I worked as an administrator in a company that uses Salesforce CRM to manage its sales and services. Every day, customers raise queries through email, chat, and the company website.
To reduce this manual work, the company first used case assignment rules. However, even with case assignment rules, there was still a problem that Salesforce did not check if agents were available or already busy.
To resolve this issue, we set up a routing configuration with omni-channel. Now Salesforce automatically routes each case to the right agent who is available.
In this article, we will learn about what a routing configuration is in Salesforce. Next, we will understand how to create a routing configuration and assign it to queues in Salesforce.
Routing configuration in Salesforce
Routing configuration in Salesforce helps control how work records, such as cases, leads, or chats, are sent to agents through omni-channel.
It determines the order, priority, and method by which Salesforce delivers work to the right agent. You can think of it as a set of rules that define how work should be distributed to agents efficiently.
When a new case or record is created, Salesforce looks at the routing configuration to understand its settings, such as the priority, size of the work, and how to balance workload among agents.
For example, if a high-priority customer case is created, Salesforce can route it first to an available agent instead of waiting in a queue. This ensures faster service and better customer satisfaction.
Imagine a company with three support teams: Billing, Technical Support, and Returns. Each team has its own queue. The administrator creates separate routing configurations for each queue:
- Billing cases are given High Priority (work should be assigned quickly).
- Technical Support cases are given Medium Priority (standard routing).
- Returns cases are given Low Priority (handled after others).
With this setup, Salesforce automatically routes each case to the available agent in the correct queue.
Create Routing Configuration in Salesforce
Below, I will explain how to create a routing configuration in Salesforce that automatically routes cases to the right agents or queues based on priority and availability, using omni-channel.
Log in to Salesforce Org. -> Click on the Setup -> Home Page-> In the Quick Find Box, Search for Routing Configuration. You will see an option under Omni-Channel; click on it.
Click the New button to create a routing configuration.
Now, to create the Routing Configuration in Salesforce, you need to provide the following details:
- Routing Configuration Name: The name you give to identify this routing setup in Salesforce.
- Developer Name: Automatically filled; it’s the API name used by Salesforce for backend reference.
- Overflow Assignee: A backup user who receives the work item if Salesforce cannot route it to any available agent or queue.
- Routing Priority: Defines the importance of the work item. A lower number (like 1) indicates a higher priority, so it is routed first.
- Routing Model: Decides how Salesforce distributes work among agents.
- Least Active sends work to the agent with the fewest open items.
- Most Available sends work to the agent with the most free capacity.
- Push Time-Out (seconds): The time an agent has to accept the work. If they don’t accept it within this time, Salesforce routes it to another available agent.
- Units of Capacity: Defines how much of an agent’s workload this item will take. For example, if you enter 1, it means each case uses 1 unit of the agent’s total capacity.
- Percentage of Capacity: (Optional) You can define the work size as a percentage of the agent’s total capacity instead of units. You can use either units or percentages, not both.
After entering these details, click Save to complete the Routing Configuration setup.
Below, you can see that we have successfully created the routing configuration in Salesforce.
The details shown in the image display the routing configuration, including Name, Routing Priority, Routing Model, and Work Item Size, which will be used to route cases to the correct agents through omni-channel automatically.
This way, we can create the routing configuration in Salesforce and then assign it to a Queue.
Assign Routing Configuration to Salesforce Queue
Now, let’s understand how to assign the created routing configuration to the queue, so that cases from that queue are automatically routed to available agents through omni-channel, based on the defined priority and workload settings.
Now, navigate to the queue by going to Setup -> searching for ‘Queues‘ in the Quick Find box, and then open it.
Below, you can see that I have created a queue named ‘Case Queue‘. However, I have added routing configuration to this queue. So let’s open this queue in Edit mode.
As you open the queue in edit mode, you can add the Routing Configuration lookup and select the routing configuration you created, then click the Save button.
By adding the routing configuration to the queue in Salesforce, we connect the queue with omni-channel routing.
This means that any new case or record added to that queue will be automatically routed to the right, available agent based on the routing rules, priority, and workload defined in the routing configuration.
Conclusion
I hope you have a clear idea of what a routing configuration is in Salesforce. We also learned how to create a routing configuration step by step and assign it to queues, allowing Salesforce to automatically route work items to the right agents through omni-channel based on their availability and workload.
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I am Bijay Kumar, the founder of SalesforceFAQs.com. Having over 10 years of experience working in salesforce technologies for clients across the world (Canada, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, etc.). I am a certified salesforce administrator and expert with experience in developing salesforce applications and projects. My goal is to make it easy for people to learn and use salesforce technologies by providing simple and easy-to-understand solutions. Check out the complete profile on About us.
