Setup and configuration

The dialer is an optional part of the Floor Walker service. We install and connect it as part of your Floor Walker installation (see Platform); this page describes what is created in your Twilio account, what you need to arrange with Twilio, and what your Flex administrator configures.

What is created in your Twilio account

During installation the dialer sets up:

• a Dialer TaskRouter workflow, with the base queues Dialer - Agents and Dialer - Unrouted;
• the Callbacks task channel (dialer-preview), on which agent-owned callback cards arrive;
• an Event Streams sink for the task and reservation events the dialer follows.

Each campaign gets its own TaskRouter queue and workflow filter when it is created, and they are removed when the campaign is archived. Agents are routed to a campaign's queue through the dialer_campaigns worker attribute, which the dialer maintains when agents are assigned. These resources are managed by the dialer: do not edit or delete them by hand.

Call rate

Twilio limits how many new calls an account may place per second (CPS); the default is 1 call per second. Predictive and power campaigns with larger teams need more, and agent-first calls use two calls per dial (the agent leg and the customer). Ask Twilio to raise the limit before going live or load testing, and tell us the new value so the dialer uses it. The dialer also keeps an account-wide cap on concurrent dialer calls (50 by default), which we can change on request.

Enable the Flex feature

In the Flex configuration, set features.outbound_dialer.enabled = true and deploy the configuration. api_url is the address of your Floor Walker service and is set at installation. The other flags are described in The agent in Flex.

Prepare the first campaign

1. Create a contact list and import leads (Contact lists tab).
2. Create a campaign: name, mode, contact list, outgoing numbers.
3. Assign agents, by hand or with a membership rule.
4. Start it.

For callbacks from an IVR or CRM, create and start a campaign named Callbacks with an outgoing number, a contact list and agents.

For SMS and WhatsApp replies to reach agents, each sender needs a Conversations address configuration; see Delivery, replies and opt-out.

To push leads or callbacks from your CRM, IVR or Studio flows, ask us for an API key and see the integration API.

Demo mode: a busy campaign without a team

The supervisor views only move when many agents take many calls. For demonstrations and training we can switch your environment to demo mode: the dialer then runs against a simulated contact centre instead of Twilio Voice and TaskRouter, with 20 virtual agents who accept, talk, wrap up, pick dispositions and take breaks, and customers who answer, ring out, are busy, reach voicemail or hang up on hold. No call is placed and TaskRouter is never touched.

In Flex, open Campaigns, [Demo] Outbound campaign, Live. The last hour is filled in at start-up, so the charts are full from the first look. Pausing, resuming and editing settings work as on a real campaign. The hour repeats on the wall clock, each phase moving a different chart:

Minute	Phase	What changes
:00	team huddle	agents come back from a meeting (55 % to 100 % on shift)
:08	steady	full team, 26 % of dials reach a person
:22	lunch	40 % of the team away; fewer dials, agents busy
:33	evening peak	36 % answer, more than the pacer expects: abandons rise until it backs off
:45	quiet spell	17 % answer: many dials per connect, agents idle
:54	shift change	the team thins out to 60 %

The demo uses the contact list [Demo] Leads (fictional numbers, topped up as they run out). Demo and live never mix: while demo mode is on, real campaigns are visible but idle. With the rest of Floor Walker in demo mode as well, connected demo calls also appear in the CRM, and some end in a "call me back" disposition that books an any-agent callback.