Direct Connect Line Configuration

Direct Connect Lines route inbound calls to the first available contact in a specified group. Unanswered calls collect voicemail for escalation. Follow the steps below to set up a Direct Connect Line.

Step 1

Navigate to Manage Account via the profile menu.

Step 2

Select Phone Lines from the left-hand page navigation.

Step 3

From the Phone Lines page, click on the phone number that you wish to configure.

Step 4

Next, choose the line type. You can opt for Workflow, Message, Direct Connect, Cascade Connect or Interactive Voice. For this article, we will choose the Direct Connect option. Once selected, click Next.

Step 5

If you're setting your phone line up for the first time, you will now be prompted to name your phone line. You can optionally provide a description for the phone line. When done, click Next. If you're editing an already configured phone line, you can make any needed updates to the name and description.

Step 6

The Phone Line Greeting is what your caller will hear when they call your phone number and are placed into a hold queue pending a connection with one of your contacts.

To set your greeting, decide how you would like to add a greeting. There are 3 available options for adding a greeting:

1. Create a new greeting using text-to-voice. If opting for this method of adding a greeting, you'll be prompted to type your greeting as text. We will then run the text through a text-to-speech engine and allow you to preview your greeting before assigning it to the phone line.
2. Record a new greeting. In this instance, you'll be asked to provide a direct phone number where you can be called. The application will phone you and provide step-by-step instructions on how to record, preview and save your greeting.
3. Upload an audio file. If selecting this option, you will be able to upload a pre-recorded audio file for use as a greeting on your phone line.

Choose the method you'd like to use, follow the provided instructions and finish by assigning the desired greeting to the phone line. Once done, you can click the 'play' button to verify that the correct greeting has been installed.

Step 7

Next, we'll configure the line settings. In order to connect an inbound caller with contacts in your organizations, we need to determine which group to connect the caller with.

1. Under Recipients choose the group(s) that you want Connect Rocket to call when this phone line is called.
2. Under Activation Delay choose the number of seconds that we should try to connect the inbound caller with a contact in the selected group(s).

In this example, when a caller rings through to this Direct Connect Phone Line, Connect Rocket will place the inbound caller on hold while we ring all of the contacts in the 'Operations - Supervisors' group. The first contact in the group to pick up the call will be connected one-to-one with the caller. Any additional members who try to join the call will be advised that the call has been handled.

If we are unable to connect the caller with a member of your team before the Activation Delay period expires, we'll request the inbound caller leave a voice message so we can escalate it. Record the Missed Call Recording Prompt as you did in Step 6.

You may to choose to record something like; "We're sorry but all staff are unavailable. Please leave a message at the prompt and a member of our team will follow-up within 15 minutes."

Step 8

If an inbound call is not answered and the caller leaves a voice mail message, Connect Rocket can ensure the message is escalated properly within your organization. Available actions are: notifications, conference calls and/or pager notifications. You can add one or many actions.

Adding a Notification

1. Select the group(s) that you would like to send your notification to. You can send to one or many groups.
2. For the purpose of this call flow, you can override the 'Off Duty' status of contacts. Tick the checkbox and the notification will be sent to any 'Off Duty' contacts when the phone line is activated.
3. Type your notification message. This can include URLs.
4. You can opt to add a file attachment to your notification. Any format is supported and will be uploaded to our servers. A shortened URL will be appended to your notification message. Clicking the link will allow the notification recipient to access the attachment.
5. If required, add a poll to your notification by making a selection from the dropdown menu. If you don't see any poll options, you'll need to create one first.
6. If you add a poll, the poll duration is how long the poll will be open and gathering responses for. The default value, set when you created you poll, will be shown. You can increase or decrease the duration as needed for this specific workflow.
7. Include a link to a recording of the voice message left by the inbound caller. This allows notification recipients to hear, firsthand, the caller's message.
8. Send a transcript of the caller's voice message with your notification. Note that the quality can vary widely depending on call quality, background noise, etc.
9. Select the desired delivery methods for your notification. You can chose one or more of the available options. The delivery methods available to you will depend on how your account is configured.
10. You can resend a notification to those contacts who have not yet responded to a poll after a period of time has passed. Click the link to configure resend options.

Click Save when done.

Adding a Conference Call

1. Select the group(s) that you would like to place your call to. You can call one or many groups.
2. For the purpose of this call flow, you can override the 'Off Duty' status of contacts. Tick the checkbox and the call will be placed to any 'Off Duty' contacts when the call flow is activated.
3. Optionally, you can first try your call to all 'On Duty' contacts. If no one answers, Connect Rocket can retry the call, including all 'Off Duty' contacts in the selected group(s).
4. If you choose to add a conference introduction, the entered text will be spoken when a call recipient picks up the conference call - providing immediate context for the nature of the call.
5. You can choose to play the voice message left by the caller when the conference call is picked up, allowing call recipients to hear, firsthand, the caller's message.
6. If you have at least one available phone line, you can choose which number the conference call should be initiated from.

Click Save when done.

Adding a Pager Notification

1. Select the group(s) that you would like to send your page to. You can send to one or many groups.
2. For the purpose of this call flow, you can override the 'Off Duty' status of contacts. Tick the checkbox and the page will be sent to any 'Off Duty' contacts when the call flow is activated.
3. Enter the message you wish to send via page. Valid characters include: any digit (0-9), '#' and '*'. You can add a 'w' to insert a half second pause.

Click Save when done.

Step 9

Once you have added all of your desired actions, your Direct Connect Line has been successfully configured. You can now return to the Phone Lines page and you will see:

1. Your phone line name.
2. Line type set and identified.

If you need to make changes to the phone line or call flow, simply click the 'pencil' icon.