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During a call, agents can transfer the call to a third party: an agent, short code, external number, interaction plan, or queue. A transfer can be one of two types: a cold transfer or a warm transfer.

Cold transfers: an agent transfers a call directly to a third party without connecting to the third party themselves first.
Warm transfers: an agent initially connects to a third party before transferring the call. Generally, the agent will communicate with the third party while connected to them and then perform the transfer. For example, they may pass on information about the caller to the person they're transferring them to.

The type of a transfer used depends on which features are enabled for your account.

Warm transfers to an interaction plan ending in a Call Connect Router (CCR) applet is not supported. We recommend that you transfer to a short code instead of an interaction plan with a CCR applet if you want to transfer to a number outside of VCC.

Default behavior

By default, some transfers are cold, others are warm. To transfer a call, agents must first initiate a consult in ContactPad. Next they must choose who to consult, and then click to dial the third party.

If the agent chose to consult an interaction plan or a queue, the call is immediately transferred to the third party. The agent leaves the call as soon as the call is transferred; this is a cold transfer.
If the agent chose to consult with another agent, short code, or an external number, they are connected to them. The agent must then click to transfer the call; this is a warm transfer.

Warm transfers (also known as consult to queue or consult to interaction plan)

If warm transfers are enabled for your account, all transfers are warm. This means, after initiating a consult, choosing who to consult with, and clicking to dial, the agent is connected to that third party. The agent must then click to transfer the call after being connected.

Warm or cold transfers

If a choice of warm or cold transfers are enabled for your account, agents can choose to warm transfer or cold transfer to a third party. This choice applies whether the agent chooses another agent, a short code, an external number, an interaction plan, or a queue. The agents must initiate a consult and choose who to consult with. Then, instead of clicking to dial, the agent can click to continue consulting and then transfer (a warm transfer), or click to transfer immediately (cold transfer).

In the case of a cold transfer, the original agent is disconnected from the call as soon the call is successfully transferred. If the transfer fails, the agent can retrieve the caller to continue the call. The agent can alternatively hang up as soon as they click to transfer. In this case, if the transfer fails, the caller is disconnected and the call ends.

For information about transferring calls, see the How do I consult with and, optionally, transfer to a third party? section in Making and receiving calls in ContactPad.