Configuring number assignments and voicemail for direct agent routing

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">Direct agent routing gives customers and partners a fast path to the right person, reduces time in shared queues, and makes ownership crystal clear. You can use it to offer VIP access to specialists, streamline internal and partner calls, and capture after-hours messages with voicemail for timely followups.</p>
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<p class="p">Direct agent routing gives customers and partners a fast path to the right person,
reduces time in shared queues, and makes ownership crystal clear. You can use it to
offer VIP access to specialists, streamline internal and partner calls, and capture
after-hours messages with voicemail for timely followups.</p>
<p class="p">To achieve this, admins configure back office number assignments for agents. Back office
number assignments can be either direct phone numbers know as direct inward dialing
(DID) or internal extensions. Additionally, you can choose whether to offer voicemail
for back office numbers.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">This article contains the following topics:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="configuring_back_office_users_for_direct_agent_routing__ul_bo_toc_01">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_assign_direct_number_agent">Setting up a direct number for an agent</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_assign_extension_agent">Setting up an extension for an agent</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="p">Related articles:<ul class="ul" id="configuring_back_office_users_for_direct_agent_routing__ul_ncc_wsk_g3c">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10255333454490#topic_user_based_voicemail" target="_blank">Configuring user-based voicemail</a></li>
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<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_assign_direct_number_agent">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Setting up a direct number for an agent</h2>
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<p class="p">When setting up a dedicated phone number for an agent using DID, you can choose
whether to offer voicemail and a custom message on that number.</p>
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<strong class="ph b">To assign a direct number to an agent</strong>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_assign_direct_number_agent__ol_bo_did_01">
<li class="li">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9696121449114" target="_blank">Contact Center</a>, click <strong class="ph b">Admin
Settings</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Click the settings icon (<img class="image" id="topic_assign_direct_number_agent__image_bo_cogs_did" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/cc_admin_cogs_icon.png" width="16">) in the
sidebar.</li>
<li class="li">Click the <strong class="ph b">Backoffice</strong> tab at the top.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">New DID Configuration</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">In the new DID configuration, select the <strong class="ph b">Agent</strong> this phone number will
route calls to.<p class="p">This is the DID owner.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_assign_direct_number_agent__image_bo_did_add" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/cc_admin_backoffice_did_add.png" width="600"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Enter the dedicated <strong class="ph b">Phone number</strong> for this agent.</li>
<li class="li">(Optional) Select <strong class="ph b">Enable voicemail</strong> to offer voicemail for this number
when the agent is unavailable.</li>
<li class="li">(Optional) Select <strong class="ph b">Use custom message</strong> to play a custom voicemail
message for this number when the agent is unavailable.</li>
<li class="li">(Optional) Under <strong class="ph b">Voicemail language</strong>, select the language to use for
the voicemail prompt.</li>
<li class="li">(Optional) Enter the custom <strong class="ph b">Voicemail message</strong> to play to
callers.</li>
<li class="li">(Optional) Select <strong class="ph b">Enable call recording</strong> to record calls to this
number.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Create configuration</strong>.</li>
</ol>
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<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_assign_extension_agent">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Setting up an extension for an agent</h2>
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<p class="p">When setting up an internal extension for an agent, you can control whether callers
can leave voicemail on that extension and, if so, configure voicemail settings such
as language and custom prompt options.</p>
<div class="p">
<strong class="ph b">To assign an extension to an agent</strong>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_assign_extension_agent__ol_bo_ext_01">
<li class="li">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9696121449114" target="_blank">Contact Center</a>, click <strong class="ph b">Admin
Settings</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Click the settings icon (<img class="image" id="topic_assign_extension_agent__image_bo_cogs_ext" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/cc_admin_cogs_icon.png" width="16">) in the
sidebar.</li>
<li class="li">Click the <strong class="ph b">Backoffice</strong> tab at the top.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">New Extension Configuration</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">In the new extension configuration, select the <strong class="ph b">Agent</strong> this extension
will route to.<p class="p">This is the extension owner.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_assign_extension_agent__image_bo_extension_new" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/cc_admin_backoffice_extension_add.png" width="600"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Enter the dedicated <strong class="ph b">Extension</strong> number for this agent (for example,
1001 or 2001).</li>
<li class="li">(Optional) Select <strong class="ph b">Enable voicemail</strong> to offer voicemail for this number
when the agent is unavailable.</li>
<li class="li">(Optional) Select <strong class="ph b">Use custom message</strong> to play a custom voicemail
message for this number when the agent is unavailable.</li>
<li class="li">(Optional) Under <strong class="ph b">Voicemail language</strong>, select the language to use for
the voicemail prompt.</li>
<li class="li">(Optional) Enter the custom <strong class="ph b">Voicemail message</strong> to play to
callers.</li>
<li class="li">(Optional) Select <strong class="ph b">Enable call recording</strong> to record calls to this
number.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Create configuration</strong>.</li>
</ol>
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