Work Item Types

A work item is any unit of work assigned to an agent in the Agent Desktop. Work items are routed through queues and appear in your Inbox when offered and accepted. Each work item has a type that determines its behavior, available actions, and how it is displayed.

Item Types

The Agent Desktop supports seven work item types, divided into two categories.

Real-Time Interactions

These are live conversations that require immediate attention.

Type	Description	Source
chat	A live text-based conversation over web chat, WhatsApp, SMS, or other messaging channels	Customer-initiated or bot escalation
call	A live voice call (inbound or outbound) handled through the softphone	Inbound routing or agent-initiated

Asynchronous Work Items

These are task-based items that can be worked on at the agent's pace, within SLA deadlines.

Type	Description	Source
task	A general-purpose work item with a description, sub-type, and optional due date	Manual creation, workflow automation, or API
callback	A request to call a customer back at a specific time or as soon as possible	Customer request, IVR callback option, or agent creation
review	A work item requiring review of a document, transcript, or case before approval	Quality review workflows
approval	A work item requiring a decision (approve/deny) on a request or escalation	Workflow triggers or supervisor assignment
email	An email interaction that needs a response	Inbound email routing

INFO

In the Inbox table, task-type items (task, callback, review, approval, email) display a purple badge with the type name (e.g., "TASK", "CALLBACK") next to the subject line. This makes it easy to distinguish them from real-time chat and call interactions at a glance.

Creating a Task

Agents can manually create work items from the Inbox by clicking the blue + button (Create Task) in the mailbox header.

Task Creation Form

The Create Task modal contains the following fields:

1. Type -- Select the work item type from the dropdown:

   • Task
   • Callback
   • Review
   • Approval
   • Email

2. Sub-type -- A free-text field for further categorization (e.g., transcript_request, billing_dispute, address_change). This is optional and helps with reporting.

3. Channel -- The origination channel for the work item:

   Channel	Description
   Internal	Created internally by an agent or system
   Email	Originated from an email
   Form	Submitted through a web form
   Phone	Related to a phone interaction
   Walk-in	Customer visited in person
   Mail	Received via physical mail
   API	Created via external API integration

4. Priority -- Select the urgency level:

   Value	Label
   1	Critical
   2	High
   3	Medium
   5	Normal (default)
   8	Low

5. Description -- A free-text area describing the task (not shown for callbacks -- see Callback Fields below).

6. Due Date -- An optional date/time picker for when the task should be completed. Due dates appear in the Inbox table in amber text. Items show "Overdue", "Today", "Tomorrow", or the formatted date.

Callback-Specific Fields

When you select Callback as the type, the form changes to show callback-specific fields instead of the general description:

Field	Required	Description
Customer Phone	Yes	The phone number to call back. Required and validated before creation.
Customer Name	No	The customer's name for display in the Inbox
Reason	No	A text area describing why the callback was requested

WARNING

The Customer Phone field is required for callback items. The system will prevent creation if this field is empty.

imageWork item creation form modal showing type selector dropdown, sub-type text field, channel selector, priority dropdown, description text area, and due date picker

Work item creation form

Creating the Task

1. Fill in the required fields.
2. Click Create Task at the bottom of the modal.
3. The system creates the work item:
   • Callbacks are created through the callbacks API and routed to the appropriate queue.
   • All other types are created through the work item service and appear in the Inbox.
4. The form resets and the modal closes on success.

Outbound Work Items

Outbound items are a special category that appears in a dedicated Outbound section at the top of the Inbox. These include:

Source	Description	Actions
Callback	A previously created callback request that is now ready to be dialed	Dial, Skip
Progressive Dial	An outbound call from a campaign or dialer list	Dial, Skip

When you click Dial, the softphone initiates an outbound call to the customer. If you click Skip, the item is passed to the next available agent or moved to the back of the queue.

TIP

Outbound items in the Outbound section are separate from the main filtered table. They always appear at the top of the Inbox regardless of the active filter.

Work Item Lifecycle

Every work item follows a standard lifecycle:

1. Offered -- The system routes the item to an agent and presents a Work Item Offer (30-second timeout).
2. Active -- The agent accepts the offer. The item appears in the Active list and the Inbox with "Active" status.
3. Hold (optional) -- The agent places the item on hold. It moves to the Hold list in the sidebar.
4. Wrap-up -- The agent ends the interaction. The item moves to wrap-up status (2-minute timeout for disposition).
5. Completed -- The agent submits a disposition code and notes. The item is closed and archived.

Next Steps

• Wrap-Up & Disposition -- Learn about the disposition workflow that closes work items
• Inbox Overview -- Return to the Inbox overview for filtering and table details