# Skills-Based Routing
### Overview
Every call center agent has encountered irate customer situations. To reduce customer frustration, a contact center must resolve issues **quickly and accurately**. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is ensuring that calls are handled by agents with the **right skills**.
This is where **skills-based routing** becomes essential.
***
### What Is Skills-Based Routing?
**Skills-based routing** (also known as skill-based distribution) is a call routing strategy that assigns incoming calls to agents based on the skills most relevant to the customer’s needs.
**Example:**\
Spanish-speaking customers are routed to agents who speak Spanish.
PortSIP PBX supports Skills-Based Routing by automatically routing incoming queue calls to agents in the **highest-skill group first**. If no agents in that group are available (busy, unavailable, or logged out), the call is routed to agents in **lower skill groups**.
This ensures:
* Customers are handled by qualified agents
* Call resolution times are reduced
* Customer frustration is minimized
***
### Route Calls by Caller Language
You can route calls by language using **Inbound Rules** based on the caller ID (CID) mask.
#### Example Scenario
DID number: **00442012345670**
Create two inbound rules using the same DID but different CID masks:
* **Rule 1**
* CID mask: `0044**********`
* DID mask: `442012345670`
* Route to: **English Support Queue (8000)**
* **Rule 2**
* CID mask: `0033*********`
* DID mask: `442012345670`
* Route to: **French Support Queue (9000)**
Assign English-speaking agents to queue **8000** and French-speaking agents to queue **9000**.
**Result:**
* Calls from the UK are routed to English-speaking agents
* Calls from France are routed to French-speaking agents
***
### Route Calls by VIP Priority
PortSIP PBX provides a **VIP Caller** feature to prioritize high-value customers.
When a VIP call is detected:
* The caller is placed at the **front of the queue**
* The call is always handled with **highest priority**
#### Configure VIP Callers
1. Navigate to **Contact Center > VIP Numbers**.
2. Click **Add**.
3. Configure the following fields:
* **Enabled** – Turn VIP handling on or off
* **VIP Number** – Enter the customer phone number
* **Description** – Friendly name (for example, *Microsoft Team*)
* **Validity Period** – Define how long the VIP entry remains active
> ❗**Note**\
> The VIP list applies globally to **all queues within the tenant**.
***
### Exclusive Agent Routing
Some callers—such as those from specialized industries—require agents with **specific domain expertise**.
The **Exclusive Agent** feature allows you to assign one or more agents as **priority handlers** for specific callers.
#### How Exclusive Agent Routing Works
* When a call arrives from a configured caller number:
* The call is routed to an exclusive agent with **highest priority**
* If all exclusive agents are **busy, not ready, or signed out**:
* The call is routed to other available agents in the queue
> ❗**Limitation**\
> Exclusive Agent routing is **not supported** when the queue Ring Strategy is set to **Ring Simultaneously**.
#### Configure Exclusive Agents
1. Navigate to **Contact Center > Exclusive Agent**.
2. Click **Add**.
3. Configure the following:
* **Description** – For example, *XXX Bank*
* **Caller Number** – Caller numbers eligible for exclusive handling
* **Call Queue** – Select the queue and assign exclusive agents
If the call does **not** match the configured caller numbers, the agent behaves as a normal queue agent.
***
### Route Calls by Agent Skill Level
PortSIP PBX supports multiple **skill-based routing strategies** within call queues:
* **Skill-Based Routing – Prioritized Hunt**\
Agents are rung serially in a configured order, starting with the highest skill group.
* **Skill-Based Routing – Cyclic Hunt**\
Agents are rung serially, prioritizing the agent who has not been rung for the longest time, starting with the highest skill group.
* **Skill-Based Routing – Least Worked Hunt**\
Agents are rung serially, prioritizing the agent who has answered the fewest calls, starting with the highest skill group.
When adding agents to a queue, you assign a **skill level**:
* Higher number = higher skill level
***
### Last Called Agent Routing (LCA)
**Last Called Agent Routing** routes repeat callers to the agent who last handled their call.
#### How It Works
1. A customer calls the contact center.
2. The PBX stores the agent ID and call time.
3. When the same customer calls again:
* The call is routed to the **same agent**, if available
4. If the agent is unavailable:
* The call is routed to another suitable agent
> ❗**Limitation**\
> LCA routing is **not supported** when the queue Ring Strategy is set to **Ring Simultaneously**.
***
### Harass Numbers (Spam Call Protection)
Spam calls are a major issue for contact centers. PortSIP PBX provides **two layers** of protection.
#### Global Number Blacklist
* Calls from blacklisted numbers are **silently rejected**
* Configure under **Blacklist and Codes > Number Blacklist**
***
#### Harass Number (Queue-Specific Protection)
Harass Numbers apply **only to Call Queues** and operate in two levels:
**Level 1 Harass Number**
* A warning prompt is played
* Caller options:
* Press **1** – Hang up
* Press **2** – Continue the call
**Level 2 Harass Number**
* A warning prompt is played
* The call is **automatically disconnected** after playback
#### Configure Harass Numbers
1. Navigate to:
* **Contact Center > Harass Number Level 1**
* **Contact Center > Harass Number Level 2**
2. Open **Global Settings**
3. Enable or disable:
* **Enable Level 1 Harass Number**
* **Enable Level 2 Harass Number**
4. Upload the corresponding prompt files
***
### Best Practices
* Use **skills-based routing** to reduce call transfers and improve first-call resolution
* Combine **VIP routing** with **exclusive agents** for premium customers
* Enable **LCA routing** to improve customer continuity
* Use **harass number protection** to reduce spam without blocking legitimate callers
* Avoid **Ring Simultaneously** when advanced routing logic is required
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