routing scripts using specific Studio actions.

Screenshot of the Screen Pop configuration section of the Skills page.

Screen pops are configured during creation or editing of a skill. This task assumes you have already begun that process.

  1. Select the checkbox for Use Screen Pops.
  2. If you want to use default screen pops, skip the remaining steps in this task.
  3. If you want to create your own custom screen pop experience by linking to an application or webpage, select the Custom Screen Pops checkbox. Do the following:
    1. Select Application or Webpage.
    2. In the text field, enter either the entire path to the executable if you chose Application or the full URL if you chose Webpage.
    3. You can customize the title of the tab that pops up in the MAX interface by appending the icAgentPanelTitle= parameter to the URL.

Set Priority Management While in Queue

Required permissions: Skills Edit

You can specify the base priorityClosed Skill-based designation of the importance of contacts that determines delivery order. of a new contact in your ACD skillClosed Used to automate delivery of interactions based on agent skills, abilities, and knowledge and control how that priority changes over time in the queue.

Classics, Inc., has a contact center on the Longbourn Estate. The center handles accounting calls from employees and from merchants and vendors with whom Classics does business. Mr. Bennet, the center supervisor, wants to make sure that vendor calls always have priority over other calls.

When he creates the voice skills for the center, he assigns an initial priority between 101-200 to skills for vendor calls. He assigns an initial priority of 001-100 to his other skills. Here's how this would impact two calls in different types of skills:

  • Call #1 comes in on the Vendor skill, which has a priority of 110.
  • Call #2 comes in on the Employees skill, which has a priority of 10.
  • When an agent becomes available, Call #1 will be delivered first since it has the higher priority.

Mr. Bennet also wants to control how the priority changes for calls over their time in queue. To do this, he uses acceleration. With this setting, the formula becomes Overall Priority = (Time * Acceleration)+ Initial Priority. Here's how this setting impacts two calls that have been in queue for the same amounts of time:

  • Call #1 comes in on the Vendor skill, which has a priority of 110. The call has been in queue for 4 minutes. It currently has a priority of 110.
  • Call #3 comes in on the Merchants skill, which also has a priority of 110. Because Mr. Bennet wants calls from merchants to be answered in the shortest time possible, he has also assigned an acceleration of 10 to the Merchants skill. The call has been in queue for 4 minutes. It currently has a priority of 150.
  • When an agent becomes available, Call #3 will be delivered first since it has the higher priority.
Priority management while in queue settings

  1. Click the app selector and select ACD.

  2. Go to Contact Settings > ACD Skills.

  3. Click the inbound ACDskillClosed Used to automate delivery of interactions based on agent skills, abilities, and knowledge you want to edit.

  4. Click Edit.

  5. Set the Initial Priority, Acceleration, and Maximum Priority. If you're creating a Personal Connection skill with priority blending enabled, set the Initial Priority, Priority Initial Priority, and Reschedule Priority instead.

    Field

    Details
    Initial Priority Enter a numeric value you want to set as the base level priorityClosed Skill-based designation of the importance of contacts that determines delivery order. for all contacts in an inbound skill or for fresh records and retries in an outbound skill (callbacksClosed Holds a customer's place in queue and automatically calls the customer when they move to the front of the queue. always take priority and are not affected by this setting). The default value is 0.

    Acceleration

    Enter a numeric value to determine how quickly the priority of the skill increases. For every minute a contact stays in queue, the priority increases by the value you configure for Acceleration.

    The default value is 1. The minimum value is 0 and the maximum priority is the value configured in the Maximum Priority field.

    For example, if the Initial Priority is 4, and you set Acceleration to 1, then with each passing minute that the contact is not handled, the priority increases by one. In this example, if the contact has been in queue for three minutes, then the priority will be raised to 7.

    Priority increments in seconds. For example, when Acceleration is 1, a contact's priority increases by 0.5 after 30 seconds in queue.

    For Personal Connection skills, set this value to 0 because there is no queue of contacts.

    You can set Initial Priority for one skill lower than another skill, but if you set Acceleration for that skill higher, it can jump spots in the queue. For example, you set Initial Priority for Skill A to 1 and Acceleration to 5. You set Initial Priority for Skill B to 3 and Acceleration to 1. Initially, a contact for Skill B will be first in queue because it has a priority of 4, but after one minute, Skill A will take its place at the top because its priority will be 6.

    CXone combines the acceleration value with the time the contact has been in queue and the initial priority using the formula Overall Priority = (Time * Acceleration) + Initial Priority.

    Maximum Priority Enter a numeric value to determine the maximum priority a contact can have. If you choose not to use Acceleration, this value should match the Initial Priority. The default value is 1000.

    If you're creating an email skill with email parking enabled, the priority of an email interaction accelerates +1 each time an agent unparks it, even if Acceleration and Maximum Priority are each set to 0.

  6. To test the priority of the skill relative to others, Compare Skill Priority.

  7. Click Done.

Set Up Priority-Based Blending

Required permissions: External Business Unit Edit and Skills Edit

Priority-based blendingClosed The ability for agents to receive interactions from all eligible CXone ACD skills, Personal Connection dialer, and Digital Experience skills assigned to them, based on the relative skill priority. Personal Connection skills work the same way they normally would, no matter the dialing ratio. Each skill you want to blend with others must be configured with priority-based blending. enables agents to receive calls from all eligible CXone ACD and Personal Connection (PC) dialer skillsClosed Used to automate delivery of interactions based on agent skills, abilities, and knowledge assigned to them, based on the relative skill priorityClosed Skill-based designation of the importance of contacts that determines delivery order.. For PC skills configured in a predictive dialing mode, agents can be assigned to more than one call, just as they would with a non-blended predictive dialing skill.

You must set up priority-based blending for each skill you want to blend together for your agents. Agents cannot log in to PC ACD skills with priority-based blending enabled they same way they would log in to the non-blended PC ACD skill. Instead, CXone delivers calls as the ACD skill priorities dictate. CXone prompts the agent to manually log in to those non-blended skills. Otherwise, it assigns the agent outbound calls when they are the next highest priority work. If an agent logs in to a non-blended ACD skill, the agent cannot use priority-based blending.

When the agent application switches between inbound and outbound calls, agents receive a visual cue. The two modes have differences in color and the agent can see queue levels for inbound ACD skills while handling outbound calls.

  1. To enable priority-based blending for Personal Connection skills, do the following:

    1. Click the app selector and select ACD.

    2. Go to ACD Configuration > Business Units.

    3. Click the business unit to open it.

    4. In the Details tab, click Edit.

    5. In the Outbound Strategy section, select the Enable Priority-Based Blending of Outbound Skills with Inbound Queues checkbox.

    6. Click Done.

  2. Configure priority settings for the CXone ACD skills you want to include in blending. These do not include Personal Connection skills. You'll configure those in later steps.

    1. Click the app selector and select ACD.

    2. Go to Contact Settings > ACD Skills.

    3. Locate the skill you want to include in priority-based blending. Click to open it.

    4. Click Edit.

    5. Set the Initial Priority, Acceleration rate, and Maximum Priority fields as needed. Not every field will be available for every skill type.

      Field

      Details
      Initial Priority Enter a numeric value you want to set as the base level priorityClosed Skill-based designation of the importance of contacts that determines delivery order. for all contacts in an inbound skill or for fresh records and retries in an outbound skill (callbacksClosed Holds a customer's place in queue and automatically calls the customer when they move to the front of the queue. always take priority and are not affected by this setting). The default value is 0.

      Acceleration

      Enter a numeric value to determine how quickly the priority of the skill increases. For every minute a contact stays in queue, the priority increases by the value you configure for Acceleration.

      The default value is 1. The minimum value is 0 and the maximum priority is the value configured in the Maximum Priority field.

      For example, if the Initial Priority is 4, and you set Acceleration to 1, then with each passing minute that the contact is not handled, the priority increases by one. In this example, if the contact has been in queue for three minutes, then the priority will be raised to 7.

      Priority increments in seconds. For example, when Acceleration is 1, a contact's priority increases by 0.5 after 30 seconds in queue.

      For Personal Connection skills, set this value to 0 because there is no queue of contacts.

      You can set Initial Priority for one skill lower than another skill, but if you set Acceleration for that skill higher, it can jump spots in the queue. For example, you set Initial Priority for Skill A to 1 and Acceleration to 5. You set Initial Priority for Skill B to 3 and Acceleration to 1. Initially, a contact for Skill B will be first in queue because it has a priority of 4, but after one minute, Skill A will take its place at the top because its priority will be 6.

      CXone combines the acceleration value with the time the contact has been in queue and the initial priority using the formula Overall Priority = (Time * Acceleration) + Initial Priority.

      Maximum Priority Enter a numeric value to determine the maximum priority a contact can have. If you choose not to use Acceleration, this value should match the Initial Priority. The default value is 1000.

    6. Use the Priority Comparison tool at the bottom of the skill's Details tab as needed.

    7. Click Done.

    8. Return to the ACD Skills page and repeat these steps for all other CXone ACD skills you want to include in priority-based blending.

  3. Configure priority settings for the Personal Connection skills you want to include in blending.

    1. If the PC skill you want to enable for blending is currently running, stop the skill.

      1. Click the app selector and select ACD.

      2. Go to Outbound > Skill Control.

      3. Click the ACD skill. Click Stop.

    2. Still in the ACD application, go to Contact Settings > ACD Skills.

    3. Locate the PC skill you want to include in priority-based blending. Click to open it.

    4. Click Edit.

    5. Select Priority-Based Blending. Click Done.

    6. Click Edit again.

    7. Set the Initial Priority, Priority Initial Priority, and Reschedule Priority fields as needed.

      Field

      Details
      Initial Priority Enter a numeric value you want to set as the base level priorityClosed Skill-based designation of the importance of contacts that determines delivery order. for all contacts in an inbound skill or for fresh records and retries in an outbound skill (callbacksClosed Holds a customer's place in queue and automatically calls the customer when they move to the front of the queue. always take priority and are not affected by this setting). The default value is 0.

    8. Use the Priority Comparison tool at the bottom of the skill's Details tab as needed.

    9. Click Done.

    10. Return to the ACD Skills page and repeat these steps for all other PC skills you want to include in priority-based blending.

Compare Skill Priority

Required permissions: Skills Edit

Use the priority comparison tool to quickly determine how contacts in certain skills compare in priority over time.

Screenshot of the priority comparison tool on the Skills page.

  1. Click the app selector and select ACD.

  2. Go to Contact Settings > ACD Skills.

  3. Click the skillClosed Used to automate delivery of interactions based on agent skills, abilities, and knowledge you want to compare with other skills.

  4. In the Details tab, click Edit.

  5. In the Skills to Compare section, click +.

  6. Locate a skill you want to compare with the skill you have open. Select the skill and click >.

  7. Continue adding skills until all skills you want to compare are in the Selected list. You don't need to add the skill you are currently editing; it appears in the graph automatically.

  8. Click Done.

  9. If you want to remove any of the skills you selected, click the X icon.

  10. Use the Elapsed Time and Time Interval fields to define the period of time you want the graph to cover and the time intervalClosed A period between points, limits, or events, such as dates or times you want to mark a new point on the graph.

  11. Click Compare.

  12. As you analyze the line graph, modify your Comparison Options and the priorityClosed Skill-based designation of the importance of contacts that determines delivery order. options for the skill you have open, or compare the skill against different skills and regenerate the graph as needed.

  13. When you're finished making changes, click Done.

Set Up Tagging

Required permissions: Skills Edit, Tags Create

If you want to enable agents to apply labels to interactions to make them a certain way for reporting, create tags and assign them to the skill.

  1. If you haven't already done so, create tags.

    1. Click the app selector and select ACD.

    2. Go to Contact Settings > Tags.

    3. Click Create New.
    4. Enter a Name for the tag.
    5. Click Create Tag.

  2. Click the app selector and select ACD.

  3. Go to Contact Settings > ACD Skills.

  4. Open the skill you want to modify.
  5. Click the Tags tab.
  6. Select the checkboxes next to the tags you want to add.
  7. Click Add Tags.

Set Up Post-Contact Work

Required permissions: Skills Edit, Tags Create

If you want to configure dispositionsClosed Result assigned by the agent or system at the end of a voice (disposition) or digital (status) interaction. for agents to apply to interactions or if you want to set aside a period of time for agents to take notes before moving on to the next contact, configure post-contact workClosed State that allows an agent to complete work requirements after finishing an interaction for the skill. You can set up different post-contact workflows for inbound and outbound calls, but be aware that the experience agents have after a conference call is affected:

  • When the agent ends the conference portion of the interaction, the inbound post-contact workflow is triggered.
  • When the inbound portion of the interaction is ended by either the agent or the contact, the outbound post-contact workflow is triggered.
  • When the outbound portion of the interaction is ended by either the agent or the contact, the inbound post-contact workflow is triggered.

  1. If you haven't already done so, create an unavailable code for post-contact work.

  2. If you're using dispositions for your post-contact work and you haven't already done so, create the dispositions you want agents to be able to apply to the interaction.

  3. Click the app selector and select ACD.

  4. Go to Contact Settings > ACD Skills.

  5. Click a skillClosed Used to automate delivery of interactions based on agent skills, abilities, and knowledge to open it.

  6. Click the Post Contact tab.

  7. Select the post-contact type you would like to apply to the skill from Automatic Wrap-up, Disposition, or None. All three options may not be available for each skill type.

    Field

    Details
    Automatic Wrap-up Places the agent in an after-contact work (ACW) state for a certain amount of time after finishing an interaction. You can have time for agents to have a short break between calls, to write notes about the contact, or do other things.
    Disposition Places the agent in an after-contact work state after finishing an interaction to apply a disposition and input any required information based on the disposition, such as a callbackClosed Holds a customer's place in queue and automatically calls the customer when they move to the front of the queue. time or a commitment amount.
    None No after-contact work occurs. The agent immediately becomes available to take more contacts.

  8. If you choose Automatic Wrap-up, select an unavailable code from the State drop-down and specify a Max Time Limit in seconds.

    Field

    Details
    State The unavailable state applied to the agent during after-contact work.
    Max Time Limit The maximum number of seconds the agent can spend in the after-contact work state before the contact is automatically dispositioned to No Disposition and the record finalized.

  9. If you choose Disposition, select an unavailable code from the State drop-down and specify a Max Time Limit in seconds. If you want to require the dispositions instead of setting a Max Time Limit, select the Required checkbox. Select the checkbox next to each disposition you want to add from the Select dispositions to use with this skill table. Click Add.

    Field

    Details

    Required

    		 Agents are under no time restrictions to select a disposition after handling a contact. Selecting Required disables Timeout State and Max Time Limit.
    State The unavailable state applied to the agent during after-contact work.
    Timeout State The unavailable state applied to agents when they exceed the Max Time Limit.
    Max Time Limit The maximum number of seconds the agent can spend in the after-contact work state before the contact is automatically dispositioned to No Disposition and the record finalized.
    Select dispositions to use with this skill A table of dispositions that you can make available for agents to apply after handling a contact in this skill.
    Dispositions assigned to this skill A table of dispositions already available for agents to apply after handling a contact in this skill.
  10. If you want chat contacts to see a thank-you page after a chat interaction, you can configure a thank-you page for your chat skill post-contact work.
  11. Click Save.