Understand Routing and Queueing in Webex Contact Center

Publisher

Cisco Systems, Inc. (Webex Help Center)

URL

https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/np2fdx/Understand-Routing-and-Queueing-in-Webex-Contact-Center

Published

2026-07-07

Updated

unknown

Accessed

2026-09-04

HTTP status

200

License

Cisco proprietary documentation, all rights reserved; no-redistribution; short excerpts and locators only

Source notes citing this source

• Cisco's explanation of routing and queueing in Webex Contact Center does not mention business hours. in context
• In Webex Contact Center every contact routed to an agent consumes one channel of that media type for as long as the agent is working on the contact. in context
• Cisco's routing and queueing article says a Webex Contact Center agent can have only one voice channel and up to five channels of each other media type. disputed in context
• A Webex Contact Center queue is created with a single channel type: Telephony, Chat, Email or Social. in context
• When a Webex Contact Center agent becomes available on a channel while contacts are waiting, the contact selected for that agent is of the same media type as the channel on which the agent became available. in context
• A workable mapping is: UCCE precision queues to skill-based queues with skill relaxation standing in for precision queue steps, UCCE skill groups to team-based queues or to boolean skills, and UCCE attributes to skill definitions of matching type. inferred in context
• Webex Contact Center supports skill relaxation, in which modified skill requirements replace the original criteria at configured intervals while a contact waits in queue. in context
• Skill-based Webex Contact Center queues select agents by Longest Available Agent or Best Available Agent, the latter using proficiency-based skill scores. in context
• In non-skill-based Webex Contact Center queues with team assignments, an agent's queue membership follows the team the agent signs in to. in context
• A Unified CCX Contact Service Queue corresponds to a Webex Contact Center queue, but the correspondence is not one-to-one because UCCX holds skill requirements on the CSQ while Webex Contact Center can hold them either on the queue or per contact in the flow. inferred in context
• Webex Contact Center routes or queues a contact to a specified preferred agent through the Queue To Agent flow activity, resolving the agent by agent ID or email address. in context
• Webex Contact Center offers two skills-based queue arrangements: a skill-based queue whose skill criteria are defined on the queue itself and cannot be overridden by an individual contact, and a skill-based queue with team assignment where each contact may optionally specify its skill requirements in the flow. in context
• Webex Contact Center skill relaxation lets a contact replace its original skill requirements with a modified set at configured time intervals while it is parked in queue. in context
• In a skill-based queue, every agent in the organization who holds all the queue's required skills through a directly assigned skill profile implicitly becomes part of that queue. in context
• If the caller declines recording consent in the flow, the call is not recorded, even when tenant, queue or schedule configuration would record it. in context
• If the caller's consent captured in the flow is Yes, the call is recorded whatever the tenant, queue or recording schedule configuration says. in context
• If no Recording Control activity is configured in the flow and recording is set to No at all of the tenant, queue and recording schedule levels, the call is not recorded. in context
• If no Recording Control activity is configured in the flow and recording is set to Yes at any one of the tenant, queue or recording schedule levels, the call is recorded. in context
• The Continue On Transfer, Pause Resume Enabled and Pause Duration recording settings still follow the tenant, queue and recording schedule hierarchy when the Recording Control activity is used. in context
• The Recording Control flow activity is designed to be used with a Menu activity to capture the caller's consent to recording. in context
• The Get Queue Info activity returns the contact's position in queue (PIQ) and the estimated wait time (EWT). in context
• After Queue Contact or Queue To Agent, flow execution continues with the attached activities, and pre-configured music is played to the waiting customer by attaching a Play Music activity. in context
• In Webex Contact Center Flow Designer, the Callback activity lets a caller request a callback instead of waiting on hold in queue. in context
• If a callback reaches an answering machine or voicemail, the system treats the attempt as unsuccessful. in context
• The answering-machine-detection result is exposed in the reason output variable of the CallbackFailed event handler, and retry logic can branch on it. in context
• Flow designers can add a CallbackFailed event to the event flow. It fires when a callback attempt fails and is the place to build retries. in context
• For courtesy callbacks, the CallProgressAnalysis activity goes after the Callback activity in the main flow. in context
• In event flows, CallProgressAnalysis is supported only in the CallbackFailed event handler. in context
• For scheduled or personal scheduled callbacks, the CallProgressAnalysis activity goes after NewPhoneContact in the main flow. in context
• An IVR-scheduled callback can be set for any date from today up to 31 days in the future. in context
• An IVR-scheduled callback window must start at least 30 minutes from now and last between 30 minutes and 8 hours. in context
• The Callback activity has an optional setting to customise the ANI (caller ID) presented on the callback. in context
• If the Callback activity sends the callback to a different queue, the contact goes to the end of that queue with no skills and default priority. in context
• A callback can be routed to the caller's preferred agent when the Callback activity follows a QueueToAgent activity in the flow. in context
• Courtesy callback retries are not described as automatic. They happen only when the flow designer builds retry logic in the CallbackFailed event flow, within the documented interval, attempt and span limits. inferred in context
• Webex Contact Center supports at most 10 callback retry attempts. in context
• The maximum interval between courtesy callback retries is 72 hours. in context
• All callback retries must fall within a maximum span of 14 days. in context
• The minimum interval between courtesy callback retries is 10 seconds. in context
• The delay between callback retries is set with a Wait activity in the CallbackFailed event flow. in context
• If the Callback activity keeps the contact in its original queue, the contact keeps its queue position, skills, priority and contextual data. in context
• A callback from the Schedule Callback activity can use any telephony queue, inbound or outbound. in context
• Cisco recommends a Disconnect activity immediately after the Schedule Callback activity so the current call ends properly. in context
• For IVR self-scheduled callbacks, the flow collects the caller's scheduling details with DTMF prompts and passes them to the Schedule Callback activity. in context
• The Schedule Callback activity requires a Callback Default Entry Point to be configured under Channel Settings first. in context
• In Webex Contact Center the Callback activity lets a caller request a callback instead of waiting on hold and creates a task in a queue so an available agent can return the call. in context
• A CallbackFailed event lets the flow retry a failed callback by using the Wait activity in the event flow. in context
• The Callback activity offers an optional setting to customize the ANI (caller ID) used on the callback. in context
• If a different queue is selected in the Callback activity, the contact is pushed to the end of that queue with no skills and default priority. in context
• Readers who route on skills or priority should expect a different-queue callback to lose that targeting, so a same-queue callback is the safer default unless the second queue is built for callbacks. inferred in context
• Because retries are built by handling the CallbackFailed event, a flow with no CallbackFailed handler probably does not retry a failed callback on a schedule the reader controls. inferred in context
• When the Callback activity follows a QueueToAgent activity, customers can request a callback from their preferred agent. in context
• The retry interval set with the Wait activity for a failed callback is at least 10 seconds and at most 72 hours. in context
• Webex Contact Center supports up to 10 callback retry attempts across a maximum span of 14 days using the Wait activity. in context
• If the callback stays in the original queue where the call originated, the contact keeps its queue position, skills, priority and contextual data. in context
• The Scheduled Callback activity lets a flow offer the customer a callback at a specific future date and time. in context
• A scheduled callback date must be between today and 31 days ahead and supplied in YYYY-MM-DD format. in context
• The Scheduled Callback activity requires the Callback Default Entry Point to be configured under Channel Settings in Control Hub. in context
• At the requested date and time a scheduled callback creates a new call that follows the flow of the linked entry point. in context
• The Scheduled Callback activity requires a valid time zone in IANA format such as America/New_York. in context
• A scheduled callback time window must be 30 minutes to 8 hours long, start at least 30 minutes ahead, and use 24-hour time. in context
• The Callback activity has an optional configuration for customising the ANI (caller ID) used during the callback. in context
• A flow designer can include a CallbackFailed event in the event flow; it is triggered when a callback attempt fails and is the hook for implementing callback retries. in context
• The Call Progress Analysis (CPA) activity detects automated answering systems and live voices on callback calls, and a callback attempt that meets an answering machine or voicemail is identified as unsuccessful. in context
• If a post-call survey (Feedback activity) is configured in the flow, it is not initiated when the callback is answered by an answering machine or voicemail. in context
• CallProgressAnalysis is placed after the Callback activity in the main flow for courtesy callback, after NewPhoneContact in the main flow for scheduled or personal scheduled callback, and in the event flow is supported only inside the CallbackFailed event handler. in context
• The answering-machine-detection result is captured in the reason output variable of the CallbackFailed event handler, and retries can be configured from that variable. in context
• When a caller opts for a callback, the Flow Designer Callback activity creates a task in a queue so that an available agent can return the customer's call. in context
• A flow with no CallbackFailed event handler has no documented mechanism for retrying a failed callback, so a single failed attempt is likely to be the last one. inferred in context
• If the Callback activity selects a queue other than the original one, the contact is placed at the end of that queue with no skills and with default priority. in context
• A callback from the customer's preferred agent is possible when the Callback activity follows a QueueToAgent activity in the flow. in context
• The system supports up to 10 callback retry attempts across a maximum span of 14 days using the Wait activity. in context
• The interval between callback retries is set with the Wait activity, with a minimum of 10 seconds and a maximum of 72 hours. in context
• If the callback stays in the original queue, the contact keeps its queue position, skills, priority and contextual data. in context
• A scheduled callback can be scheduled against any telephony queue, inbound or outbound. in context
• The Schedule Callback flow activity requires that the Callback Default Entry Point is configured under Channel Settings in Control Hub beforehand. in context
• Cisco recommends placing a Disconnect activity immediately after the Schedule Callback activity so the current call ends properly once the callback is scheduled. in context
• When a scheduled callback fires at the requested date and time, a new interaction is created and it follows the flow linked to the Callback Default Entry Point, not the flow in which the callback was scheduled. in context
• A failed scheduled callback attempt is retried only if a CallbackFailed event handler is configured in the flow linked to the Callback Default Entry Point. in context
• The Schedule Callback activity validates its inputs: the date may be from today up to 31 days ahead, the time window must start at least 30 minutes in the future and last between 30 minutes and 8 hours, and the timezone must be a valid IANA name. in context
• A callback flow that does not use CallProgressAnalysis probably treats a call answered by the customer's voicemail as a connected callback, so it is not reported as failed and no retry is triggered. inferred in context
• To receive a queued contact, an agent must have free capacity on that contact's media channel. in context
• In team-based queues, an agent is eligible only when the team they are logged in to is assigned to the queue. in context
• In skills-based routing, an agent's skills must satisfy all of the contact's current skill requirements before the agent is eligible. in context
• A flow can optionally set skill requirements for each contact. The router matches those requirements against the skills of available agents. in context
• When skill requirements are set at queue level, every contact queued into that queue automatically takes on the queue's skill criteria. in context
• When a contact is queued, Webex Contact Center tries to match it to an agent immediately. If no agent is eligible, the contact is parked until an agent meets the eligibility criteria. in context
• Non-skill-based queues offer the Longest Available, Circular and Linear (top-down) routing patterns. Skill-based queues offer Longest Available and Best Available. in context
• The Blind Transfer flow activity transfers a call to an external or third-party dial number without an agent, and it is a terminal activity: the flow ends once the transfer is executed. in context
• The Blind Transfer activity is not supported when the flow is executed for a consult. in context
• A capacity-based team directs voice calls to a capacity-based dial number, where the capacity sets how many calls can be handled concurrently. in context
• Webex Contact Center retries routing a contact up to 20 attempts and ends the contact with ROUTING_LIMIT_EXCEEDED when that limit is exhausted. in context
• The routing and queueing article gives no vendor guidance on whether to use one entry point per line of business or shared entry points. inferred in context
• When a contact is queued and no agent is available, the contact is parked in the queue and waits. in context
• A queue receives contacts when a flow's Queue Contact activity selects it. in context
• In skill-based routing an agent must entirely satisfy the skill criteria of the queue to be offered its contacts. in context
• Cisco positions skill-based queues for cases where static assignment of skills and management of queue-to-agent association is feasible and desirable for operational control. in context
• With team-based queues, agents can move between queues by choosing a different team when they sign in. in context
• Agents get their skills from a skill profile assigned to them. in context
• In a team-based queue, call distribution groups define levels of teams whose agents become eligible for the queue's contacts over configured intervals of time. in context
• The Queue Contact activity places a contact into an active inbound queue in the organization so it can be matched and routed to an agent in that queue. in context
• Skill-based routing sends each contact to agents who have the skills that the contact requires. in context
• Skill relaxation replaces a contact's original skill requirements with a modified set after configured time intervals in queue. in context
• Music for a caller waiting in a Webex Contact Center queue is provided by attaching a Play Music activity after Queue Contact. in context
• A queued caller hearing silence most likely points to a flow with no Play Music (or Play Message loop) after Queue Contact, or one whose loop has ended, rather than to a media fault. inferred in context
• The Bridged Transfer activity is not supported in outbound call flows. in context
• Agent-based Routing in Webex Contact Center routes or queues a contact directly to a specified (preferred) agent, and the Queue To Agent flow activity is what implements it. in context
• Cisco says the preferred-agent lookup is done with the HTTP Request flow activity, which retrieves the mapping from an external application. in context
• For both the preferred-agent and last-agent use cases, Cisco says the contact details and the contact-to-agent mapping are stored outside Webex Contact Center. in context
• A contact can be mapped to one or more preferred agents. in context
• While a contact is parked against a preferred agent, the flow keeps running, so the caller can hear music or register a callback while waiting. in context
• If the preferred agent is unavailable and the park option is selected, the contact is parked and waits for that agent to become available. in context
• The Queue To Agent reporting queue names the queue whose configuration, such as recording and default music in queue, applies to the contact, and the queue the contact is reported against. in context
• The last-agent use case routes a contact who calls back several times to the last agent who handled that contact. in context
• The preferred-agent use case is a customer assigning contacts to dedicated agents or relationship executives, with Agent-based Routing sending those contacts straight to that agent. in context
• Call distribution groups widen the agent pool inside one queue while overflow re-queues the contact into a different queue with its own settings, so only overflow changes which queue's thresholds and reports apply. inferred in context
• Cisco's routing article does not say whether priority, skills or accumulated wait time carry over when a contact is re-queued to a second queue, so the second Queue Contact should set them explicitly. inferred in context
• Best available routing scores agents on skills, picks the highest score, and breaks ties by longest available. in context
• A capacity-based team directs voice calls to a direct number whose capacity sets how many calls it handles concurrently, without agents signing in. in context
• Call distribution group expansion is cumulative: the teams of the next group are added to the teams already eligible, and this repeats until a match is found or all groups are expanded. in context
• When no matching agent is found, the contact is parked for the configured duration and routing then expands to the next call distribution group. in context
• Check Agent Availability, enabled in the Queue Contact activity, lets a contact expand immediately through call distribution groups in which no available agents are found instead of waiting out each delay. in context
• Queue Contact also fails when an agent is already assigned to the contact or when the flow supplies an invalid queue, skill or other configuration. in context
• If no matching agent is found the contact is parked and the flow continues with the activities attached after Queue Contact, such as Play Music, Callback, or another Queue Contact. in context
• Contact priority runs from 1 (highest) to 9 (lowest), and contacts queued without an explicit priority get a default priority of 10, the lowest. in context
• Among contacts with the same priority, the contact that has waited longest in the queue is routed first. in context
• A flow re-queues a contact, removing it from the current queue and adding it to a new one, by attaching another Queue Contact or Queue to Agent activity. in context
• After a contact is queued, if it is repeatedly offered and not answered, routing is retried up to 20 times and the contact is then ended with ROUTING_LIMIT_EXCEEDED. in context
• Skills-based queues with team assignment also group teams into call distribution groups with configurable delays between them. in context
• Queue Contact fails once a contact has exhausted the maximum of 25 entry point and queue transitions. in context
• Cisco's two precedence descriptions differ: the schedule page lets a matching schedule decide alone, while Recording Control says any level set to Yes records the call. So whether a schedule set to No can suppress a queue or tenant Yes is disputed. disputed in context
• Without Recording Control in the flow, a call is recorded if any of tenant, queue or schedule is set to Yes, and not recorded if all are set to No. in context
• The Menu activity must store the caller's consent in a Boolean variable, which is the input to the Recording Control activity. in context
• The Flow Designer Recording Control activity is designed to be used with a Menu activity to capture the caller's recording consent before recording begins. in context
• To report caller consent in a consent report, the consent value should be stored in a reportable global variable. in context
• Even with Recording Control, settings such as Continue On Transfer, Pause Resume Enabled and Pause Duration still follow the tenant, queue or schedule hierarchy. in context
• If the caller consents in Recording Control the call is recorded, and if not it is not recorded, whatever the tenant, queue or schedule settings say. in context
• An agent who belongs to multiple teams is only counted as part of the Call Distribution Group tied to the team they actively chose at Agent Desktop sign-in, not any other team they are configured into. in context
• Best Available routing scores each eligible agent by summing the proficiency skill values that matched the contact's skill requirements, and routes to the agent with the highest score; ties are broken by longest-available agent. in context
• For Best Available scoring, when a skill requirement uses a less-than-or-equal-to condition, the agent's proficiency value is inverted for scoring using the formula effective_skill_value = 10 minus actual_skill_value, so that a lower raw skill value produces a stronger match score. in context
• In non-skill-based queues with team assignment, teams are combined into Call Distribution Groups (CDGs), each representing a level of agents that becomes eligible over configured time intervals. in context
• If no agent is available in the current Call Distribution Group, a contact is parked for a preconfigured duration before the group expands to include the next set of teams, and this repeats until an agent is found or all groups are exhausted. in context
• Enabling "Check Agent Availability" in the Queue Contact flow activity causes the contact to instantly expand to the next Call Distribution Group if no matching agent is found in the current group, bypassing the configured wait delay. in context
• The Top-Down routing pattern always restarts scanning from the beginning of the configured ordered agent list for every new contact, matching to the first available agent found, unlike Circular which resumes from where it left off. in context
• Contact priority ranges from 1 (highest) to 10 (lowest); contacts queued without an explicit priority default to 10 (lowest). in context
• Contact Surplus Scenario is when the number of incoming contacts exceeds available agents, and the strategy for handling overflow uses Queue Ranking, Contact Priority, and Longest Waiting Contact, in that order, to pick which parked contact an agent who just became available receives next. in context
• Dynamic Skills are assigned directly to individual agents and are not assignable through Skill Profiles. in context
• An agent can have at most 1 voice channel provisioned, but can have up to 5 channels of each other media type (chat, email, social) via Multimedia Profile configuration. in context
• Only proficiency-type skills are used in the Best Available score calculation; boolean, text, and enum skills in the requirement are used to filter eligibility but do not contribute to the score. in context
• A contact processed by the Queue Contact flow activity is limited to a maximum of 25 entry point and queue transitions. in context
• Queue ranking does not apply to capacity-based teams. in context
• Queue ranking applies only within the same media type — a voice queue ranked lower than a chat queue can still be routed to an agent's voice channel ahead of the chat queue if the agent only became available on voice. in context
• Queue ranking can be applied to a maximum of 50 queues across all media types, with rank values from 1 (highest) to 50; multiple queues can share the same rank; unranked queues rank lower than any ranked queue. in context
• When a Queue To Agent activity's preferred agent declines, doesn't answer, or fails to receive the contact, the contact is moved to the configured Recovery Queue where it is routed to the longest available agent, with no skill-based matching applied there. in context
• Updating an agent's skill profile to satisfy a queue's skill criteria (called "reskilling") automatically and dynamically adds that agent to the queue's associated agent pool, with no manual re-assignment needed. in context
• Skill-based queues support exactly 2 agent-selection routing algorithms, configured with the exact UI abbreviations LAA (Longest Available Agent / "Longest available") and BAA (Best Available Agent / "Best available"). in context
• Skill-based queues can be configured 2 ways: skill criteria assigned directly to the queue, or skill requirements assigned in the flow (which is a variant of team-assignment queues). in context
• WarmTransfer infers that skill-criteria queues are easier to operate at scale than agent-assignment queues, because reskilling updates queue membership automatically while an agent-assignment queue requires an administrator to maintain an ordered list of up to 1000 named agents by hand. inferred in context
• In skill-based queues with skill criteria assigned to the queue, any agent who entirely satisfies the queue's skill criteria (via their direct skill profile) becomes implicitly associated with the queue, and team membership plays no role. in context
• Skill relaxation lets a contact's skill requirements be automatically overwritten with a relaxed (typically broader) set of requirements at configured time intervals while the contact waits parked in queue, so that more agents can match. in context
• The Skill Requirements, Skill Relaxations, and Check Agent Availability capabilities in the Queue Contact flow activity are only available for queues that use team assignment (not for skill-criteria-on-queue or agent-assignment queues). in context
• Only proficiency skills count toward the Best Available score; Boolean, Text and Enum skills in the requirements are not scored. in context
• Under Best Available, an agent's score is the sum of that agent's skill values that match the contact skill requirements or queue skill criteria. in context
• When several eligible agents have the same Best Available score, the longest available agent among them is selected. in context
• For Best Available routing, proficiency skills and proficiency dynamic skills can carry weights that influence the score used for agent selection. in context
• Only agents who entirely satisfy the skill criteria are eligible; if none is available the contact stays parked in queue until one becomes available before the park timeout. in context
• Agent-based Routing can route a customer who calls back repeatedly to the last agent who handled that contact. in context
• Longest Available routes the contact to the agent whose skills satisfy the contact's requirements and who has been available longest since handling their last contact. in context
• Every contact queued into a queue with skill criteria assigned to the queue assumes that criteria, and individual contacts cannot define or override their own skill requirements. in context
• A queue with skill criteria assigned to the queue has no call distribution group; every agent in the organization whose direct skill profile has all the required skills implicitly becomes part of it. in context
• Skill relaxation is not available for queues whose skill criteria are assigned to the queue; relaxation is configured per contact in the flow. inferred in context
• In the Queue To Agent recovery queue the contact is routed to the longest available agent without any support for skills. in context
• In queues whose requirements come from the flow, contacts can specify skill relaxations at configured time intervals that overwrite the contact's original skill requirements. in context
• Call distribution group expansion can happen at the same time as skill relaxation cycles, both aimed at matching a parked contact to an eligible agent sooner. in context
• Agents acquire skills through a skill profile assigned directly to them, and their skills are determined based on the team they select during sign-in. in context
• A consult to an entry point whose flow reaches a Blind Transfer activity is a plausible cause of a failed consult, because Blind Transfer is documented as unsupported when the flow runs for a consult. inferred in context
• The Flow Designer Blind Transfer activity routes a contact to an external dial number through the IVR without agent involvement, is a terminal activity that ends the flow, and is not supported when the flow is executed for a consult. in context
• The Flow Designer Bridged Transfer activity is not supported in outbound call flows or event flows, and contacts already assigned to an agent cannot be bridge-transferred through the flow. in context
• In queue routing, if no matching agent is found the contact is parked in the queue and waits for a matching agent to become available. in context
• The blind transfer activity is not supported when the flow is executed for a consult, and it is terminal: the flow ends once the transfer executes. in context
• The bridged transfer activity dequeues a contact implicitly while transferring it to a third-party system, and the contact can be re-queued into the original queue if that system does not handle it. in context
• Re-queueing a contact requires the flow to attach a second queue activity; it removes the contact from the current queue and adds it to a new one. in context
• Routing allows a contact 25 entry point and queue transitions and 20 successful routing attempts, and queue ranking may be set on at most 50 queues. in context

Cite this source record

APA

WarmTransfer. (2026, July 7). Understand Routing and Queueing in Webex Contact Center. WarmTransfer. https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/sources/cisco-help-np2fdx-wxcc-routing-queueing

BibTeX

@misc{warmtransfer-cisco-help-np2fdx-wxcc-routing-queueing,
  title  = {Understand Routing and Queueing in Webex Contact Center},
  author = {{WarmTransfer}},
  year   = {2026},
  url    = {https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/sources/cisco-help-np2fdx-wxcc-routing-queueing},
  note   = {Cisco Systems, Inc. (Webex Help Center), accessed 2026-09-04}
}