Consult someone while on a call

Initiate a consult

Before you begin

You must be on an active call.

Click Consult.

The Consult Request dialog box appears.

To interact with another agent, you need to initiate a consult call using Consult Request dialog box on the Agent Desktop rather than using a phone device (hardphone or softphone).

Select the agent, queue, organization, or dial number that you want to consult with.

The dial number supports the following formats:

US format: + [Country Code][Area Code][Seven-digit Phone Number]. For example, +12015532447
E.164 number format: [+][Country Code][Number]. For example, +11234567890
IDD (International Direct Dialing) format: [IDD][Country Code][Number]. For example, 01161123456789
The Agent Desktop validates the format of the dial number that you enter. The dial number can contain 3-18 digits and the supported special characters.

The Agent Desktop supports only the special characters + (plus), # (hash), * (asterisk), and : (colon) in the Dial Number field. If you copy a number with special characters or letters to the Dial Number field, the Agent Desktop retains only those special characters that are supported, and removes all other special characters or letters before allowing you to transfer a call.

Select Organization if you want to consult another agent who uses a collaboration tool.

You can search for a subject matter expert by their first name, role, department, or phone number.

To search for a subject matter expert by phone number, enter the complete phone number to retrieve the appropriate result.
Only the subject matter experts who have a business phone number assigned will appear in the search list.
There could be a delay in fetching the presence information of subject matter experts. Refresh or reload the search result to fetch the updated presence information of the Microsoft Teams subject matter experts.
Agents who access Desktop inside Microsoft Teams can consult with or transfer calls to Microsoft Teams users only when SSO is enabled in Microsoft Azure account.

(Optional) Click to retrieve the most recent list of agents, queues, entry points, and dial numbers.

Click Consult.

(Optional) You can perform the following while on a consult call with another agent.

Click Resume to put the consulting agent on hold and take the customer off hold.
Click Transfer to transfer the call to the consulting agent. The transfer request is initiated and the Wrap Up Reasons dialog box appears. For more information, see Transfer a call.
Click Conference to establish a three-way communication between you, the customer, and the consulting agent. For more information, see Start a conference call.

When finished, click End Consult.

The Wrap Up Reasons dialog box appears. For steps on how to apply a wrap-up reason, see Apply a wrap-up reason.

Actions each consult call participant can perform

Each call participant involved in a consult call can perform different actions. Use this table to gain an understanding of how each participant can interact.

Agent 1 refers to the agent who initiates a consult call.
Agent 2 refers to the agent who accepts the consult call.

Participant	Actions
Customer	A customer can't initiate a consult call. When Agent 1 consults with Agent 2, the customer is put on hold. The customer can drop from an ongoing call with Agent 1, which ends the interaction.
Agent 1	Agent 1 can initiate and end a consult call. Agent 1 can resume a customer call that was put on hold. Agent 1 can consult with Agent 2 and put Agent 2 on hold. Agent 1 can transfer a call to Agent 2. When the transfer request is initiated, the Wrap Up Reasons dialog box appears for Agent 1. The call continues between Agent 2 and the customer. Agent 1 can start a conference call with Agent 2 and a customer. When a customer drops from a consult call, the interaction ends, and the Wrap Up Reasons dialog box appears for Agent 1. Agent 1 can end a consult call by clicking the End Consult button or by hanging up the physical phone. The customer and Agent 2 are dropped from the consult call.
Agent 2	When Agent 1 resumes a call with the customer who was put on hold, Agent 2 is put on hold and the customer is taken off hold. Agent 2 can't resume or end a consult call. Agent 2 can't apply a wrap-up reason for a consulting call. Agent 2 can end a consult call by clicking the Exit Consult button, and the call continues between Agent 1 and the customer. Agent 2 can accept a transfer request made by the Agent 1 during the consult call. If Agent 1 starts a conference call when consulting Agent 2, Agent 2 is part of the conference call. If the customer drops from a consult call, the interaction ends. Agent 2 is dropped from the call without wrap-up.