Managing calls in Contact Center

Learn to manage calls effectively with features like outbound calling, hold, mute, and call transfers. Use warm or cold transfers, add internal notes, and conduct conference calls. End calls with After Call Work to wrap up tasks, and set your next status to manage availability. These tools help streamline your call handling process and improve customer interactions.


In this article, you'll learn how to make outbound calls and use key features of Zendesk
for Contact Center, from the basics like hold and mute, to advanced functions such as
warm transfers and conference calls.
This article contains the following topics:

Making outbound calls
Placing calls on hold or mute
Transferring calls
Making a conference call
Ending a call
Using the next status



Making outbound calls

Use the following steps to make an outbound call.
To make an outbound call

In Contact Center, click Outbound call.


If you are calling a customer who has had previous interactions within the
system or if you are using your internal CRM tool, the customer information will be
displayed in the customer profile section on the right-hand side of the page once
the call is connected.
A timer will appear next to the contact to show you how much time has
elapsed on the call.



Placing calls on hold or mute

During a call, you might want to put a customer on hold or mute yourself.
To place a customer on hold, click Hold ⏸️ above the conversation
tab. You'll receive a verbal notification that the customer is on hold, and the
button will change color.

To resume the call, click the same button, which will now be orange and
labeled Resume.
Similarly, to mute yourself, click the dark gray Mute button above
the conversation tab, and to unmute, click the same button, which will now be
labeled Unmute.



Transferring calls

When you need to transfer a call, click the Transfer ( ) button at the top of the screen. This will
will place you on hold while the transfer occurs.

You can transfer to an individual person listed in quick connects or to
another number. After selecting the person or number, click the transfer button to
initiate the transfer. Once the call is transferred, you can add a note before
closing the contact.
To cancel the transfer, click Cancel.


Internal transfer notes

To add an internal transfer note before transferring a caller, click
the note button and start typing your note. Alternatively, you can type
your note during the transfer process.

Click the tick ( ) button to save your note to the
customer’s profile.


Note: If you add a note after transferring the call, the person or team that you transferred the
call to won't see the note. Remember to add the note before transferring the
caller.




Cold transfer

After a transfer is initiated, to make a cold transfer, click the red
x button next to the customer’s number. This will automatically put
you in After Call Work (ACW) mode, and the customer will be in the queue
with the third-party.




Warm transfer

To perform a warm transfer, initiate the transfer and wait for the
third-party to answer. While waiting, the customer will be placed on hold and
will not be able to hear your conversation with the third-party.

Once the third-party answers, you have two options: transfer the
customer to the third-party or return to the customer after speaking with the
third-party.
To transfer the customer to the third-party, click the red x
button next to the customer's number. This will place you in After Call Work
(ACW) mode and the customer will be placed in the queue with the
third-party.
To return to the customer, click on the red x button next to the
third-party's number or name.




Making a conference call

To start a conference call, initiate the transfer and wait until the third
party answers. Once they accept the call, click Join which will connect all
parties.

If you click Join before the third party has answered the call, the
system will return an error.



Ending a call

Once your conversation with the customer is complete you can end the call
by clicking the red x button at the top of the conversation window.

Your status will change to After Call Work and you will see the letters ACW
appear in the top right corner of the screen.

Use this time to add your notes and complete all after-call work, then
close the contact by clicking Save and Close. Remember to select a resolution
code in order to close the contact.
Once the interaction is closed, your status will automatically change to
Available once more. If you want to go offline, change your status to Unavailable
before closing the contact.



Using the next status

The agent next status helps an agent to change into the state they want to
be by the end of the call. This is particularly useful if they need to take a lunch
break or step away from their desk.
You can select agent Next status whilst you are on a call and
speaking to a customer. You can set your next status, for example, Offline.
Once you end the call and close your interaction, the system will
automatically put you into Offline status thereby ensuring that you will not receive
any further calls that are waiting in the queue.



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