Agent States
Agent states are determined from an agent's activity within a skill group or precision queue. Agent state is recorded in numerous database tables and is presented in reports as both a number (Not Ready) and as a percentage (% Not Ready).
You can monitor agent states in real time to view current agent activity. You can also review past performance data to identify trends in agent states. For example, historical reports can show how much time an agent spends in Not Ready state, which indicates whether the agent is adhering to the schedule.
Information for some states is different when an agent is configured to handle multiple concurrent tasks in a Media Routing Domain (MRD). This table highlights these differences.
State in Skill Group or Precision Queue |
Description for single-session MRDs |
Description for multisession MRDs |
---|---|---|
Active or Talking |
The agent is working on a task or a call in this skill group or precision queue. For agents who handle nonvoice tasks, this state is reported as Active. For agents who handle voice tasks, this state is reported as Talking. |
The agent is working on one or more tasks associated with this skill group or precision queue. For these agents, the state is reported as Active. |
Work Ready |
The agent is performing wrap-up work for a call or task in this skill group or precision queue. If the agent is handling a voice call, the agent enters Ready state when wrap-up is complete. If the agent is handling a nonvoice task, the agent may enter Not Active or Not Ready state when wrap-up is complete. |
The agent is performing wrap-up work for a task associated with this skill group or precision queue. The agent is not in the Active state for a task associated with this skill group. |
Work Not Ready |
The agent is performing wrap-up work for a call in this skill group or precision queue. The agent enters Not Ready state when wrap-up is complete. This state is not used for agents signed into Enterprise Chat and Email skill groups or precision queues. This state is used during failover for agents signed into skill groups or precision queues for third-party multichannel applications that use the Task Routing APIs. |
This state is used during failover for agents signed in to skill groups or precision queues for third-party multichannel applications that use the Task Routing APIs. |
Paused or Hold |
For agents who handle nonvoice tasks, the state is reported as Paused. For agents who handle voice tasks, the state is reported as Hold. For agents handling Outbound Option calls, the Hold state indicates that the agent has been reserved for a call because the Outbound Dialer puts the agent on hold while connecting the call. |
The agent is Paused for a task associated with this skill group or precision queue. |
Reserved |
The agent has been offered a call or task associated with the skill group or precision queue. For voice calls, agents are Reserved when their phones are ringing. Agents handling Outbound Option calls are never placed in Reserved state; the Outbound Option Dialer puts the agent on hold when reserving the agent for a call. |
The agent is not in Active, Work Ready, or Paused state in this skill group or precision queue. The agent has been offered one or more tasks associated with this skill group or precision queue. |
Busy Other Busy Other is a state in which the agent handling calls is assigned to other skill groups during the interval. For example, an agent could be talking on an inbound call in one skill group while simultaneously logged on to, and ready to accept calls from, other skill groups. The agent can be active (talking on or handling calls) in only one skill group at a time. Therefore, while active in one skill group, for the other skill group the agent is considered to be in the Busy Other state. |
The agent is Active, Work Ready, Reserved, or on Hold/Paused in another skill group or precision queue in the same MRD. |
The agent is not in Active, Work Ready, Reserved, or Paused state for a task associated with this skill group or precision queue. The agent is in Active, Work Ready, Reserved, or Paused in another skill group or precision queue in the same MRD. |
Not Active or Ready |
The agent is not working on a task or call associated with this skill group or precision queue. |
Same as single-session MRD. |
Interrupted |
The agent has been interrupted by a task from another MRD. If an agent is Interrupted in one skill group or precision queue, the agent is Interrupted in all skill groups or precision queues within the same MRD. Voice calls cannot be interrupted. This state is not used for agents signed in to Enterprise Chat and Email skill groups or precision queues. This state is used for agents signed in to skill groups or precision queues for third-party multichannel applications that use the Task Routing APIs, if the agents are configured to accept interrupts. |
Same as single-session MRD |
Not Ready |
The agent is not available to be assigned a call or task. If an agent is Not Ready in one skill group or precision queue, the agent is Not Ready in all skill groups or precision queues within the same MRD. |
Same as single-session MRD |
Agent States, Skill Groups, and Precision Queues
Agents can belong to multiple skill groups or precision queues in a Media Routing Domain (MRD). When an agent is handling a task that was routed to a skill group or precision queue, the agent is Active in that skill group or precision queue.
-
For direct incoming calls or transferred routed calls that do not use the dialed number, the active skill group is the default or first skill group defined for the agent.
-
For new outgoing calls (AgentOutCalls or InternalCalls) or transferred outbound calls, the active skill group is the first skill group defined for the agent.
Agents can be configured to work on more than one task at a time, such as multiple chat sessions. When reporting on these agents, gather state information from both the Available in MRD and Agent State columns.
The agents' state in the active skill group or precision queue determines the state in the other skill groups or precision queues in the MRD, as follows:
-
If the agent is Not Ready in one skill group or precision queue in the MRD, the agent is Not Ready in all skill groups or precision queues in the MRD.
-
If the agent is Active, Work Ready, Reserved, or Hold/Paused in one skill group or precision queue in the MRD, the agent state is Busy Other for all other skill groups or precision queues in the MRD.
Agent State and Task State Relationship
Agent state times are reported on interval boundaries regardless of whether the call or task is finished. Call and task state times are reported only when the task ends. The call or task ends when wrap-up is complete.
The following figure illustrates the correlation between agent state and call state for a voice call. The agent reserve time includes network time and offer/ring time. Network time is the time it took the call to arrive at the agent’s phone or desktop. Offering/ring time is the amount of time that the call rang on the agent’s phone or waited on the agent’s desktop.
- Call Arrives and queues against SG1 (A) after 33 seconds the call also queues for agents in SG2 (B).
- The call remains queued to SG1 and SG2 for an additional 12 seconds, until it is routed to an agent who goes ready in SG2 (C).
- Call rings on the agent’s phone (C) and is then answered by the agent (D), who talks on the call for 10 seconds before putting the call on hold (E).
- After 12 seconds, the agent retrieves the call (F) and talks for another 20 seconds.
-
At (G) the call is dropped which results in the agent going into Wrap state to perform after after-call work for 20 seconds at which time the agent becomes ready (H).
-
If the interval boundary ends when the call is ringing on the agent's phone, the reserved time for the agent includes the network time and part of the ring time. At the next interval, the remaining ring time is reported in the reserved time of the agent. However, the call’s time does not appear on a report until wrap-up has been completed on the call.