Call routing based on operating modes in Webex Calling

There are typically 3 modes of call routing for inbound calls:

1. Day- How calls will route during normal open hours (eg: M-F 9-5)

2. Night- How calls will route during non-business hours (eg: M-F 5-9)

3. Holiday/special closure - How calls will route during weekends, holidays or a special closure. (Typically going directly to an auto attendant greeting for voicemail with a special greeting).

Operating modes can be created at the organization and location levels.

• A maximum of 100 organization level operating modes

• A maximum of 100 location level operating modes per location.

An operating mode can be defined with a Schedule or without a Schedule.

Operating modes:

• None (non-scheduled) - Always enabled by an authorized user manually switching into the mode, and always disabled by an authorized user manually switching out of the mode.

• Same hours every day– A single time duration for Monday-Friday and a single time duration for Saturday-Sunday (at least one of the time durations must be enabled)

• Different hours every day – Individual time durations for every day of the week (at least one day must have a time duration enabled)

• Holiday – Up to 150 holidays which have time durations, can optionally span multiple days, and can optionally have a yearly recurrence by day or date (at least one holiday must be defined).

An operating mode has a forwarding destination which defines how the call will be routed when that mode is active:

• Forwarding enabled

  • A forwarding destination number is configured.

  • Send to voicemail can be enabled to send the call to the destination number's voicemail.

  • Send to voicemail checkbox is enabled when the destination number is an in-organization Webex Calling destination with voicemail enabled.

  • When the mode triggers, the call is forwarded to the specified destination or its voicemail.

• Forwarding disabled

  • When the mode triggers, the call isn't forwarded and instead proceeds to the normal processing in the feature that the modes are assigned to with forward calls by mode. Currently, call queue is the supported feature.

  • Start times for scheduled/holiday modes are inclusive while end times are exclusive.

    A mode's dates/times aren't associated with a timezone. When a mode is assigned to a feature, the times are applied as per the feature's timezone.

Provision operating mode

To create an operating mode, sign in to Control Hub.

1. Navigate to Calling > Features > Operating Mode.

2. Select Add new.

3. Choose which level to create the mode - Organization, or Location.

   1. If selecting Location, search for or select the location from the list.

4. Enter the mode name and click Next.

5. If the operating mode includes a schedule, toggle on Define Schedule and select a schedule type from the list.

   Schedule as Same hours every day - select this option from the dropdown and check the box next to Monday-Friday or Sat & Sun. Specify the time range, and select All day if applicable.

   This mode needs to have at least one entry configured.

   Schedule as different hours every day - Select this option from the dropdown and check the box next to the days of the week that you’d like. Specify the time range, and select All day if applicable.

   This mode needs to have at least one entry configured.

   Schedule as Holiday - Select this option from the dropdown and enter the holiday name, recurrence, and duration. select All day if applicable.

   When switching to recurrence, Yearly, the duration start and end date is the same and the all day toggle is on by default.

   Select Next. The new holiday is saved to the table. You can add multiple holiday entries by clicking Add new holiday. Hover over the holiday and click to edit the holiday, or to delete it.

6. Click Next. The Forward destination page appears. Enter the destination, and check the box send to voicemail if applicable. Or, select Do not forward and click Next.

7. Review the settings for the new operating mode.

   Schedule type operating mode can’t be changed once the mode is created.

8. Click Create.

Location admin restrictions

Location level administrators can create, update, and delete modes for their location. They have read-only access to organization level modes and modes created in other locations.

Feature assignment of mode-based routing

Call routing based on modes is enabled by assigning modes to a feature like call queue, which has the associated number(s) for which the call routing needs to be modified. The associated numbers are assigned as the main number of the feature.

Currently call queue is the only feature that supports assignment of call forwarding based on modes.

To assign features of mode-based routing, sign in to Control Hub.

1. Navigate to Calling > Call Queues.

2. Select a call queue from the list and click Call forwarding.

3. Toggle Call forwarding and select Forward calls by modes.

4. Select an existing mode.

5. If the mode is scheduled, the Normal operation toggle is selected by default.

6. Select an option: default phone number, different phone number, or do not forward. Specify a destination if choosing any option other than do not forward. Toggle send to voicemail if applicable.

7. Click Save.The new mode appears in the call forwarding list.

   Select the normal operation toggle.

   You need to save your changes first before switching back to normal operation if the option has been toggled off.

1. Click Add operating mode to add additional modes.

2. Select to edit the mode or to delete it.

Location admin restrictions

The following restrictions apply to location admins:

• A location admin can manage modes for features in their location, including viewing, assigning, editing, and unassigning.

• A location admin can return a feature to normal operation in their location.

• Modes from other locations can't be assigned.

  The existing bulk management for auto attendants, call queues, and hunt groups doesn't support the feature's call forwarding configuration.

Assign mode management capabilities to a user

• An authorized user can manage call routing of numbers that are assigned to a feature like call queue, provided that the forward calls by modes option is enabled for the feature.

• If an admin later disables forward calls by modes on call queue, by either disabling call forwarding entirely or switching to a different call forwarding mode such as selective call forwarding, the feature remains in the list but is flagged as having mode-based forwarding disabled.

• The features are presented to the user for mode management in User Hub and on supported MPP devices in the same order as assigned.

• Only up to the first 5 features in the list are available for user management on MPP devices while all are available for user management in User Hub.

To set a user’s mode switch permissions, sign in to Control Hub.

1. Navigate to Users and select a user.

2. Click on Calling and select Mode Management under Call handling.

3. Search for features by name, number or extension to add them and allow the user to manage mode-based forwarding of the specified features.

   A maximum of 50 features can be assigned to a user.

4. Click to delete a feature, or click Remove All to remove all the features for the specified user.
5. The new features appear in the list. Use to filter the features.

Perform a bulk mode switch

An administrator or office manager can select multiple features or departments to perform a bulk or batch mode switch. This will apply the same applicable mode to all selected features.

1. Click > Calling > Features.
2. Select the features and click Switch mode.
3. Select the common mode you want to switch for the selected features.

   In batch switch mode, you can only revert to normal manually.

4. Click Switch mode.

Provision mode management on user assigned devices

To apply the default layout:

1. Navigate to Calling > Service Settings > Line Key Templates.

2. Select Reset Line key template to reset configurations for matching devices to their default templates. This will also override any custom line key settings.

3. Enter the locations and devices. Select Refine search by Tags or Refine search by Advisories to search by these methods. Check the boxes as needed.

   

4. Click Next. The configuration layout of the selected devices will be set to default layout once applied. Changes will take effect once devices are synced.

5. Select Reset to default.

To apply a custom layout:

1. Select the apply custom layout icon to find and apply a template to all matching devices.

2. Enter the locations and devices. Select Refine search by tags or refine search by advisories to search by these methods. Check the boxes as needed.

   If the default layout from current device layout is selected, the mode management checkbox is disabled. If All is selected, the mode management checkbox is enabled.

3. Click Next. The configuration layout of the selected devices will be set to custom layout once applied. Changes will take effect once devices are synced.

4. Select Apply custom layout.

To edit a template:

1. Click .

2. The line key assignments and their order appear. Expand each dropdown to select the line key assignments.

3. Select Mode Management.

4. Click Save.

To assign Mode Management to devices individually:

1. Navigate to Devices and select a device.

2. Click Manage next to Configure Layout.

3. Program the line keys with primary, shared lines, or calling functions and save the changes to override current configurations. Select Custom Layout.

4. Up to 5 lines can be configured as mode management. Use the dropdown to select Mode Management for the line keys.

5. Check the Preview Layout box to view the line configurations in preview mode. This is how they will appear on the device once provisioned.

6. Click Save.

Extend a day mode

Extend a day mode from a Cisco MPP phone

In some instances, an administrator may need to extend a mode’s schedule to fit the business's needs.

For example, an electrician office has too much work on a day during the work week. The office manager can extend the mode from a key on a Cisco MPP phone.

1. Select the calling mode for the department.
2. Select Specify duration.
3. The current extension end time is listed. Use the navigation ring to change the extension time.
4. Press Set. The extended day mode appears in the list as: (Extended).

Extend a day mode from User Hub

Sign in to User Hub.

1. Click > Calling > Features
2. Select the desired feature. Click Edit mode > extend mode.
3. Choose to extend the mode manually or specify the duration of the extension using the dropdown.
4. Click Save.

Early start of a mode

Early start of a mode from User Hub

Sometimes, normal business hours can change. For example, a business may close earlier than scheduled on a Friday before a holiday weekend. The office manager can start a mode earlier than scheduled.

Sign in to User Hub.

1. Click > Calling > Features
2. Select the desired feature. Click Edit mode > switch mode.
3. Select the applicable night or holiday mode and click Save.

   A message appears that the exception will end at the specified time and automatically switch back to normal once it ends.

Early start of a mode from a Cisco MPP phone

1. Select the department you'd like the mode to start early for.
2. Select the mode.
3. Select Set.

   The new mode is now active.

Manually switch-in and switch-out of a mode

Manually switch in and out of a mode from User Hub

In the instance of a network outage during regular business hours, the administrator or office manager can change the routing to follow outage mode. Once the outage is resolved, the office manager can revert back to normal operating mode.

Sign in to User Hub.

1. Click > Calling > Features.
2. Select the desired feature. Click Edit mode > switch mode.
3. Select outage mode and click Save.

   When selecting outage mode, by default, the Manual switch back option is checked. The mode remains as is until it's changed.

4. Once the outage is resolved, click Revert to normal to resume the normal operating mode.

Manually switch in and out of a mode from a Cisco MPP phone

1. Select the department you'd like to switch the mode for.
2. Select the mode, Outage.
3. Select Set.

   The new mode is reflected under the department. Repeat the steps to switch out of the mode as needed.