Callbacks sound simple… until you try to set them up. Then suddenly you’re knee-deep in queues, routing rules, and customers who definitely don’t want to “please hold”. This guide cuts through the noise and shows you how to set up Halo callbacks the clean, easy way, so your customers get their call back, your agents stay sane, and nobody’s stuck listening to looped hold music ever again.

How to Build Callbacks in Halo

Step 1: Create an Option Menu

1. Access the Option Menus

• In the Explorer pane, navigate to Phone & Text > Menus > Option Menus.
• A list of existing Option Menus will be displayed.

2. Add a New Option Menu

• Click Add to create a new Option Menu.
• Enter a Name for the menu, then click Add to save.

Creating an Option Menu Item

1. Select an Option Menu

• Click on the desired Option Menu.
• Click Menu Items to view existing items.

2. Add and Configure a Menu Item

• Click Add to create a new Menu Item, then configure the following fields:
• Name – Enter the name of the Menu Item. This name will be displayed in reports.
• Clock – Select a Module Clock from the dropdown if this item should only be played during specific opening hours.
• Digit – Assign a digit to activate this Menu Item.
• Item Prompt – Select a prompt to inform the caller about the menu option (e.g., "To continue waiting, press 3").
• Chosen Prompt – Select a prompt to be played when the caller chooses this menu item.
• Option – Choose a predefined action for the selected menu item:

• Callback CLI – Disconnects the caller and schedules an outbound call based on the CLI (Caller Line Identification).
  Note: The Item Prompt will not be played if the caller’s CLI is anonymous.
• Callback PID – Calls back the number stored in the Identification Module. This option is only valid if the caller has been previously identified.
• Callback userdefined – Prompts the caller to enter a number for the callback. This is useful for situations where the caller may want a callback at a different time or from a different phone.
  Note: The number must comply with the standard number format or the caller will be asked to re-enter it.
• Return – Returns the caller to their previous position in the call flow.
• Stop Waiting – Allows the caller to exit the queue and be routed to the Abort Exception exit in the Router configuration.
• E-Mail Back – Sends an email response to the caller.
  Note: This option should only be used in Hot Item menus.
• SMS Back – Sends an SMS with predefined message content.
  Example use case: Providing a webchat URL for the caller to access.
  • An Outbound Service named “Menu SMS Back…” will be created automatically.
• Text Back – Sends a text message (such as WhatsApp) with predefined content.
  • An Outbound Service named “Menu Text Back…” will be created automatically.
  • Select the correct Text Channel in the Outbound Service.
• Priority – Assigns priority to Call Back actions, typically lower than queue priority to avoid long wait times for active callers.
• SMS Message – If SMS Back is selected, specify the prompt containing the SMS message text.

3. Save the Menu Item

• Click Add to save the new Menu Item.

4. Adjust the Order of Menu Items

• Click Move Up or Move Down to modify the sequence in which menu items are played.

Additional Notes:

• Callback Mode:
  • If requested, Cirrus can adjust the “Callback Mode” to skip the date/time confirmation step in a callback option.
• Defining a Text Channel:
  • A valid Text Channel must be configured for SMS functionality.
• Exit Shortcut:
  • Callers can exit the Option Menu directly by pressing #.

Step 2: Connect the Option Menu to a Router

1. Go to the router you wish to apply the callback menu to, scroll to the Options section and click the edit icon. If the router is greyed out, this means it is currently not in use against any flows.

2. Tick the box for ‘Play Option Menu’
3. Option Menu -  select the one you have just created
4. Option Menu cycles - Define after how many cycles of Interval time (defined in tab Queuing) the Option menu must be repeated.
5. Click Save changes

Step 3: Configure the Outbound Service

Once you have connected an option menu to a router, an outbound service is automatically created by the platform. You can now configure the callback settings.

1. Under Phone & Text, go to Outbound Services
2. Click on the new outbound service that has been created for you and click edit.

3. Complete the settings:
   1. Name - This is auto-populated and not editable.
   2. Status - Start/Stop delivering call backs to agents. This can also be done via the supervisor view.
   3. Service Type - This is auto-populated and not editable.
   4. Outbound Channel - Which number to present for callbacks
   5. Open/Close clock - You can assign a Clock to define when the Outbound Service is allowed to run (i.e. deliver call backs to agents). The Clock is interpreted as open or closed. Within open hours, the service will run. Within the Clock module, no subsequent modules need to be defined, and the Clock does not have to be part of a call flow. When using an existing Clock, any next modules are ignored.
   6. Ring time out (s) - number of seconds to try ringing the caller
   7. Retry count - The number of attempts the system tries to call a customer from the contact list. You can type a value between 0-99.
   8. Retry Interval (m) - The time between consecutive outbound call attempts in minutes, doubles the interval at each attempt
   9. Retry interval no answer (m) - The time in minutes after which the system tries to dial the contact again after no answer, doubles the interval at each attempt.
   10. Announcement - The prompt that is played to the agent prior to the call connecting.
   11. Agent From: Select the router where the call back should route via.
   12. Send text message on failure: Check to send an SMS message if the call back failed after the number of configured Retry counts. 
   13. Failure Text prompt: The text that will be used to send as SMS.
   14. Failure Text channel: The Text channel, which will be used to send the SMS
4. Click Save changes

Test Your Configuration

1. Log in as an agent and set to a busy state.
2. Place an inbound call and request a callback when prompted. The call will then hang up.
3. In the supervisor view under Outbound, select the router configured for callback, and you will see the registered callback. 
4. You can also use the Start/Stop buttons at the top to start or stop callbacks from routing to agents. This can be useful if you want to put in several calls to use when testing how the service works.

The Supervisor will also see the queued callback in the Monitoring queue, as shown below.

5. In the Agent Web Client, change your state to Available. The callback will then route to you, play any configured whisper message, and start the outbound call to the caller.

Callback Reporting

The following reports can be used to provide deeper insights into callback performance and metrics.

• Outbound Campaign Analysis
• Outbound Services Analysis
• Router Abandoned Call Analysis

Additionally, Call Tracking can be used to review individual callbacks and listen to the call recording.