Defining Skill Reduction Values

You must have rights to modify the queue.

You use this procedure to define skill requirements and corresponding waiting times to reduce the queue's skill requirements. If there are no available agents who fulfill the queue's skill requirements, the defined skill requirements and waiting times are taken into use. Reduced skill requirements are absolute and, thus, conversations can be offered only to agents that have all skills at or above the defined level.

Skill reduction applies only to skill requirements defined for the queue and its extensions. These skill requirements are called reducible skills.

Note: If a conversation has a preferred agent, the system ignores skills and offers the conversation to this agent.
Note:

If you have defined a queue priority and values for Importance of Skill Matching and Importance of Contact Waiting Time in System Services > Voice Channel > Weight Value Settings, do not lower skill requirements to 0. These priority settings and zero‑level skill requirements may lead to a situation in which conversations with shorter queuing time are offered before conversations that have been queuing longer.

To define skill reduction:
  1. On the System Configurator main screen, choose Queue Management > Queues.
  2. Search for the queue whose settings you want to configure.

    The search result list appears.

  3. Choose the queue by double-clicking it.
  4. Choose Skill Reduction.
  5. Enter the skill requirements and the waiting time (in seconds) for each requirement.
    example:

    Queue1 has a skill requirement 5 for skill German language and the following reduction values:

    Time (s)

    Skill Requirement

    35

    4

    40

    3

    35

    2

    Agents that are available and serving in Queue1 have the following skill levels:

    Agent

    Skill Level

    Agent 1

    5

    Agent 2

    4

    Agent 3

    3

    Agent 4

    2

    The conversation is offered to Agent 1 but if they do not accept within 35 seconds, the conversation is offered to Agent 2. If Agent 2 does not accept, the conversation is offered to Agent 3 after 40 seconds and then to Agent 4 after 35 seconds.

  6. In the Use Absolute Waiting Times field, choose if you want the system to always use the defined skill reduction times. Options are:
    OptionDescription
    Not DefinedThe system uses the value of this setting selected at the channel level.
    OnThe system offers conversations to agents using the defined skill reduction values.
    Off

    The system can offer a conversation to the agent with the highest skill levels immediately, if the agent’s skill levels fulfill the skill requirement of the last skill reduction step.

    For more information about this option, see Skill reduction when Use Absolute Waiting Times is set to Off.

  7. Save your entries.