Ring groups are a collection of agents who collaborate to handle incoming calls and SMS.
Aloware Ring Groups provides an effective solution for managing customer calls. By distributing calls and SMS to designated groups of agents in a predetermined order, ring groups ensure that all available extensions ring at the same time, enabling the nearest agent to answer the call promptly.
For example, your organization should set up a ring group for your support team. Calls could ring all the agents until someone answers, or it could ring all agents one at a time, in random order.
Aloware Ring Groups manages inbound calls, missed calls, and SMS effectively.
Creating a Ring Group
To create a new ring group in Aloware Admin, simply go to the Ring Groups menu and click the +Add Ring Group button.
To configure your ring group profile, navigate to the General tab.
Name - Name the ring group that your team can understand (e.g., Sales, Support, etc.).
Description - an optional field to provide a brief description of this ring group.
When calls come in, they will run through the sequence of layers. Assign one or more agents in every layer; you can add more layers as you like.
Importing Ring Groups in Bulk
Go to the Ring Groups menu and click the Import Ring Group button.
The Import Ring Group Wizard will appear on your screen.
Step 1: Setup your settings
Under the Choose or Create a Ring Group, select "Create new Ring Group".
Name - Name your ring group.
Description - (optional) Provide a short description of your ring group.
Click the Download Ring Groups Template. Your template looks like this:
Email - (required) Provide your user emails to include in the ring group.
Layer - assign the user to what layer will he receive the call.
Step 2: Select Columns
Assign column header. Click Start Import.
Step 3: Finish
Click the Accounts menu > Ring Groups tab button to check the status.
Ring Group import status in the Accounts menu:
Great job! Your ring group will now be visible in the list of ring groups in the menu.
Configuring Ring Group Settings
Selecting Ring Group Route
Admin can determine how the calls will route to users in each layer and set the dial duration.
There are four (4) available options. Once again, note that this setting applies to each layer within the ring group.
Simultaneous - or SimulDial is the default setting. This option rings all the phones within the same order at the same time until someone picks up, and the rest of the rings will be disconnected.
Random - On each layer, this option randomly selects a user (agent) within the same order. If that user does not pick up, it rings another user.
Round-Robin - this option rings users one by one within the layer until someone answers. Aloware routes the call to the agent that's been on the longest available status.
Longest Available - this option focuses on assigning calls to agents based on their availability, specifically targeting the agents who have been idle for the longest duration. The calls are routed individually to the representative who has had the longest period of availability.
The "dial for" selector controls how long each call will ring in each layer in seconds. The optimal setting here is 30 seconds.
Learn more about Round Robin and Longest Available in this guide.
Repeat Contact Call Routing
Define how this ring group handles repeat customer calls. A "repeat call" means that there is a history of completed calls recorded in Aloware.
Route the call to the ring group (default) - Calls will be directed to this ring group and will proceed according to the predetermined order and settings of the ring group.
Route the call to the agent who last spoke with this contact and then route it to the ring group - This option ensures that repeat callers are connected with the same agent they previously spoke to. It is particularly useful when a call gets disconnected. If the agent who last spoke with the caller is unavailable, the call will be routed to the ring group as usual, providing seamless assistance to the caller.
Route the call to the owner of the contact first and then route it to the ring group - If a contact has a designated owner in Aloware, this option will direct callers to the contact's owner. If the contact owner is unavailable to answer the call, it will then be routed to the ring group for assistance.
Route the call to the owner of the contact, and stop. For unassigned contacts, do not route - This option directs the call to the contact owner identified in Aloware.
Route the call to the agent who last spoke with this contact first and then route it to the ring group - If a contact abruptly ends the call, they will be directed back to the same agent they were last speaking with.
Text Message Handling (Beta)
Learn how to configure your Ring Group to effectively handle incoming text messages.
With Ring Groups, you can easily assign and distribute inbound text messages among multiple agents, ensuring a balanced workload and efficient customer support.
The options available here are:
Assign incoming text messages to the contact owner (default) - This option will not "distribute" the text messages, and the contact owner will be notified.
Assign incoming text messages randomly between agents (if contact is not owned) - It distributes SMS randomly between agents if the contact has no assigned contact owner.
Assign incoming text messages to the last agent who called the contact (if contact is not owned) - When there's no assigned contact owner, incoming messages will be directed to the last agent who communicated with the contact.
Assign incoming text messages to the last agent who called or messaged the contact, regardless of ownership - This allows messages to be dynamically routed to the last person who communicated with the contact, irrespective of ownership.
To maximize the benefits of this feature, companies should use the communications filter in messages to view all messages directly owned by the selected user.
Do not assign incoming messages to agents - Agents will not receive notifications for incoming messages as the messages will not be assigned to them. The messages will still be received by the line or ring group, but agents will only be notified if they have enabled notifications in their settings.
Missed Call Settings
If all available and eligible agents in all tiers of the ring group have been offered the call, and no one has answered, or if the ring group does not have any available agents, the call will be missed.
You can determine how this ring group handles the missed call with two options:
Use the Line's missed call settings (default) - This option respects the setting configured under Line Settings (Routing & IVR tab) and returns the call to the Line to take a voicemail.
Take a voicemail - Configure a voicemail prompt for this ring group. This option is preferred if you want to separate voicemails by departments or teams.
Notifications in Ring Groups Settings
Admin can enable notifications for inbound text messages and voicemail notifications:
Inbound Text Notifications - Users in the ring group will receive notifications for inbound texts if they have access to the contact.
Voicemail Notifications - Enabling this option will send voicemail notifications to all users of this ring group with access to the contact.
Smart Queue
Aloware's Smart Queue feature allows you to optimize call routing and ensure callers receive prompt attention.
By configuring your queue settings in the Ring Groups > Queue tab and enabling Smart Queue, you can leverage this feature's capabilities to enhance your call management process.
How Smart Queue works
Aloware's Smart Queue operates through a tiered system, where calls pass through multiple agents or lines until an available agent attends to them.
Navigate to the Ring Groups menu > Select the Ring group to configure settings > Enable Smart Queue in the Queue tab.
Let's dive deeper into the functionalities and options provided by Smart Queue:
Fishing Mode (Beta) - Fishing Mode disables auto dispatching of calls. This is a way for users to answer calls that are waiting in the queue from the Wallboard instead of Aloware distributing the calls to the users.
When enabled, Fishing Mode notifications simultaneously notify all users within a ring group at the same time. This ensures that no incoming call goes unnoticed.Make sure that the User Notification Settings is enabled.
Fishing Mode respects user agent status, operating hours, area code, and state restrictions, ensuring that notifications are intelligently routed to the available agents who meet the criteria.
For example, if all agents in a ring group are engaged in calls, the system will notify all agents of any incoming calls, which will then enter a queue. As soon as an agent becomes available, they can go to the Wallboard and enter the Queued Monitoring section to pick up a call from the queue. This method ensures that the team misses no incoming calls and helps agents manage their workload efficiently.
When an Admin uses the barge-in or whisper features on a live agent call, the user's status is also switched to Fishing Mode.
Even when users are in Fishing Mode in the Desktop app, they will continue to receive notifications for incoming calls. This allows users to stay informed and promptly respond to any new calls that come in.
However, if the user is in a wrap-up status, they will not receive notifications for incoming calls.
Say the Caller's Position in Queue - This feature provides callers with real-time updates on their queue status, reducing their frustration and enhancing their experience.
Wait Music
Customize the caller's waiting experience by recording your voice or uploading a pre-recorded file as wait music. Alternatively, you can use Aloware's default wait music.
Repeat Prompts
Determine how frequently the system offers prompts to callers by configuring the "Repeat Prompts" feature. We recommend using a 30-second interval to balance informative updates and caller engagement.
Max Queue Hold Time
Set the maximum amount of time a call can remain on hold in the queue with the "Max Queue Hold Time" option. After this duration, the call will be terminated and considered missed. You can specify the desired action for missed calls in the General Tab and the Missed Calls Settings.
Testing Routing
Testing Routing tab allows you to see the status of all users in every layer.
Connected Lines
This tab provides a list of the lines that are directly connected to this ring group. You can set your Interactive Voice Response (IVR) line in the Lines menu, although please note that IVRs are not displayed in this section.
