Transferring an Interaction in Sharpen Q

The Basics

For interactions like calls and chats, Sharpen accommodates a few different transfer types. Depending on the interaction type, you can transfer an interaction...

to a specific Sharpen Agent,
to another Q, or
to a specific Contact (via external number). 

Agent and Q transfers are applicable to multiple interaction types, not just calls; contact transfers only apply to phone calls, however. 

Interactions can be transferred while the customer is on the line (or messaging, etc.), as well as when the interaction is on hold.

The basic process of initiating a transfer is fairly straightforward—start by clicking the Transfer button (located in the top left corner of the interaction page). 

After clicking the Transfer button, a pop-out window appears. It contains three tabs—Agents, Queues, and Contacts.

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Transfer Types, Options

To identify the right transfer type and method, there are a few things to consider—

(1) First, do you want to transfer to another Agent, Queue, or [external] Contact?

• If you select a Contact transfer, you can only transfer phone calls.

(2) Next, do you want to transfer the interaction via a Call transfer, or Chat?

• In this context, "call" and "chat" describe the agent-to-agent interaction (e.g., transferring a call via chat—not transfering a customer chat).

(3) Finally, do you want the opportunity to Conference with the receiving agent and customer, or just Complete a simple transfer?

Agent Transfer

First, you can find the agent you’re looking for by scrolling through the names, or by typing the agent’s name (or extension) into the “Search agents by name / extension” field. You can simply begin typing the name, too, and the list of agents will filter in real-time.

• You can also filter the list of agents by their status by clicking the filter icon toward the upper-right corner of the pop-out window:

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Once you have located the right agent to receive the transfer, select either a Call or Chat transfer. To complete the transfer, then, click either the Complete or Conference button.

Conferencing (Optional)

Using the Conference button provides the opportunity for a “warm handoff,” where the agent transferring the action, the customer being transferred, and the agent receiving the transfer all have a chance to speak to each other before the agent transferring the interaction gets off the line. 

The Complete button skips the conferencing, and simply sends the interaction to the receiving agent. 

Here’s what it looks like to do a chat transfer:

Queue Transfer

Similar to Agent transfers, you can navigate to the Queues tab of the Transfer window, and search for a specific queue either by scrolling through the listed results, or by typing a specific queue name in the Search field.

Note that queue transfers, unlike agent transfers, are blind transfers—as such, they do not connect the customer with a specific agent. 

Rather, the customer interaction just goes into a new queue, where it is not weighted or prioritized. This is ideal for when a customer has not been routed to the right queue for the interaction’s type or subject.

Since a queue transfer is blind, there is no Conference option for a queue transfer. Nor do you have the option to choose between a Call or Chat transfer type. The interaction just goes to the desired queue, entering the queue just like any other interaction does.

Once you click the Queue Transfer button, the transfer window simply closes and the interaction heads to the selected queue.

Contact Transfer

When you initiate a transfer of a phone call, the transfer window contains a Contacts tab--showing direct extensions for all Sharpen users (not just agents) and external contacts added by your Admin. Just like the other transfer types, you can quick filter contacts by Name. 

if the contact is someone else in your organization using Sharpen, you have the option to send the interaction straight to voicemail if the person is unavailable.