Overview
Instead of notifying a single individual, you can use Teams to notify a group chat! This helps ensure your calls are answered promptly. You can create as many group chats as needed to manage different groups of employees, but you can only use one group chat per Virtual Front Desk (VFD) location.
Enabling Microsoft Teams with VFD
Install the Microsoft teams app
If you haven't installed the Teams app, you'll need to do that first. Learn how in our installation guide. Note: You'll need to have Envoy version Version 2.1 + to use this feature.
Create a new Group chat
Now, you must create a new group chat(s) for VFD call notifications. The call link will be sent here! All group chat members will be able to answer calls made on your kiosk. You can edit the channel members in Teams after it's connected to a location.
Create a new group chat in Teams or use an existing one. Remember that all members of the group chat can answer calls made on your kiosk.
Give your group chat a descriptive name. This is how you'll add it to the VFD notification settings in Envoy.
Once your group chat is created, send at least one message. Chats aren't officially created and accessible until a message is sent.
Add the Envoy app to the Teams group chat
Now that your group chat is created and activated, you need to add the Envoy app to the chat.
In Teams, navigate to Apps > Envoy. Click on the Envoy icon to open up the app details in a pop-up.
Next to the Open button, click on the dropdown to reveal more options. Click on Add to a chat. You should now be prompted to Add Envoy to a group chat, and you should type in or select your new chat when prompted.
Add your Teams group chat as the notification method
Now, you only need to add the group chat as the notification method on your location(s) within Envoy.
Navigate back to the Global Overview > Virtual front desk > Locations. Select the ✏️ pencil to edit the location's settings.
Using the dropdown under Who to notify, select Teams group chat. Click on Choose a Teams group chat and begin typing your chat name. If installed correctly, you should see your vfd-enabled group chats!
Select the group chat you wish to notify. Remember to Save and toggle Status to On.
You can only notify one group chat per location, but you can add the same group chat to multiple locations.
Recommended: Perform a test call
Once your location's notifications are set to send to a Group chat, it's a good idea to run a test call to ensure your team knows how to answer.
On the kiosk, tap Call for assistance.
This will send the call link to your new Teams group chat!
Answer the call by clicking on the link. Learn more about answering a call.
The call status will update to show that a call is in progress. This prevents others from clicking on the link and getting an error message.
Once the call has ended, the message will update again to display the new status.
Troubleshooting
Issue: Direct message call links are sent but Group Chat call links are not
If your VFD call links are failing to send to a group chat, but individual users are able to receive them, it's likely that there's a Teams org-wide policy blocking the Envoy app. Your MS Teams admin will need to ensure the Envoy bot is not blocked under Custom App and Third-party apps settings.
Issue: I've added the bot to my group chat but I'm not able to select the group chat in the Envoy VFD setup
If the Envoy bot is already working for personal notifications but is not appearing when attempting to connect to a group chat, the bot may have failed to install correctly.
To solve:
Remove the Envoy bot from the group chat by clicking More options next to the group chat, then Manage apps from the dropdown.
Once in the Manage apps menu, click the ellipsis next to Envoy and click 🗑️ Remove.
Now that the bot has been removed, re-add the bot by following the above steps.
You should receive a chat from the bot when it adds successfully.
