We’ve started off looking at the new Omnichannel Admin Center in Part I. I’m going to continue going through the wonderful new app (interface?), showcasing the functionality that’s different (there’s no point in me mentioning things that are the same, right?).

So having taken a look at the general overview, let’s start delving deeper into how it really is better!

Queues

Queues are really the backbone of Omnichannel. Customer interactions come through to a queue, where agents can then pick them up & respond. Without a queue, nothing would ever happen!

In the new interface, the functionality around queues has been extended. This is what the new interface looks like overall:

You’ll note that the default queues aren’t showing up in here. I’m not quite sure why that is, but am looking into it, and will post about it when I find out the reason behind it.

Opening up a queue record gives us the following:

I’m loving the cleanliness of the new layout – it’s something I’m probably going to keep saying! The new UI is just so much nicer on the eye, in my opinion. We have the information laid out well.

New users can be added from the ‘Add Users’ button on the right top, which is a pretty standard interface (ie adding new/existing records into a subgrid on a form).

But there are several new features here that weren’t present through the old interface. The first to talk about is the ability to set Operation Hours (the block at the bottom of the screenshot above). It’s great to see the prompt that if no operating hours are set, it’ll default to 24/7 operation.

Previously, it was a slight pain (ie clicking around a lot!) to get these to be associated. Now all we need to do is click the ‘Set Operation Hours’ button at the bottom of the page, and we can then add an existing record for this, or set up a new one:

Choosing an existing record will also give us the option to modify the settings for it:

One of the really nice things about this is the Assignment Method, which shows how work items will be prioritised. It’s possible change this, as well as create a NEW assignment method:

So quite a few additional functionality options available from the initial interface, rather than needing to click around. I’m liking it!

Workstreams

Just as with Queues, the Workstreams interface has been streamlined as well. One of the important things to note is that workstreams will need to be migrated over from the old interface to the new interface (I guess that there’s something happening behind the scenes?). I’m going to cover how to do this in a future post (stay tuned!), but let’s take a look the functionality in the new interface:

Clicking into a workstream record gives us the following information:

That’s already MUCH better laid out than the previous way, I think!

So let’s see what we have here. Well firstly, we’re able to move between the channels that are associated to the workstream. This is really helpful, as it can allow us to flip quickly backwards & forwards, and see the relevant information for each channel. We’re able to directly edit each individual channel just by clicking on it (loving the ‘fly out’ side screens for this!), and change the behaviour of it:

The abilities to quickly & rapidly do all of this is just wonderful, rather than needing to have a concrete understanding of the (complex) relationship structures within the system, and clicking around.

It’s also possible to add a new channel directly from this screen, which will easily walk (admin) users through setting up a new channel as needed:

Moving down the options available, we’re able to set routing rules, as well as work classifications. I’m going to talk about this in a separate post, but there’s some really interesting new capabilities here!

Looking at the Work Distribution information, we’re also able to view more information around this, as well as modify some of the settings available. Again, this comes in as a ‘fly out’ style window:

One of the neat pieces of functionality that has been slipped in is the ‘Keep same agent for entire conversation’ option. This means that if the customer interaction drops for some reason, & they come back, it can look for the same agent that they were chatting with previously, if it’s set as such.

Finally, we then have the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab, which gives us information around sessions, notifications, context variables, smart-assist bots, and quick replies. All of these are able to be viewed & configured directly from within the workstream, rather than needing to jump around different parts of the Omnichannel system, & then associating them together:

So to wrap up here (don’t worry, more to come shortly!), the new interface is really enabling admins to be able to quickly & easily create the necessary setup that’s needed. It’s avoiding needing to click around into different parts of the system. Omnichannel is complex enough as it is, and with being able to do the setup from one screen, it really makes life a LOT easier overall with getting the initial setup in place!

What are your thoughts on the new app? Have you used it yet? Have you found that it’s saving you time/effort? Drop a comment below – I’d love to hear!