What Is Do Not Disturb (DND)?
Do Not Disturb (DND) is a phone feature that prevents incoming calls, messages and notifications from ringing through to a device or extension. When DND is active, calls route to voicemail, another agent or a queue instead of reaching the person who enabled it. On a personal phone, DND silences everything.
In contact center operations, DND is an agent state that tells the ACD system not to route new calls to that agent. Agents use DND during training sessions, team meetings, breaks or when they need focused time for after-call work. Supervisors can monitor DND usage through real-time dashboards to make sure agents are not overusing it and affecting queue wait times. Five9 Agent Desktop includes configurable agent states, including DND, that integrate with the ACD routing engine. When an agent sets their status to DND, the system automatically skips them in the routing queue and redistributes calls to available agents.
How Is DND Used in Contact Centers?
DND serves several purposes in contact center operations:
Agent breaks and meetings let agents step away from the queue without logging out of the system entirely.
Training and coaching sessions block incoming calls so agents can focus on learning without interruptions.
After-call work gives agents uninterrupted time to complete notes, update records or research follow-up actions.
Supervisor monitoring tracks how often and how long agents use DND to identify patterns that may affect service levels.
