Glossary and FAQ
This page explains the words you see in Workforce Management, and answers the questions customers ask most often.
Glossary
Setup and navigation
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Department | A team or queue in your account that handles conversations |
| Cluster | A group of departments that you create, so you can look at them together. See Clusters. |
| Channel | The way customers contact you, such as Voice, WhatsApp, Webchat or Email |
| Agent | A person who handles conversations |
| Time range | The period that the figures cover, for example Today or Last 3 hours. See Dashboard. |
Calls and conversations
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Instant | A channel where customers expect a quick reply, such as chat |
| Queue | Calls that are waiting and have not yet been connected to an agent |
| Ongoing | Calls in progress with an agent |
| Wrap-up | The time after a call has ended while the agent finishes the work related to the call |
| Capacity | On the Voice card, the number of agents who are currently active on voice. On the Instant card, how many conversations your available agents can take at the same time. |
| Inbound | Calls or conversations that came in during the time range |
| Processed | Calls or conversations that were completed during the time range. Missed calls are not counted as processed. |
| Missed calls | Calls that were not answered |
| Backlog | Conversations that are open and still need handling |
| Snoozed | A column on the Departments page. A snoozed conversation is not counted when the Dashboard works out the current longest wait. The app does not say more about it. |
| Avg. wait time | The average time callers waited |
| Longest wait time | The longest time a caller waited |
| Current longest wait time | How long the call that has waited longest in the queue has been waiting right now |
| Avg. call time | The average length of a call |
| SLA% | A column on the Departments page. The app describes it as the percentage of calls that met the service level target. The target itself is not shown in the app. |
Agent status
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Online | The agent is online. Agents who are busy are counted as online. |
| Busy | The status tooltip says why: Busy (max waiting), Busy (max instant) or Busy (on phone) |
| Away | The agent is away |
| Offline | The agent is offline |
| Service hrs | The agent is set to service hours, which the app shows as Service hours (automatic) |
Forecast
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Normal week | The volume you can expect in a normal week |
| Busy week | The volume you can expect in a busy week |
| Near worst case | The volume you can expect in a very busy week, close to the worst case |
| Agents needed | The number of agents to put on the roster in the busiest hour of the period |
| Avg handling time | The average time an agent spends on one conversation |
| Work (hours) | The total agent time to plan for in the period |
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to refresh the page to see new numbers?
It depends on the page:
- Dashboard — No. The numbers update by themselves.
- Departments and Forecast — Yes. Open the page again, or change the time range on the Departments page, to see the latest figures.
Why did my time range go back to Today?
The time range goes back to Today each time you open the Dashboard or Departments page. Choose it again if you need a different period. Your department, cluster and channel choices on the Dashboard are remembered.
What is the difference between a department and a cluster?
A department is a team or queue that already exists in your account. A cluster is a group of departments that you create on the Clusters page. You can then look at the whole group at once.
Why does a dash appear instead of a number?
A dash means there is nothing to show yet. For example, there may have been no calls in the time range, so there is no average wait time.
Can I trust the forecast?
The Forecast page carries a Beta tag. Use the expected volumes as a guide, not as a guarantee.
Where do I find my Account ID?
On the Settings page. See Settings.
Something does not load. What can I do?
Try again after a moment. The app shows a red message when it cannot load or save something. If the problem stays, contact CM.com support and mention your Account ID.