Call Forwarding During Vacation or Employee Absence

Vacation or sick leave of an employee is not a reason to miss direct calls to their number. Now it's possible to set the period of the manager's absence with just a few clicks, and then:

• The Cloud PBX will automatically disable the manager from receiving calls in the department. This way, the client will receive a faster response, as the Cloud PBX won't waste time trying to reach an absent employee.
• Incoming calls will be forwarded to another employee or department. Even if the required employee is not present, the client will still be able to reach the company, and their query will be handled by another specialist.
• A client will hear a notification about the manager's absence and will be prepared that their call will be answered by an unfamiliar employee. Using the Speech Synthesis function, a unique notification can be created, informing about the reason for the manager's absence and the date of their return to the workplace.
• When the vacation is over, the previous settings will automatically revert if the end date of the vacation is specified; no further action is required. The Cloud PBX will disable the employee's absence mode on the day they return to work, and they will start receiving calls in the department and direct calls to their number again.

Both the manager and the employee can configure the absence settings.

1. Go to the Employees tab. Click on the employee's name.

2. The employee's profile settings will open. Scroll down to the Call Handling section. In the Vacation or Absence subsection, click the Configure button.

3. In the pop-up window, choose one of the two configuration options:

• For a scheduled period — if you know exactly how many days the employee will be absent (e.g., during vacation).
• Until turned off — if the duration of the absence is not predetermined (e.g., in the case of sick leave).

If you selected the first option, mark the dates in the calendar, and below, specify the exact start and end time of the vacation.

4. Choose how calls should be handled during the employee's absence. The cloud PBX can:

• Apologize to the client and not accept the call.
• Forward the call to another employee or department (we recommend not risking customer loyalty and using this option).

5. Select what the client will hear when calling the absent employee's workplace.

By default, the Cloud PBX simply informs the client about the manager's absence. However, you can create a custom notification in which you explain the reason for the employee's absence and inform until which day they won't be able to take calls. This way, the client will be more understanding if a different specialist answers their call.

If you don't want to notify the client about the manager's absence before transferring the call, select the Without Message tab.

6. Click Enable. Make sure you have correctly set the employee's absence period. If you need to make any changes, click Configure. If everything is correct, click Save in the profile settings.

Done! If the manager returns to work earlier than planned, go to their profile settings, click the “Disable” button, and save the changes.

Managers with any access level can independently configure their absence periods in the Cloud PBX. They need to access their profile settings.

During the period of a manager's absence, a gray badge Not accepting calls will appear next to their name on the Employees tab. To find out when the manager will return to work, hover the cursor over this badge.

Additionally, you can check which employees are not accepting calls in the department settings.

f the absence period of the manager was configured without call forwarding, direct calls to their number will be displayed in the Call History and Statistics as missed calls by that employee.

If call forwarding to a colleague or department is set up, such a call in the Call History may appear differently:

• As a call to the employee who spoke with the client - if the call was answered.
• As missed by the employee who is on vacation - if the call was not answered.

For more details about other types of call forwarding, refer to the article Call Forwarding.