About callback reporting

AI-generated summary

Genesys Cloud callback reporting provides comprehensive analytics visibility across multiple callback interaction types and media channels. Callbacks function as a distinct media type originating from converted inbound calls or created through APIs and website widgets, with single callback interactions generating reporting activity across both callback and voice media types. The platform supports two callback models with different operational and reporting characteristics. Agent First Callback (AFC) assigns callback offers to agents who answer them, generating an Answered event on the callback media type before placing outbound calls to customers with subsequent Talk and After Call Work activity reported on the voice media type. Customer First Callback (CFC) has the system contact customers first without initial agent involvement, so no Answered event occurs on the callback media type; if customers answer, the system routes interactions to agents using CFC-specific metrics rather than standard voice offers, with agent activity then reported on the voice media type as inbound-routed calls. Callback offers resolve through three callback-specific outcomes: Callback Reached (successful agent connection), Callback Not Reached (customer unreachable due to no answer, busy line, invalid number, voicemail, or maximum attempts exceeded), and Callback Abandon (applicable only to CFC when customers disconnect before agent selection). CFC reconnect reporting uses dedicated voice metrics—CFC Offered, CFC ACD or CFC Wait, CFC Answered, CFC Abandon, and CFC Flow Out—to maintain separate tracking and prevent reconnections from being counted as standard inbound voice offers, preserving accuracy of queue metrics and distinguishing them from new inbound contacts. Handle time calculation differs by callback type. For AFC, handle time distributes across callback and voice media types, with callback handle time capturing agent engagement with the callback record and voice handle time recording the actual customer call. For CFC, agents accumulate handle time only on the voice media type since the system manages the callback record. Both types use standard calculations of talk time, hold time, and after-call work, with outbound calls additionally including dialing and contacting time. The system maintains mutually exclusive callback and voice handle time values to prevent double-counting. Key timing metrics include Callback Attempts (tracking system or agent contact attempts for both AFC and CFC), Time to First Dial and Time to First Connect (AFC only, measuring intervals from agent answer to outbound call placement and customer connection), Active Callback (tracking agent time on active callback calls separately from voice handle time), and Callback Virtual Wait (measuring actual customer wait time for callback resolution, excluding dwell time and pre-scheduled wait periods for scheduled callbacks). Service-level reporting defaults to standard Answered events on the callback media type. The optional Include Callback Virtual Wait in SLA setting enables alternative service-level measurement using Callback Virtual Wait against Callback Reached as the met-target event. Callback Over SLA increments when callbacks exceed configured target times, with additional configuration options determining whether Callback Abandon and Callback Not Reached outcomes are included in service-level calculations. When organizations use both callback types across different queues, reporting metrics aggregate with specific behaviors. Standard voice metrics (Offered, Answered, ASA, Service Level) and combined Handle Time roll up cleanly across both callback types, as do callback-specific metrics (Callback Reached, Callback Not Reached, Callback Virtual Wait, Callback Over SLA, Callback Attempts, Callback Scheduled). However, Callback Abandon represents CFC activity only, while Callback Answered, Active Callback, Time to First Dial, and Time to First Connect represent AFC activity only. Blended totals across mixed callback queues accurately reflect differences in agent involvement and provide meaningful efficiency comparisons, while voice and other media types remain unaffected by callback functionality.

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Callback reporting helps you understand how callback interactions are represented in Genesys Cloud analytics. A callback is a separate media type from voice. A callback can originate from an inbound call that converts to a callback offer, or it can be created directly through an API, website widget, or another channel.

After a callback offer exists on the callback media type, the subsequent call to the customer also generates activity on the voice media type. As a result, a single callback interaction can contain reporting activity across both callback and voice media types.

This article explains how callback activity is reported across media types, how callback offers resolve, and the metrics specific to callback reporting. For metrics that callbacks share with standard voice interactions, such as Offered, Answered, Handle Time, Talk Time, and After Call Work (ACW), see Metric definitions.

Agent First and Customer First callbacks

After a callback offer is created, its reporting behavior depends on whether the callback uses Agent First Callback (AFC) or Customer First Callback (CFC).

Agent First Callback

With Agent First Callback, the callback offer is assigned to an agent and the agent handles the callback directly.

The agent answers the callback. Genesys Cloud records an Answered event on the callback media type.
The agent places an outbound call to the customer. The outbound call generates an outbound voice interaction. The agent’s Talk and ACW or wrap-up activity for the customer call is reported on the voice media type.

Customer First Callback

With Customer First Callback, the system handles the callback offer and contacts the customer before involving an agent.

The system calls the customer. Because an agent is not yet involved, no Answered event occurs on the callback media type.
If the customer answers, the system attempts to route the interaction to an agent. The routing activity is reported through the CFC-specific metric set rather than as another standard voice offer. When an agent is selected, the agent’s Talk and ACW or wrap-up activity is reported on the voice media type as in AFC, just for an inbound-routed call rather than one they personally dialed.
If the system does not reach the customer, or reaches the customer but does not select an agent before the interaction ends, the callback resolves without reaching an agent.

Callback offer outcomes

Genesys Cloud reporting generally expects every offer to resolve through outcomes, including Answer, Abandon, or Flow-Out. Callback offers use callback-specific outcomes:

Callback Reached — The callback successfully reached an agent.
Callback Not Reached — The customer is not reached. For example, the customer does not answer, the number is busy or invalid, voicemail is reached, or the maximum number of attempts is reached.
Callback Abandon — The customer is live on the line, but the interaction ends before an agent is selected. However, Callback Abandon applies only to CFC.

Both AFC and CFC callbacks use the same callback outcome set. With AFC, an agent is already handling the callback before calling the customer. With CFC, the system reaches the customer before selecting an agent, which creates the possibility that the customer can disconnect before an agent is selected.

CFC reconnect reporting

When a CFC callback reaches a customer and the system connects the customer to an agent through the voice media type, the routing selection is not reported as a standard voice Offer, Answer, Abandon, or Flow-Out.

Instead, Genesys Cloud reports the reconnect using the following CFC-specific voice metrics:

CFC Offered
CFC ACD or CFC Wait
CFC Answered
CFC Abandon
CFC Flow Out
All on the voice media type

Using separate CFC metrics prevents the reconnect from being counted as another standard inbound voice offer. For example, when a customer calls a queue, requests a callback, and is later reconnected, the callback reconnect represents the continuation of the original customer contact rather than a new inbound contact.

Separate reporting also prevents CFC reconnects from affecting standard queue wait-time metrics. Because callback reconnects are priority-routed and can resolve quickly, including them in the queue’s standard Answered or Abandoned totals could affect metrics such as Average Speed of Answer and inflate service level, making the queue look faster to answer than it actually is for the calls arriving fresh.

Therefore, standard voice statistics continue to represent genuinely new inbound contacts, while CFC reconnect activity is reported separately.

Callback outcomes and reporting activity

The following table summarizes how reporting activity differs depending on the callback type and outcome. The table shows the metrics populated for each outcome and includes both the common path and the less common metrics; an agent does not always end up on the call.

Callback scenario/Outcome	Callback Answered	Voice Handle Time	Callback Handle Time
AFC — Callback Reached: The agent dials and connects the customer	Yes	Yes	Yes
AFC — Callback Not Reached: The agent answers the callback but does not place an outbound call	Yes	No	Yes
CFC — Callback Reached: the system reaches the customer and connects an agent	No	Yes	No
CFC — Callback Not Reached: the system does not reach the customer	No	No	No
CFC — Callback Abandon: the system reaches the customer, but no agent is selected before the interaction ends	No	No	No

Note: For an AFC Not Reached interaction, an agent can answer the callback record without placing an outbound call. The callback is still reported as Callback Not Reached because the customer was not reached.

Handle time for callbacks

Handle Time uses the standard Genesys Cloud calculation of the sum of talk time, hold time, and after-call work. For outbound calls, the standard Genesys Cloud calculation also includes dialing and contacting time. For callback interactions, the media type on which handle time accumulates depends on the callback type.

AFC: when the agent places an outbound call

Handle time is reported across both callback and voice media types. On the callback media type, handle time represents the agent’s engagement with the callback record before dialing begins and again briefly at the end of the call while the agent completes the callback record. When the agent begins dialing, callback Handle Time stops accumulating and Active Callback time begins. Active Callback continues while the agent is actively dialing and connected.

On the voice media type, Handle Time represents the actual customer call and uses the standard outbound handle-time calculation. Callback and voice Handle Time can be combined because the system keeps the two values mutually exclusive by design and does not double-count the same period.

AFC: when the agent does not place an outbound call

If the agent does not place an outbound call, there is no voice leg. All Handle Time is therefore recorded on the callback media type using the standard formula.

CFC

For CFC interactions, agents do not accumulate Handle Time on the callback media type because the system handles the callback record. When the customer is connected to an agent, all agent Handle Time is reported on the voice media type using the standard inbound calculation. Dialing and contacting time do not apply because the agent receives a routed interaction instead of personally calling the customer.

Callback-specific metrics

The following metrics are specific to callback reporting.

Metrics	Applies to	Description
Callback Attempts	AFC, CFC	The number of times the system or agent attempts to reach the customer for a callback. A callback can have multiple attempts before it resolves to an outcome, including Callback Reached, Callback Not Reached, or Callback Abandon.
Callback Scheduled	AFC, CFC	Indicates that the callback was created as a scheduled callback rather than routed immediately.
Active Callback	AFC only	Reported on the callback media type, the time an agent spends on a callback while a call is active. Ensures agent does not accrue handle time on the callback media type while they accrue voice Handle Time.
Time to First Dial	AFC only	The time from when the agent answers the callback until the agent first places an outbound call to the customer.
Time to First Connect	AFC only	The time from when the agent answers the callback until the customer first answers the call.
Callback Reached	AFC, CFC	Indicates that the callback successfully reached an agent. For AFC, this occurs when the agent’s outbound call is answered. For CFC, it occurs when the system’s reconnect is routed to a selected agent.
Callback Not Reached	AFC, CFC	Indicates that the system or agent did not reach a live customer. Reasons can include no answer, busy, invalid number, voicemail, or maximum attempts reached.
Callback Abandon	CFC only	Indicates that the customer was live on the line but the interaction ended before an agent was selected.
Callback Virtual Wait	AFC, CFC	The amount of time the customer actually waits for a callback outcome. For scheduled callbacks, this metric does not include the time spent waiting for the scheduled callback time to arrive. Dwell time is not counted as a virtual wait.
Callback Over SLA	AFC, CFC	Increments when a callback exceeds the configured target time to reach Callback Reached, as an alternative to timing SLA off a standard Answer event.

Metrics shared with standard voice reporting, including Offered, Answered, Handle Time, Talk Time, and ACW, continue to use their standard definitions for callbacks. Their reporting depends on the media type and interaction leg to which the metric applies.

Service level for callbacks

By default, callback conversations contribute to service level using the standard Answered event. For AFC, this behavior aligns with the callback flow because an agent answers the callback offer. For CFC, the system handles the callback offer directly, so there is no Answered event on the callback media type.

Genesys Cloud provides the Include Callback Virtual Wait in SLA option to use callback virtual wait instead of the standard Answered event to determine whether a callback meets the service-level target.

When this option is enabled, the met target is based on:

Callback Virtual Wait begins when the callback offer enters the queue.
A callback meets the service-level target when it reaches an agent, represented by Callback Reached, before the configured SLA target expires for both AFC and CFC.
Callback Over SLA counts callbacks that exceed the configured target.
Include callback abandons in calculation determines whether Callback Abandon outcomes are included in the service-level denominator.
Include unreachable callbacks in calculation determines whether Callback Not Reached outcomes are included in the denominator.

Service-level behavior	Default (Include Callback Virtual Wait in SLA off)	Include Callback Virtual Wait in SLA on
Met-target event	Standard Answered events on the callback media type	Callback Virtual Wait measured against Callback Reached
AFC	Uses the agent answering the callback	Uses Callback Reached and measures from when the callback enters the queue
CFC	No callback-media Answered event is available as a meaningful met-target signal	Uses Callback Reached, the point at which the reconnect is routed to a selected agent

The Include Callback Virtual Wait in SLA option is off by default and affects only callback-media conversations. Voice and other media types are unaffected.

For more information about the complete service-level calculation and configuring analytics options, see service level and Configure contact center analytics options.

Differences between Agent First and Customer First callbacks

Reporting behavior	Agent First Callback	Customer First Callback
Who calls the customer	Agent	System
Callback-record timers (Active Callback, Time to First Dial, Time to First Connect)	Populates	Does not populate
Callback Abandon	Does not occur	Can occur
Handle Time	Both callback and voice media types	Voice media type only

Reporting across AFC and CFC queues

Organizations can use AFC for some queues and CFC for others. When you aggregate reporting across these queues, consider which metrics apply to both callback types.

Metric group	Behavior across AFC and CFC queues
Standard voice Offered, Answered, ASA, and service level	Yes, always rolls up cleanly across both AFC and CFC queues. Can be aggregated across both callback types because callback-generated voice activity is not counted as another standard voice offer.
Callback Reached, Callback Not Reached, Callback Virtual Wait, Callback Over SLA, Callback Attempts, and Callback Scheduled	Yes, rolls up cleanly across both AFC and CFC queues. Both AFC and CFC resolve through the same outcome set.
Callback Abandon	Represents CFC activity only. AFC queues do not contribute to this metric.
Callback Answered, Active Callback, Time to First Dial, and Time to First Connect	Represents AFC activity only. CFC queues do not contribute to these metrics.
Combined Handle Time, callback, and voice media types	Yes, rolls up cleanly across both AFC and CFC queues. The absence of callback handle time for CFC reflects the efficiency that the feature is designed to provide. With CFC, the agent is not involved in the pre-dial portion of the callback process. The agent becomes involved only after the customer is reached and the voice session is established. Therefore, when queues contain a mix of callback types, a blended total accurately reflects the differences in agent involvement between them and provides a meaningful high-level comparison of overall efficiency.

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