Silent Monitoring

Silent Monitoring Overview

Silent call monitoring allows a supervisor to eavesdrop on a phone conversation. The most common scenario is in a call center where a call agent is speaking with a customer. Call centers need to be able to guarantee the quality of customer service that an agent in a call center provides. With silent monitoring, the supervisor can hear both call participants, but neither of the call participants can hear the supervisor.

Silent monitoring can only be invoked by a CTI application through the JTAPI or TAPI interfaces. Many Cisco applications, such as Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise and Cisco Unified Contact Center Express have the ability to use silent monitoring. Any CTI application that monitors calls must have the corresponding monitoring privileges that are enabled for the application-user or end-user account.

Silent monitoring is call based. When a supervisor invokes a silent monitoring session, the following occurs:

  • The supervisor selects a specific call to be monitored.

  • The start-monitoring request from the application triggers the supervisor phone to go off hook and automatically triggers a monitoring call to the agent.

  • The agent phone automatically answers the monitoring call. The monitoring call does not get presented to the agent.

Secure Silent Monitoring

You can also configure secure silent monitoring. Secure silent monitoring allows encrypted media (sRTP) calls to be monitored. Monitoring calls are always established using the highest level of security that is determined by the capabilities of the agent phone regardless of the security status of the call being observed. The highest level of security is maintained by exchanging the secure media key in any call between the customer, agent, and supervisor. Monitoring calls using secured media carries approximately 4000 bits per second of additional bandwidth overhead, same as standard secure media (sRTP) calls.

If the agent phone has encryption that is enabled, the supervisor phone must also have encryption enabled in order to allow secure silent monitoring. If the agent phone has encryption that is enabled, but the supervisor phone does not, the monitoring request fails.

Whisper Coaching

Unified Communications Manager also supports whisper coaching, a CTI enhancement on silent monitoring whereby a supervisor can speak to the agent while the monitoring session is underway without the customer hearing. Whisper coaching can only be initiated by a CTI application. If silent monitoring is already configured, then no additional configuration of Unified Communications Manager is required for whisper coaching.

Silent Monitoring Prerequisites

Silent monitoring can only be invoked by an external CTI application. Cisco applications such as Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise or Cisco Unified Contact Center Express can initiate silent monitoring sessions. For details, see the following:

Configure Silent Monitoring Task Flow

This task flow describes the tasks that you must perform within Unified Communications Manager to allow CTI applications to use the monitoring feature.

Before you begin

Procedure

  Command or Action Purpose

Step 1

Perform one of the following procedures:

Turn on the Built in Bridge on agent phones. You can use a service parameter to configure the clusterwide default setting or you can enable the Built in Bridge for individual phones.

Note

 

The Built in Bridge setting on individual phones overrides the clusterwide default setting.

Step 2

Enable Monitoring Privileges for Supervisor

Add the supervisor to a group that allows silent monitoring.

Step 3

Assign a Monitoring Calling Search Space

Set up the monitoring calling search space for the supervisor phone.

Step 4

Configure Silent Monitoring Notification Tones

Configure whether you want to play notification tones to the call participants.

Step 5

Configure Secure Silent Monitoring

Optional. If your calls are encrypted, configure secure silent monitoring.

Step 6

Configure Silent Monitoring for Unified Contact Center Express

For Unified Contact Center Express deployments, configure Silent Monitoring via Cisco Finesse.

Enable Built in Bridge for Phones Clusterwide

When you set the Built-in-Bridge clusterwide service parameter to enable, the Built-in-Bridge default setting for all phones in the cluster is changed to enabled. However, the Built-in-Bridge setting in the Phone Configuration window for individual phones overrides the clusterwide service parameter.

Procedure

Step 1

From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose System > Service Parameters.

Step 2

From the Server drop-down list, choose the server on which the CallManager service is running.

Step 3

From the Service drop-down list, choose Cisco CallManager.

Step 4

Set the Builtin Bridge Enable service parameter to On.

Step 5

Click Save.

Enable Built in Bridge for a Phone

Use this procedure to enable the Built in Bridge on an individual phone. The Built in Bridge setting on an individual phone overrides the clusterwide service parameter.

Before you begin

Use a service parameter to set the Built in Bridge defaults for all phones in the cluster. For details, see Enable Built in Bridge for Phones Clusterwide.

Procedure

Step 1

From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose Device > Phone.

Step 2

Click Find to select the agent phone.

Step 3

From the Built in Bridge drop-down list, choose one of the following options:

  • On—The Built in Bridge is enabled.
  • Off—The Built in Bridge is disabled.
  • Default—The setting of the clusterwide Builtin Bridge Enable service parameter is used.

Step 4

Click Save.

Enable Monitoring Privileges for Supervisor

In order for a supervisor to be able to monitor agent conversations, the supervisor must be part of a group that allows monitoring.

Before you begin

Perform one of the following procedures to enable the Built in Bridge on agent phones:

Procedure

Step 1

From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose User Management > End User.

Step 2

Select the supervisor from the list of users.

Step 3

In the Permissions Information section, click Add to Access Control Group.

Step 4

Add the Standard CTI Allow Call Monitoring and Standard CTI Enabled user groups.

Step 5

Click Save.

Assign a Monitoring Calling Search Space

For monitoring to work, you must assign a Monitoring Calling Search Space to the supervisor phone line. The Monitoring Calling Search Space must include both the supervisor phone line and the agent phone line.

Procedure

Step 1

From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose Device > Phone.

Step 2

Click Find and select the supervisor phone.

The left navigation pane displays the available phone lines for the supervisor's phone.

Step 3

Perform the following steps for each of the supervisor's phone lines that are used for monitoring:

  1. Click the phone line. The Directory Number Configuration window displays configuration information for that phone line.

  2. From the Monitoring Calling Search Space drop-down list, choose a calling search space that includes both the supervisor phone line and the agent phone line.

  3. Click Save.

Configure Silent Monitoring Notification Tones

In certain jurisdictions, a notification tone must be played to either the agent, the customer, or both, that indicates that the call is being monitored. By default, Unified Communications Manager does not play notification tones. You must configure a service parameter to allow notification tones.

Procedure

Step 1

From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose System > Service Parameters.

Step 2

From the Server drop-down list, choose the server one which the CallManager service is running.

Step 3

From the Service drop-down list, choose Cisco CallManager.

Step 4

Configure values for the following service parameters:

  • If you want to play a notification tone to the agent, change the value of the Play Monitoring Notification Tone To Observed Target service parameter to True.
  • If you want to play a notification tone to the customer, change the value of the Play Monitoring Notification Tone To Observed Connected Parties service parameter to True.

Step 5

Click Save.

Step 6

Reset the agent phone, if you changed the service parameter configuration.

Configure Secure Silent Monitoring

To configure secure silent monitoring using sRTP, you must configure phone security profiles that include encryption and apply them to the supervisor phone and to any agent phones that are being monitored.

Procedure

  Command or Action Purpose

Step 1

Configure an Encrypted Phone Security Profile

Configure phone security profiles that include encryption for the agent phone and supervisor phone.

Step 2

Assign Security Profile to Phone

Apply the encrypted phone security profile to the agent phone and the supervisor phone.

Configure an Encrypted Phone Security Profile

To configure secure silent monitoring, you must configure the phone security profile for your supervisor phone and any agent phones to specify Encrypted as the Device Security Mode.

Procedure

Step 1

From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose System > Security > Phone Security Profile.

Step 2

Perform either of the following steps:

  • Click Add New to create a new phone security profile.
  • Click Find and select an existing phone security profile.

Step 3

If you have created a new phone security profile, select your phone model from the Phone Security Profile Type drop-down list.

Step 4

Enter a Name for the Phone Security Profile.

Step 5

From the Device Security Mode drop-down list, choose Encrypted.

Step 6

Click Save.

Step 7

Repeat the above steps to configure phone security profiles for your supervisor phone and any agent phones.

Assign Security Profile to Phone

Perform the following steps to assign a phone security profile to a phone. For secure silent monitoring to work, you must assign the phone security profile to both the agent phone and the supervisor phone.

Procedure

Step 1

From Cisco Unified CM Administration, chooseI Device > Phone.

Step 2

Click Find and select the agent phone on which you want to configure a phone security profile.

Step 3

From the Device Security Profile drop-down list, choose the phone security profile that you have set up.

Step 4

Click Save.

Step 5

Repeat the previous steps for the supervisor phone.

Configure Silent Monitoring for Unified Contact Center Express

The following steps contain a sample Silent Monitoring for Cisco Unified Contact Center Express configuration via Cisco Finesse.

Before you begin

Make sure that both the agent and supervisor phone are compatibile for Cisco Finesse. Refer to the Unified CCX Software Compatibility Matrix at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/customer-collaboration/unified-contact-center-express/products-device-support-tables-list.html.

Procedure

Step 1

Configure a test agent and supervisor on Unified Contact Center Express.

Note

 
The IP Contact Center (IPCC) Extension for the Agents and Supervisors must be unique. This can be verified from Cisco Unified Communications Manager under Call Routing > Route Plan Report.

Step 2

Ensure that the agent phone has the Built in Bridge (BIB) On. This can be done on the phone or at the Cluster level (Set the Default Service Parameter to On).

Step 3

Log in to Finesse as an Agent.

Step 4

Log in to Finesse as a Supervisor and ensure that the supervisor is in NOT READY State.

Step 5

Ensure that the Resource Manager Contact Manager (RMCM) user has the required roles for Call Monitoring and Call Recording -- Standard Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) Allow Call Monitoring and Recording.

Note

 
This is automatically done by Unified Contact Center Express at the initial setup of the RMCM user. Ensure the roles exist on the Application User window of Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

Step 6

Assign the Monitoring CSS (Calling Search Space) on the Supervisor Phone to contain the Partition of the agent line.

Step 7

Place a call to Unified Contact Center Express so that the call is routed to the agent logged in. Once the agent is in the TALKING state, from the supervisor, start the Silent Monitoring. The supervisor will then be able to hear the conversation between the agent and the caller

Silent Monitoring Interactions

Feature

Interaction

Call preservation

If the agent call that is being monitored goes to call preservation, Unified Communications Manager also puts the monitoring call into call preservation mode.

Transfer of secure monitoring call

Unified Communications Manager supports transferring a secure monitoring session so long as the destination supervisor device exceeds the security capabilities of the agent that is being monitored.

Recording Tones

Recording Tones take precedence over Monitoring Tones for calls that are both recorded and monitored. If a call is recorded and monitored, only the recording tone plays.

Secure Tones

If Secure Tones are configured and the call is secured, the secure tone plays to both call participants at the outset of the call irrespective of whether Monitoring Tones are configured.

If Secure Tones and Monitoring Tones are both configured, the secure tone plays once, followed by the monitoring tones.

If Secure Tones, Monitoring Tones, and Recording Tones are all configured, and the call is recorded and monitored, the secure tone plays once followed by the recording tone. The monitoring tone does not play.

Silent Monitoring Restrictions

Feature

Restriction

Barge

Unified Communications Manager does not support barge with silent monitoring. If an agent call is being monitored, the barge-in call from a shared line fails. If the agent call has already been barged, the monitoring call fails.

Transfer of Secure Silent Monitoring over an intercluster trunk

Unified Communications Manager does not support transferring Secure Silent Monitoring calls over an intercluster trunk.

Silent Monitoring Restriction

The monitoring fails if the supervisor logs in through the non-secure mode and the Agent logs in to the MRA mode.

For more information, see the Secure Silent Monitoringsection.