Emergency Groups

What Are Emergency Groups?

An Emergency Group is a switch that overrides all normal schedule-based call routing when activated. When an emergency group is active, inbound calls bypass the schedule group entirely and route directly to a designated emergency call flow.

Use cases: office closures, power outages, network failures, natural disasters, building evacuations, planned maintenance requiring full call redirection.

⚠️ Emergency Groups have the highest routing priority. They override Open / Closed / Holiday schedule logic. An active emergency group = all calls go to the emergency flow, regardless of time of day.

Emergency Group Components

Component	Description
Name	Unique identifier for the group
Division	Administrative ownership and access scoping
Activation Status	On = emergency routing active; Off = normal routing
Usages	Shows which call routes and flows reference this group — critical for impact assessment

Creating an Emergency Group

Admin → Routing → Emergency Groups

Click Add

Enter a unique Emergency Group Name

Select Division

Click Save

The group is created in a deactivated state — it has no routing impact until activated.

Connecting an Emergency Group to a Call Route

Creating the group alone does nothing. It must be assigned to a Call Route:

Admin → Routing → Call Routing → open the target route

Enable Emergency toggle

In the Emergency Group field, select the group you created

In the Emergency Flow field, select the published Architect flow to use during emergencies

Click Save

Activating an Emergency Group

When an incident occurs:

Admin → Routing → Emergency Groups

Find the group

Toggle Activation to On

Calls immediately begin routing to the emergency flow

To restore normal routing:

Return to Emergency Groups

Toggle Activation to Off

✅ Best practice: Test activation/deactivation during a low-traffic window before a real incident occurs. Know exactly where to find this toggle under pressure.

Routing Priority Diagram

Incoming Call
      ↓
Call Route
      ↓
Emergency Group active?
      ↓
┌──── YES ─────────────────────┐
│  Emergency Flow executes     │
│  (schedule ignored entirely) │
└──────────────────────────────┘
      ↓ NO
Schedule Group evaluated
      ↓
Open / Closed / Holiday → respective flow

Common Emergency Flow Designs

Simple Closure Announcement

Start
  ↓
Play Emergency Announcement
  ↓
Disconnect

Redirect to Backup Location

Start
  ↓
Play Brief Message ("We are experiencing an outage...")
  ↓
Transfer to backup contact center DID

Alternate Contact Information

Start
  ↓
Play Emergency Message
  ↓
Provide website / email / alternate number
  ↓
Disconnect

✅ Keep emergency flows simple. Complex logic is a liability during an outage. The goal is: play a clear message, offer an alternative, end the call.

The Usages Field

The Usages field on an emergency group shows every call route and Architect flow that references it. Always check this before making changes — it tells you the blast radius of any modification or activation.

Naming Convention

Format	Example
`<Region>_<Dept>_Emergency`	`US_Support_Emergency`
`<Site>_<Function>_Emergency`	`Monterrey_IVR_Emergency`

Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Fix
Emergency routing not activating	Group not assigned to the call route	Edit call route → assign emergency group
Group is active but calls still follow normal schedule	Emergency flow not assigned to the route	Assign the emergency flow on the call route
Emergency flow errors out	Flow has unpublished changes or broken logic	Open Architect, validate, publish latest version
Wrong routes affected	Unexpected routes also reference the group	Check Usages field; scope the group correctly
Normal routing not restoring after deactivation	Underlying schedule or call route was already misconfigured	Test non-emergency routing path separately
Admin cannot modify group	Division permission issue	Verify division assignment and admin role permissions

Troubleshooting Checklist

Check	✓
Emergency group created	☐
Correct division selected	☐
Emergency group assigned to all relevant call routes	☐
Emergency flow is published in Architect	☐
Emergency flow assigned to call route	☐
Tested activation in non-production or low-traffic window	☐
Verified Usages field — no unexpected routes affected	☐
Confirmed normal routing works when group is deactivated	☐

Key Facts for Exam / Interview

Question	Answer
Where are emergency groups configured?	Admin → Routing → Emergency Groups
What does activating an emergency group do?	Overrides all schedule-based routing — all calls go to the emergency flow
What must be done after creating an emergency group?	Assign it to a call route AND assign an emergency flow on that route
How do you check what a group affects?	The Usages field on the group
What is the routing priority order?	Emergency Group → Schedule Group → Open/Closed/Holiday flows
What is the most common implementation mistake?	Creating the group but forgetting to assign it to the call route, or not assigning an emergency flow