Callback management

Last Updated : Oct 28, 2025 |
Prolog information
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Keywords:
POM provides the callback feature to provide an agent opportunity to get in touch with the contact at some later point of time. POM Agent Manager (PAM) allows the agent to set a callback while the agent is talking to the contact, or when the agent is wrapping up the call. All the callbacks after the scheduled time are presented as Preview call to the agent. There are two ways to create a callback:
  • Agent Desktop
  • Web Services
There are two ways to reschedule or edit an already created callback:
  • Callback Manager page
  • Web service
The start time of the callback can be anything greater than the current time. Therefore, the callbacks can be created or edited to have the start time greater than the current time. The current time here is evaluated on the POM server, which can be different than the current time of the agent desktop or supervisor system that uses Web Services to edit a callback, if the agent desktop or supervisor system have a different time zone or are in a different time zone than the POM server.
Note:
If the POM service is stopped when the callback is in the Preview state and the contact is not dialed, then after the POM service starts and the callback expiry time exceeds, the contact is not dialed.
To check for the time restrictions before attempting the callbacks, in the Callback Settings section in global configurations, select the Enable Time Restriction check box.
POM supports the following callback types:
  • Agent
  • Campaign
  • Standard
  • Strict Agent
You can use the Number of Callbacks in Queue option in the global configuration to specify the maximum number of agent callbacks and strict agent callbacks that POM can add to the call queue of each agent if the agent is busy on another call or is wrapping up a call.
Note that a standard callback or a campaign callback is added to the call queue of an agent only when the call queue is empty. Only one standard callback or campaign callback can be present in the call queue of an agent at one time.
However, POM counts all types of callbacks present in the call queue of an agent when calculating the total number of callbacks in the call queue of the agent.
For example, the Number of Callbacks in Queue value is set to 10. A standard callback is already present in the call queue of agent A. When agent A is busy attending a call, 12 new strict agent callbacks mature for agent A. Out of the 12 strict agent callbacks, only 9 callbacks are added to the call queue of agent A. This is because the total number of callbacks in the call queue of agent A has reached the maximum callbacks in queue configured, that is, 1 standard callback + 9 strict agent callbacks = 10 callbacks. The remaining 3 strict agent callbacks are postponed as per the configured callback retry interval.
The callback can be in one of the following states:
Callback states
Description
ActiveAttachedToJob
Callback is currently attached to job and is yet to be picked for dialing (Maturity time is not arrived yet.)
Completed
Callback is presented to the agent.
Expired
Callback end time is reached before presenting to the agent.
ContactExcluded
Contact of a callback is excluded.
WaitingForJob
Callback is waiting for a job to start.
Overwritten
If a new callback is created for a same contact in the same campaign before presenting the old callback to agent then old callback is marked as Overwritten.
ManuallyCancelled
Callback is terminated by using the GUI or the web service. It will not be presented to the agent.
QueuedForDialing
Callback is currently attached to job and is picked for dialing.
InProgress
Callback is currently attached to job and is yet to be picked for dialing and system is finding the best agent for callback.

Agent callback

Agent callback is an agent scheduled callback for self or for any other agent. When an agent selects agent callback, the system displays all outbound agents whose skill matches with the campaign skill. The system displays the list of agents who are working or anticipating the work. Agent can select the Agent ID to create the callback.
When an agent callback matures, POM searches for the agent for whom the callback is set. If the agent is busy on another call, the callback is added to the call queue of the agent provided the total number of callbacks already in the call queue of the agent is less than the maximum number of callbacks in queue configured. If the call queue of the agent already contains the maximum number of callbacks permitted, the agent callback is converted into a standard callback. The callback is then assigned to another agent who has the matching skills and does not have any pending callback.
If an agent callback matures and the agent for whom the callback is created is logged off or is in a Not Ready state, the agent callback is converted into a standard callback. The callback is then assigned to another agent who has the matching skills and does not have any pending callback.
If no suitable agent is found, POM postpones the callback as per the callback retry interval configured in the global configuration.
When a Callback Schedule time arrives, the Callback Manager checks the Expiry time of the callback which is set for the callback:
  • If the callback Expiry time has arrived, the Campaign Manager marks the callback status as Expired and does not present the callback to the agent.
  • If the callback Expiry time has not arrived, the Campaign Manager handovers the callback to the Agent Manager to find the best agent for the callback.
Note:
The completion code updated by the agent after setting a callback is not processed by the strategy and is ignored.
In some cases where the callback maturity and the campaign start time are very close, the callback might get postponed as the agents are not attached to the job.
The agent can set a callback for a number through the agent desktop even if the number is a part of a DNC list, but while running the campaign, the number is not dialed. Ensure the Apply DNC check box in the global configuration is set as per the requirement. For more information, see Administering Avaya Proactive Outreach Manager.
If the campaign is using skill based or time based pacing, callbacks are not considered while determining the pacing rate of the campaign as callback attempts are always processed on the scheduled time.

Campaign callback

While creating a callback, if the agent selects the callback type as Campaign, the Agent Manager prepares the list of all jobs and provides it to the agent. The agent selects the job and schedules the callback.
When a campaign callback matures, the callback is assigned to an agent who has the matching skills and does not have any pending callback. If no suitable agent is found, POM postpones the callback as per the callback retry interval configured in the global configuration.
The following are the different scenarios associated with creating a callback:
  • If the selected campaign has a running job, the callback is associated with that job and callback state is set to Active Attached to Job.
  • If the selected campaign does not have a running job, then the callback state is set to Waiting for Job.
  • When a callback Schedule time arrives, Campaign Manager checks the expiry time of the callback which is set at the time of creating the callback:
    • If the callback Expiry time has arrived, Campaign Manager marks the callback status as Expired and does not present the callback to the agent.
    • If the callback Expiry time has not arrived, Campaign Manager handovers the callback to PAM to find the best agent for the callback.
  • In a running campaign, whenever the campaign meets the finish criteria specified in the Campaign Creation Wizard, the system automatically stops the campaign. If there are non-completed callbacks for that campaign, then those callbacks are moved to the Waiting for Job state and are processed through the next job of the campaign.

Standard callback

While creating a callback, if the agent selects the callback type as Standard, then the callback is associated with the current campaign to which the agent is associated. If the campaign is in the Stopping state, the callback is not associated with the current campaign job, instead, its state is changed to Waiting for Job and the callback is processed through the next job of the campaign.
When a standard callback matures, the callback is assigned to an agent who has the matching skills and does not have any pending callback. If no suitable agent is found, POM postpones the callback as per the callback retry interval configured in the global configuration.

Strict Agent Callback

While creating a callback, if the agent selects the callback type as Strict Agent, POM ensures that the callback is delivered to that specific agent only. POM provides a global configuration to configure the maximum number of retries allowed for a callback.
If a strict agent callback matures while the agent is busy on another call, POM adds the callback to the call queue of the agent provided the total number of callbacks already in the call queue of the agent is less than the maximum number of callbacks in queue configured.
If the call queue of the agent already contains the maximum number of callbacks permitted, POM postpones the callback as per the configured callback retry interval.
If a strict agent callback matures and the agent for whom the callback is created is logged off or is in a Not Ready state, POM postpones the callback as per the configured callback retry interval.
POM reschedules the strict agent callback till the maximum number of retries configured. If all the retries are attempted, POM treats the strict agent callback as an existing agent callback and assigns the callback to the next suitable agent with matching skills. For more information, see Administering Avaya Proactive Outreach Manager.
Consider the following examples for strict agent callback for Agent A:
Example 1
Configuration parameter
Value
Maximum Retry count for strict agent
4
Default end time offset (min)
300
Retry time (min)
30
Agent
A
Maximum time a callback is postponed is End time offset / Retry time = 300 / 30 = 10. After this, the callback expires. Maximum time POM searches for Agent A is 4.
  1. Callback is launched for Agent A.
  2. POM searches for Agent A.
  3. If Agent A is available, then the outcome of the search is one of the following:
    1. If Agent A is available, then the callback is presented to Agent A.
    2. If Agent A is busy with another call, then the callback remains pending for Agent A and is presented to that agent after the current call.
  4. If Agent A is not available or is in a Not Ready state, then POM does not search for the next available agent to take the callback. Instead, POM postpones the callback for the configured interval. In this case, POM postpones the callback 4 times. After all the retries are exhausted, POM presents the callback to any other available agent with matching skill.
Example 2
Configuration Parameter
Value
Maximum Retry count for strict agent
4
Default end time offset (min)
90
Retry time (min)
30
Agent
A
Maximum time a callback is postponed is End time offset / Retry time = 90 / 30 = 3. After this, the callback expires. But the callback must be delivered before the expiry time. So POM sets the Maximum attempt count for Strict Agent callback parameter to 3 instead of 4.