Overview: Timed Workflows container in Queues (Console)

This article describes the Timed Workflows container in Queues in Console.

Overview

In Console, the Timed Workflows container in the Queue workspace is where you connect published workflows to run at specific time intervals on interactions waiting in the selected queue. Timed workflows can help you shape a customer's experience while waiting to be connected to a queue user.

Based on the configuration depicted in the screenshot above, the timed workflows would run like this:

1. 0 seconds – The customer begins waiting in a queue.

2. 30 seconds – The workflow called Basic Enrollment begins to run. It lasts 15 seconds.

3. 45 seconds – The Basic Enrollment workflow ends. 

Note: The countdown for the next workflow begins.

4. 65 seconds – The Billing VIP workflow begins to run. It lasts 25 seconds.

5. 90 seconds – The Billing VIP workflow ends.

Note: If Looping is enabled, this sequence of steps repeats.

Click +Add to add another workflow to a queue. This opens another row of fields where you can define the specifications of the workflow like you did for the first workflow.

Timed workflows vs. maximum wait time vs. no available agents

It’s important to keep in mind three different timing concepts in queues:

• Timed workflows

• Max wait

• Exit no agents

Understanding these similar, yet distinct, topics is important to configuring a queue correctly.

The max wait time is the amount of time someone can wait in a queue before a max wait experience is triggered. For example, if you were to configure the max wait time of a queue to be 60 seconds and to also configure a timed workflow to run at 180 seconds, the workflow would never run because the max wait time would be reached well before the timed workflow could run.

Also keep in mind that exit no agents can override a timed workflow from running. If no agents are in a queue, then both the max wait time and the timed workflow will not activate.

When configuring a queue, we recommend paying close attention to how these containers are configured so they don’t conflict with each other.

Container breakdown

Looping

The Looping toggle is where you define if ALL configured workflows repeat themselves after a workflow or multiple workflows have finished running.

Looping respects the time intervals set in the Time(sec.) field.

• Enabled - When enabled, this toggle alerts the system to repeat all of the configured, timed workflows at the defined time intervals until a queue user becomes available and accepts the interaction or until the interaction reaches max wait, if there’s a max wait set for the queue.

• Disabled - When disabled, this toggle alerts the system to run the timed workflow at the interval defined under the Time (SEC.) column. The workflow(s) only run one time.

Workflow

The Workflow menu is where you select the workflow you want to run as a timed workflow in this queue.

Version

The Version menu is where you define the version of the workflow that’s connected to this queue. You can select either:

• A specific version of the workflow

• ‘CURRENT’

Select ‘Current’ to always use the most up-to-date version of the workflow.

Time (sec.)

The Time (sec.) field is where you define the time interval for running the workflow as the customer waits for an available agent. If the Looping toggle is enabled, then the customer experiences the workflow at the specified time interval, is then entered back into waiting after the workflow completes, then the time interval begins again.

For example, suppose you’ve connected a timed workflow that takes 15 seconds to run to completion and set the Time(SEC.) interval to 30 seconds with the Looping toggle enabled. When the customer reaches this queue, they first wait for 30 seconds to be connected to an agent, then they go through the 15 second workflow experience, and lastly they are entered back into waiting where they wait for 30 seconds again before the workflow runs again. So, the workflows run based on time in waiting and does not include the time that a customer is involved in a workflow experience.

Rippable

The Rippable toggle is where you define how the system manages the interaction during the workflow if a queue user becomes available while the customer is actively experiencing a Timed Workflow experience.

• Enabled: When enabled, this toggle gives the system the ability to pull the customer out of a Timed Workflow experience when a queue user becomes available. This means that the system can interrupt the running workflow to connect the customer with a queue user. This is useful when you have Timed Workflows that play audio clips or announcements. It is not recommended to enable this setting if you have workflows that function to redirect the customer (like requesting a callback or transferring to another queue). 

• Disabled: When disabled, the system can’t pull a waiting interaction out of the running Timed Workflow. This means that the customer must wait for the workflow to run to completion before being able to connect an available queue user.

Delete

The Delete button allows you to remove a previously configured workflow from the container. Deleting a workflow from this container means the workflow will no longer run for interactions in the queue. 

+Add

The +Add button allows you to add additional workflows to the Timed Workflows container. Clicking this button populates an additional Workflow menu, Version menu, Time (Sec.) field, Rippable toggle, and delete button for you to configure.

Read more

• Connect or disconnect a timed workflow (Console)