Contact Center (CXone) service and migration resources

The Contact Center service provides automated contact distribution of incoming telephone calls and other types of contacts (e.g., email) to a specific group of people (agents) responsible for answering those inbound telephone calls or responding to other types of contacts. Contact Center systems are used by organizations that handle telephone calls from callers who generally do not need to talk to a specific person but want to talk to any qualified agent able to assist them quickly. 

Initially, as we migrate from our legacy service to the CXone solution, we aim to ease the transition by mirroring existing call flows and features as closely as possible. However, a benefit of this new service will be the ability to enable features more quickly and easily than was possible on the legacy service. CXone can also scale up and down more quickly as each client’s needs for agents and capacity fluctuate over time. 

What’s new? 

• The MAX agent has a built-in softphone
• Synthesized text to speech available for announcements.
• Fewer logins for Supervisors, log in once for agent and supervisor tools
• Agents can relocate and reconnect to the service with minimal effort.
• Commit - schedule a follow-up phone call for a specified date and time.
• Single Sign-On – using PennKey 

What’s different? 

• Supervisors can easily assign/un-assign to skills agents and adjust proficiency
• SLA information visible without pulling a report
• Disposition codes replace wrap codes - used for tracking reasons why someone reached out to the contact center.
• Address book - used to place a manual outbound call or transfer a contact to another agent, or skill. 

Agents and Supervisors log in to the CXone Portal using Penn Weblogin (Pennkey credentials). The MAX agent or Supervisor application is then launched from the CXone Portal. 

Supervisors will use the application to monitor their agents and queues in real-time. To obtain key metrics, use the pre-built Reports, ….  

To access the CXone Portal:  

1. Navigate to the Contact Center service page:
2. Click “CXone Login” on the right-hand panel to be redirected to Penn WebLogin Single Sign-on (SSO)  

This page lists guidelines regarding the use of headsets with PennFlex Phone. Using a headset is highly recommended, especially in busy call center environments where there may be other agents taking calls at the same time. Headsets are not included as part of the service.  

Note:  Most laptops are equipped with speakers and built-in microphones. Laptop microphones are prone to picking up ambient noise, while a laptop's speaker output can sometimes cause an "echo" effect. Your results may vary, but for the best experience, we recommend using a wired headset with a microphone.  

CXone does not sell or recommend specific headsets, but they do state that headsets are required for use with the CXone service. The vendor also states, “NICE inContact strongly recommends that customers avoid using wireless headsets, and opt for the wired versions in order to minimize the potential for voice quality degradation.” 

Depending on the ports available and the capability of your computer, you may require a USB headset or may be able to use an analog headset. Some computers are equipped with both a 1/8" "mini" headphone and a mic jack, while others, especially newer Dell OptiPlex systems, may be equipped with a "combo" jack. Dell offers some analog headsets that are compatible with these systems, but these are also available from other vendors. Some higher-quality headsets provide noise-canceling abilities. 

ISC recommends testing a single unit prior to purchasing a large quantity of headsets.