Hot Desking with Switchvox
- Kelli Higdon
Hot Desking was introduced in Switchvox version 7.8. With this feature, users are able to easily Log In and Log Out of designated Hot Desking-enabled phones. This configuration is useful in any shared workspace environment - whether as part of a contact center operation, or any other flexible/shift-based scheduling scenario. This article illustrates the phone user’s experience, provides information on how to set up Hot Desking, and answers commonly asked questions regarding its use.
The following phone models are capable of LogOut/In when enabled for Hot Desking: D60, D62, D65, P310, P315, P320, P325, and P330.
Phone User Experience
A Hot Desking-enabled phone with the LOGOUT button is pictured below. A phone user simply presses this button, confirms that they wish to log out, and the phone will immediately do so.
When logged out, a capable phone configured for Hot Desking will display the LOGIN button, as shown here:
When the LOGIN button is pressed, the phone user enters their Main Extension number, and their Voicemail PIN code, and presses the Submit button to log into the phone.
Please review and follow the instructions below to enable this Hot Desking experience.
Overview: Setting Up Hot Desking
Implementing Hot Desking requires a Switchvox Administrator to carry out a few steps. Configuration changes must be made for both the desired phones, and also the users who will be enabled to use them. These steps are generally only done one time, and only need to be updated as part of normal system or user changes - such as, when a new user is added, or when adding an office location. Here is a summary of the steps that must be taken:
Switchvox version 7.8 or later is required.
An active Switchvox subscription is required for initial setup and continued use of Hot Desking.
1. Setup your Emergency Calling Rules
Phones configured for Hot Desking in Switchvox are able to dial emergency numbers when in a Logged Out state. To accomplish this, the phone uses the Emergency Calling Rules and Caller ID Number from the Phone Location to which it is assigned. Phone Locations are discussed below; however, before creating a Phone Location, you must first create the Emergency Calling Rules.
An Emergency Calling Rule is an Outgoing Call Rule that has been flagged as such. Your system might have only one Emergency Calling Rule (such as 911 routed out the sole SIP trunk), or it might have numerous. Before proceeding to create your Phone Locations, review the Outgoing Call Rules and ensure that the appropriate rules are set to function as Emergency Calling Rules. For more information, please refer to Setup Outgoing Call Routing.
2. Create your Phone Locations
To enable a phone for Hot Desking, it must be assigned to a Phone Location. This assignment provides the phone with the Emergency Calling Rules and Caller ID Number it will use when placing emergency calls. The Location’s rules and caller ID for emergency calls is used in all scenarios for a phone assigned to a Location, including when a Hot Desking phone is Logged Out.
Once you have confirmed the configuration of Emergency Calling Rules, complete the setup of Phone Locations which will be used by Hot Desking phones. Follow the instructions in the article, Switchvox Phone Locations.
3. Assign phones to Locations and Enable Hot Desking
Once your Phone Location has been created, you may assign phones to it, including those which will be used for Hot Desking. Phones can be assigned to a Location and enabled for Hot Desking in two different ways: with the Quick-Create Desk Phone Assignments tool, or in the Hot Desking section.
If you are deploying new phones for use in Switchvox, the Quick-Create Desk Phone Assignments tool is the preferred method. With this tool, you are able to assign the Location and enable Hot Desking immediately upon the phone’s first configuration with Switchvox. For more information, please refer to the article, Sangoma Phone Assignments. An example of of this interface is shown here:
If you are modifying the configuration of an existing phone, the Hot Desking section of the Admin Web Suite is the preferred method to assign Phone Locations and enable Hot Desking. An example of this interface is shown here:
To find this section in the Admin Web Suite, navigate to Setup > Phones > Hot Desking in the top menu.
Listed here are all Sangoma/Digium desk phones known to the system, which are or may be assigned to a Phone Location. Please note that this includes phones which, if enabled for Hot Desking, will not be able to Log In/Out. Only phone models D60, D62, D65, P310, P315, P320, P325, and P330 are able to deliver the full Hot Desking experience with Switchvox.
The “Displaying” setting at the top of the page allows you to filter the list of phones in the following ways:
All: Default. All phones known to Switchvox, including those which have been assigned by MAC Address, but never yet registered to the system.
Hot Desking Enabled: Phones which are configured for Hot Desking.
Hot Desking Disabled: All phones which are not configured for Hot Desking.
No Location: Phones which are not assigned to a Phone Location.
<Location Name List>: Phones which are assigned to the Phone Location selected here.
The Search box in the top right may be used to further filter the phone list using values in any of the columns. The table includes the following sortable columns:
MAC Address: This is the MAC Address of the desk phone. This will typically have been entered into Switchvox using the server assignment method described in “Sangoma Phone Assignments,” or identified when the phone was configured to Switchvox by the phone user.
Model: The model of the phone is listed here, if it is known. This value may say “None” if it was added via server assignment, but the phone has not yet registered to the system. Consequently, Switchvox does not yet know the model of the phone. Further, please note that Switchvox will enable you to assign the phone for Hot Desking, so that it will automatically configure itself as expected when it first registers. However, if the phone is not a model that is capable of Log In, then it will persist in a Logged Out state indefinitely.
Extension: If the phone has been assigned to a user, or if the Hot Desking-enabled phone is currently Logged In, then the extension number is listed here.
User: Name of the user, whether assigned or Logged In. A Hot Desking-enabled phone will list “(Logged Out)” if there is currently no user. If the phone has no assignment, then “(No Assignment)” will be displayed.
Location: If a Phone Location has been assigned, then the Location Name displays here.
Hot Desking: A green check mark indicates that the phone is assigned for Hot Desking.
Steps to Enable Hot Desking:
Use the filter, search, and sort to locate the phone you wish to modify.
Confirm that the phone is a model that is capable of Log In with Hot Desking: D60, D62, D65, P310, P315, P320, P325, or P330.
Click the “Modify Phone Settings” under Actions at the right of the phone entry.
The row will become editable, revealing a dropdown list of all Phone Locations and a toggle for Hot Desking.
Select the appropriate Phone Location from the dropdown menu.
Toggle the switch in the Hot Desking column to YES.
Click the “Save Phone Settings” button at the right. Alternatively, if an error was made, click the “Reset Changes” button to revert the settings, close the row from edits and start over.
These steps can be repeated for each of the phones which need to be deployed for Hot Desking. Phones can also have Hot Desking disabled using similar steps, and a phone’s assigned Location may be modified here. However, a Phone Location assignment cannot be removed while a phone is configured for Hot Desking.
When changing the Phone Location or Hot Desking assignment to a registered phone, an update will be sent to the phone for automatic reconfiguration once the phone is in an idle state.
Your Hot Desking phones are now ready, and the users which are permitted to Log In to them must now be configured.
4. Configure users who will use Hot Desking phones
A user must have a Sangoma Hot Desking phone assignment in order to Log In to a Hot Desking phone. This assignment is set in the Manage Phones tool. For more information, please refer to the article Setup Extensions - Manage Phones.
Hot Desking in Switchvox has been designed to allow maximum flexibility in its user implementation. Given the deployment of Hot Desking-enabled phones described above, a user can be configured to:
Not be permitted to log into the Hot Desking phones.
This is the default; the user does not have any phone assignment of type Sangoma Hot Desking.
Only log into Hot Desking phones.
This approach is used for employees that will log in and out of a desk phone each workday. The preferred configuration is for the Sangoma Hot Desking phone assignment to be made on their Main Phone extension. However, it can also be assigned as an Additional Phone, if the Main Phone is being assigned to a softphone, such as Sangoma Connect.
Have one or more permanent phone assignments, and also be able to log into Hot Desking phones without affecting their other phones.
This approach is useful for employees that have a permanent personal phone assignment, but also travel to other locations which have Hot Desking phones. When a user is configured with an assigned main phone, and has an additional phone assignment for Sangoma Hot Desking, they are able to Log In/Out of Hot Desking phones without affecting their regular office phone. When the user logs into a Hot Desking phone, its settings (such as Rapid Dial) are updated to the user’s personal preferences.
An example of the Manage Phones interface is shown below. In this example, the user has a D80 as his main personal phone assignment. He has also been configured to be able to use the Switchvox Desktop Softphone and the Sangoma Connect Mobile phone. Finally, he has had an additional phone assignment added of type Sangoma Hot Desking, and is now able to Log In on the Hot Desking phones configured on this Switchvox server.
For more information on setting up phone assignments and using the Manage Phones tool, please refer to the article Setup Extensions - Manage Phones.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can’t a user Log In to a Hot Desking phone?
If a user is unable to log into a Hot Desking phone, then one of the following situations exists:
An admin has not configured the user for a Sangoma Hot Desking phone assignment.
The user is not using their Main Extension number when attempting to log in.
The user is not providing the correct Voicemail PIN code when attempting to log in.
The Switchvox subscription has expired and Hot Desking Log In is suspended until restored to active.
Which phones are able to Log In for Hot Desking with Switchvox?
The following phone models are capable of Log Out/In when enabled for Hot Desking: D60, D62, D65, P310, P315, P320, P325, and P330.
What happens if a phone that is not Log In capable, such as a D80, is enabled for Hot Desking? And why is that possible?
For easy centralized phone management, all phones which can be assigned to a Phone Location are listed in the Hot Desking section. Also, a phone’s model is not known until it first registers with Switchvox. For these reasons, it is possible to enable some models of phones for Hot Desking which are not able to Log In or Log Out.
If one such phone (e.g. the D80) is configured for Hot Desking, then it will register as a Logged Out phone and be unable to Log In. It will inherit the Emergency Calling Rules and the Emergency Caller ID Number from its assigned Phone Location, and will be able to place emergency calls, but will not be able to Log In or place calls to any other numbers. The phone has limited use in this configuration, and should be reassigned, unless it is intended to only serve as a phone to place calls to emergency services.
What happens when an emergency call is placed from a Logged Out phone?
A Logged Out phone is only able to place emergency calls. The Emergency Calling Rules and the Caller ID Number is inherited from the phone’s assigned Phone Location. The call is logged in Switchvox, and an Alert Notification is sent, both of which report the “From” as the Name/Caller ID of the Phone Location.
What happens to Hot Desking if the Switchvox subscription expires?
If the Switchvox subscription expires, then new phone assignments cannot be set up for Hot Desking. Phones configured for Hot Desking will remain so; however, users will no longer be able to Log In to Hot Desking phones. Logged Out phones will continue to be able to dial the Emergency Numbers for their assigned Location. Users with an existing Hot Desking phone type assignment are not modified; however new assignments of this type cannot be added. If a user is already logged into a Hot Desking phone, then they will remain so, until that phone is logged out or otherwise reconfigured.
When the Switchvox subscription is renewed, Hot Desking functionality will return. The configuration will be remembered and users will once again be able to Log In to Hot Desking phones. For information on renewing your Switchvox subscription, please refer to How to renew Switchvox subscriptions or support.
Can a user from a Peered Switchvox login to a Hot Desking phone?
No. Hot Desking does not work across peers. A user logging into the phone must be from the system that the phone is registered to.
When a user selects LOGOUT from the Hot Desking phone, are they also automatically logged out of all their Queues?
No. The LOGOUT option on the phone only logs the user out of the Hot Desking phone. It does not change their Queue Member State if they happened to be logged into a queue.