# Configure agent settings in Connect Customer
<a name="configure-agents"></a>

Before you configure your agent settings, here is some info to have on hand. Of course, you can always change this information later. 
+ What is their routing profile? They can only be assigned one. 
+ Will they have the **Agent** security profile or a custom profile you created? 
+ Are they going to use a soft phone? If so, will they be connected to contacts automatically, or will they need to press the **Accept** button in their Contact Control Panel (CCP)?
+ Or, are they going to use a desk phone? If so, what is their number?
+ How many seconds do they have for After contact work (ACW)? There's no way you can turn off ACW time altogether so agents never go to ACW. (A value of **0 **means an indefinite amount of time.)
+ Are they going to be assigned to an agent hierarchy?

**Note**  
You can't configure how long an available agent has to connect with a contact before it's missed. Agents have 20 seconds to accept or reject a voice or chat contact, and 30 seconds for a task contact If no action is taken, the current agent's status will be **Missed** and the contact is routed to the next available agent.

**To configure agent settings**

1. On the left navigation menu, go to **Users, User management**.

1. Choose the user you want to configure, then choose **Edit**.

1. Assign a [routing profile](routing-profiles.md) to them. You can only assign one.

1. Assign the **Agent** security profile, unless you've created custom security profiles.

1. Under **Phone Type** choose whether the agent is using a desk phone or soft phone. 
   + If you select **Desk phone**, enter their phone number.
**Important**  
Outbound telephony charges occur when using a desk phone to answer inbound calls.
   + If you select **Soft phone**, we recommend selecting **Enable persistent connection**. This maintains agent connection after a call ends. It enables subsequent calls to connect faster. This doesn't apply to chats or tasks. For more information, see [Enable persistent connection](enable-persistent-connection.md).

1. Under Contact handling choose whether you want to auto accept contacts and set the After Contact timeout duration.
   + **Auto-Accept Call**: This enables agents to be connected to contacts automatically for the respective channel. For more information, see [Enable auto-accept](enable-auto-accept.md).
   + In **After call work (ACW) timeout**, type how many seconds agents have for after contact work, such as entering notes about the contact. This needs to be typed separately for each individual channel.
     + Minimum setting is 1 second.
     + Maximum setting is 2,000,000 seconds (24 days).
     + Enter **0** if you don't want to allocate a specific amount of ACW time. It essentially means an indefinite amount of time. When the conversation ends, ACW starts; the agent must choose **Close contact** to end ACW.
     + The following image shows the **Contact Handling** section of the **User Management** page. Each channel has a separate **Auto-accept** and **ACW timeout** setting.
       + Note -To configure auto-accept or ACW timeouts for Outbound Campaigns calls or customer-first callbacks, use the “Voice” settings.
       +   
![The Edit User page, the contact handling section.](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/agent-contact-handling-config.png)

1. If desired, choose **Show advanced settings** to access the following additional properties.  
![The Hide advance settings option on the User management page.](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/configure-agents-advanced-settings.png)

1. See the following topics:
   + [Assign proficiencies to agents in your Connect Customer instance](assign-proficiencies-to-agents.md)
   + [Organize agents into teams and groups for reporting and access by creating hierarchies](agent-hierarchy.md)

1. Under **Tags**, optionally add resource [tags](tagging.md) to identify, organize, search for, filter and control who can access this user.