How to Configure Group Presence Routing based on Time of Day, Day of Week in WE Connect

Rob_Marschall

OfficeSuite UC® Group Presence Routing enables routing of incoming calls to Call Groups by time of day and day of week. OfficeSuite administrators define presence states with different routing destinations for each with the option to change the presence state temporarily or permanently via the portal or by calling into an auto-attendant. The primary use case for Group Presence Routing is for special handling of calls to groups out-of-hours or whenever business needs require different routing during the normal work week.

Modifying a Group with Group Presence Routing

This function is only available for Broadcast, Hunt, and Rollover group types.

Log into the WE Connect portal with OfficeSuite administrator credentials and navigate to the Call Groups page via the OfficeSuite flyout on the left side of your dashboard or under Services / OfficeSuite / Phone System / Call Groups using the top navigation menu.

Select an existing group you wish to modify and click the edit (pencil) icon on the row.

NOTE: If you are adding a new call group and want to program Group Presence Routing, then create the group as you normally would, save it, and return to the Call Groups page to edit the group and configure the Presence State Routing accordingly.

Scroll to the Presence State Routing section and expand the selection.

Set up the presence states based on time of day and day of week. 

First, identify which days of the week the office is open by checking the box for that specific day. A box left unchecked means routing will abide by the AWAY state destination for the entire day regardless of what hours are programmed for IN OFFICE and LUNCH.

Then, define the hours of each day considered as IN OFFICE and LUNCH. You don’t need to define AWAY hours because anything not defined as IN OFFICE or LUNCH is considered AWAY.

Next, define the target destinations for calls that arrive at this group for each presence state. For the majority of the time customers will choose to route group calls to the members of the group (e.g. Call Group Members), but this feature allows handling of incoming calls to each group by four presence states for IN OFFICE, LUNCH, AWAY, and VACATION. For each state, calls can be routed to group members, auto-attendants, other call groups, or other phone numbers; including external numbers, for example answering services.  

VACATION is an override state that is only invoked manually (more about overrides later).

When done, press Save at the bottom of the section. Your selections are saved, and you are returned to the Edit Call Group page with acknowledgement that your settings were saved.

Overrides:

Once routing is defined for each day and time by presence state, routing will change automatically as time marches toward the boundary of the next presence state. At any time, the admin can temporarily override the presence state via the portal, for example if a group is taking an extended lunch or is away attending a meeting. When the time boundary for the next presence state arrives, the temporary override ends and normal presence state routing resumes. The only presence state that is not temporary is VACATION. When this is selected, it must be manually reverted to None or one of the other states to resume normal time of day, day of week routing.

To override the current presence state, edit the call group and select the desired presence state from the Routing Override drop list.

Furthermore, the admin can change the presence state by calling into an auto-attendant specially configured to allow for group presence state changes. Any AA can be used for this purpose. Pick one of the digit presses, e.g. star or pound or any other number, and select “Group Presence Control” as the target. When pressed, the caller will be prompted for the group extension and PIN for that group before being presented with the option to change the presence state for the group.

First, set a PIN for the group if you want to use an AA to enable overrides. While editing the group, enter a PIN according to the PIN rules. Share the PIN with anyone who will need to change the presence state by calling into the AA.

Next, setup any auto-attendant with a selection for Group Presence Control. You can pick any AA and any key within the AA, but the star or pound keys are best for this purpose as it’s not a function that you’ll prompt callers into the AA to select.

To change the presence state, call into the AA, press the corresponding digit for Group Presence Control, enter the group number (e.g. 615) and the PIN. Follow the audio prompts to select the override state. If you select a temporary override state (IN OFFICE, LUNCH, or AWAY) then normal routing will resume at the time boundary of the next presence state. If you select VACATION, then that override state is permanent until is changed again via the portal or AA.

New in OfficeSuite release 10.3

A third method of overriding the presence state of the group was delivered in version 10.3 of OfficeSuite software which completed production rollout to all customer servers in March 2023.

Group members can program a key on their OfficeSuite desk phone to change the state. Program a key for each group and each presence state you wish to change via the phone, e.g. "Group 602 AWAY". When the LED assigned to that key glows, it indicates the presence state of that group is temporarily overridden to the defined state.

Group routing will return to normal time of day, day of week routing at the time boundary of the next presence state or you can press another programmed key to change the state, e.g. "Group 602 IN OFFICE". Remember, if you set the override to VACATION, that state is permanent until it is changed again via the portal, AA, or this new method via programmable key.

You must be a member of the group to program a group presence state key on your phone. If you don't want to receive calls destined to that group, but still want to program the presence state override key, then you can "Leave Group" but still have the option to program the keys.

The Group Presence Routing feature was first made available in the OfficeSuite customer portal in 2020 with Release 9.7 software. The ability to change the group presence state via programmable key on your OfficeSuite desk phone was new in version 10.3 software which completed production rollout in March 2023.

How to check your version of OfficeSuite software in WE Connect.

More about OfficeSuite Release v10.3 including the upgrade schedule by server.

More about OfficeSuite Release v9.7