Static load balancing

Messaging load distribution is a routing capability that allows brands to define how would the messaging load gets distributed between different agent groups. This kind of capability is a necessity for brands that outsource their messaging operations and must meet clear contractual obligations and maintain control over which vendor handles which percentage of the total brand messaging traffic. The feature allows the brand to define that a specific agent group is correlated with a specific vendor with a pre-assigned percentage and define, per skill, the way that the load will be distributed between the agent groups.

Distribution of workload between agent groups

To ensure the optimal division of workload between agents sharing the same skill, conversation volumes can be spread between agent groups.
This allocation method, especially useful for large enterprises that utilize 'agent groups' for separate departments, subcontractor vendors, or call centers, ensures that the volume of conversations is automatically distributed.
For example, if you have external vendors with prior contractual obligations, you can set the workload to be allocated to each vendor with a predefined percentage. Agent Group A, representing an external vendor, can be set to receive 40% of the workload, and Agent group B & C, representing two other vendors, can be set to receive 30% each.

Load balancing conversations after assignment 

1. By default, load balancing is being done to all conversations of brands that have enabled Static_Load_Balancing feature enabled. However, in some cases, brands may want reassigned conversations (back to queue/ transfer/ etc.) to be dispatched without load balancing. This can be achieved by setting parameter ‘messaging.routing.loadbalance.reassigned.conversations’ site-settings, to false. ( default value is true ) Doing so, makes the allocatedGroupId of a reassigned conversation to the DEFAULT_GROUP (-1), making it available to all agents groups.
2. In case  ‘messaging.routing.loadbalance.reassigned.conversations’ is true and conversations are transferred to a skill that doesnt have a load balancing configuration settings, the conversation will keep its original group. In case brand wants to reset the group to DEFAULT_GROUP (-1) in those cases, AC FF 'Messaging.Reset_allocated_group_on_transfer_to_skill' should be enabled (Available from Jan 2025).

Please make sure Bot skills should not have group or sub groups load balancing configured 

To enable advanced workload distribution:

1. On the Users area, in the Skills tab, click on the skill you wish to edit.
2. In the Advanced Workload Distribution section, click on the toggle to enable this feature.
3. The page will now display the options for distribution to the primary agent groups.
4. To distribute the workload between the primary agent groups, select a group from the dropdown menu and allocate a percentage to that group.
5. To add another agent group, click +Add agent group and complete the allocation.
   Note: ensure the total % allocated to all groups adds up to 100%.
6. Click Save.

How it works?

Step 1: A Conversation starts on skill A. It has no allocated group.

Step 2: A group is allocated to the conversation based on the skill configuration. For example:

Group 1 = 60%
Group 2 = 40%

Step 3: Only agents from the allocated group can get assigned to the conversation

Step 4: The conversation will maintain its group assignment until it is closed or transferred to a skill that was configured with a load balance configuration that does not hold a currently assigned group.

Redistribution workload between agent groups in case agent group logged out

In case all agents on that group logged out, there is an option to change all conversations of the group that disconnected to all other groups. 

How it works ? 

• Conversation in queue are already set up with skill S group balancing configuration (A 80% , B 10%, C 10%)
• Connected agents for skill S and group A logged out.
• New distribution will automatically reshuffle to be : 10/20 B (50%) , 10/20 C (50%)

How to configure ?

1. AC feature Flag Messaging.Redistribute_load_to_connected_agent_groups = true
2. In On the Users area, in the Skills tab, click on the skill you wish to edit.
3. Set up redistributeLoadToConnectedAgentGroups to true

FAQs

Does the feature consider agent group or online state?

The agent online state doesn’t go into consideration before the load balancing process runs.

What happens if a conversation is sent back to the queue?

The conversation would maintain its group assignment.

What happens if a conversation is transferred to a skill after the load balancing has already taken place?

After a group assignment takes place, transfers maintain the group assignment when transferred to skills that didn’t receive any specific load balancing configuration. If the conversation is transferred to a skill that has a load balancing configuration in which the existing allocated group is not present, a new load balancing process will assign it with a new group allocation.

What happens when transferring a conversation to another group skill?

When transferring to a skill that has a load balancing definition that doesn’t include the currently allocated group, the load balancing will take place once more and would select a new group allocation from the configured options.

How will the reporting work for this feature?

Using the Analytics Builder the brand can view the overall opened conversations of a brand by agent group and by skill per agent group. This will enable the creation of the following:

• View a breakdown of the messaging volume per agent group.
• View the percentage of the messages that were assigned to a group of agents and their overall volume out of the total volume

* A conversation will be attributed to an agent group when an agent accepts the conversation.

Will the static load balancing affect the Queue Prioritization feature?

The Queue Prioritization feature will continue to function similarly as it did before using Load Balancing. Top conversations will be assigned to agents from the allocated group only.

Can we move conversations from one group to another in case of a contact center strike for example?

Yes, by using the fallback configuration per skill your brand will be able to redirect conversations to a skill that would change the group allocation. Then you will be able to transfer the conversations back to the original skill and have the load balancing avoid a specific contact center.