Call Routing - Needs Coverpage · ... , Automatic Call ... An Automatic Call Distributor or...

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© Specialty Answering Service. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. History of Call Routing .......................................................................................................................... 2

2. Introduction to ACD Technology ........................................................................................................... 3

3. Uses in Call Center Applications ........................................................................................................... 5

4. Benefits of ACD & Skills Based Routing ................................................................................................. 6

5. Technology & System Design ................................................................................................................ 7

5.1. Call Flow ........................................................................................................................................ 8

5.2. Enhanced ACD, IVR & Skills Based Routing ................................................................................... 9

5.3. CTI Server Enhanced ................................................................................................................... 10

5.4. Outbound Call Centers & Campaign Management..................................................................... 10

5.5. Virtual Call Center ....................................................................................................................... 10

5.6. Fully Integrated Call Center ........................................................................................................ 11

6. Choosing an ACD Vendor .................................................................................................................... 12

7. Current Players in the Market ............................................................................................................. 13

8. Enhancing Customer Service through ACD Routing ........................................................................... 14

9. Enhancing Call Center Profitability through ACD Routing .................................................................. 15

10. Disadvantages of an ACD System .................................................................................................... 17

10.1. Cost ......................................................................................................................................... 17

10.2. Breakdowns ............................................................................................................................. 17

10.3. Caller Frustration .................................................................................................................... 17

10.4. Business Image ........................................................................................................................ 17

11. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 18

12. References ...................................................................................................................................... 19

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1. HistoryofCallRouting

Intheinitialdays,callroutingtoasetofagentswasachievedthroughaswitchboardoperator,whowouldmanuallylookuptheextensionnumbersandconnectthecalltotheextensionthatwasfree.This led to several problems such as manual errors and delays on the part of the switchboardoperator, and uneven workloads for agents. Soon, Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) wasintroducedandthishelpedtoautomatethecallroutingprocess.Intheinitialstages,AutomaticCallDistributors (ACDs) did nothing more than routing calls to an available agent. There was nointegration between the Private Branch Exchange (PBX) systems, whichwere used to route thecalls,andthecomputersystemsthatcontainedcustomers’data.

AgentsansweredthecallsthatwereroutedtothembythePBXsystemandthenusedthecomputersystem to verify the customer’s identity based on information provided by the caller. Afterverification, thecallcenteragentcouldgainaccess to thecustomer’srecords tohelp inresolvingqueries.OnceACDswereintroducedinthesesystems,theysimplyattachedthemselvestothePBX,and after configuration, were difficult to change. Today, however, ACD routing has improveddrasticallyandadvancedskillsbasedroutingenablescompaniesto incorporatecomplexbusinessrulestodecidewhichcallsgetroutedtowhichagentwithminimaldelays.ACDsystemsalsoofferreportingcapabilitiestomeasuretheproductivityoftheagents,thenumberofcalldropsandothermetrics.

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2. IntroductiontoACDTechnology

AnAutomatic CallDistributor orAutomatedCall Distribution (ACD) system is used to distributeincomingcallstooneofthemanyinterchangeableagents.ItisusuallyapartofaCTIsystemwhichmanages the integration between the telephonic network and the computer network in anorganization. ACDs are frequently used by businesses such as airline booking offices, hotelreservation desks, call centers or customer service departments that handle a large number ofincomingcalls.

An ACD device recognizes and routes incoming calls based on business rules configured in thesystemaswellasthecaller’sactions.AdvancedACDsystemsalsohavethecapability togeneratereportsonthetypeandvolumeofcalls,alongwithagents’efficiencymeasures.

Initsmostbasicform,ACDdoesnotmakeuseofanybusinessrules.Itassignseachincomingcalltotheterminalthathasbeenidleforthemaximumperiodoftime.Ifallterminalsarebusy,thentheincomingcallsarequeuedandthecallsareassignedtoterminalsastheybecomefreeonafirstinfirstout(FIFO)basis.

AdvancedACDsuseapplication‐basedroutingthataccessesarulesdatabaseexistingontheuser’sdata server, runs through an application bridge, then intelligently routes the calls to the mostappropriateagentaspertheconfiguredrules.

SomeofthekeyfeaturesfoundinmostACDsystemsaredetailedbelow:

CallBackServices:MostACDsystemstodayallowuserstoleaveacallbackmessageifagentsarebusy,sothattheydonothavetowaitforalongtimetotalktoanagent.AdvancedACDsystemsalsomeasure theaverage likelywait timeandoffer callers the choice toeither leaveamessageor toholduntilanagentbecomesavailable.

Direct Call Routing: Most ACD systems allow callers the ability to direct themselves to theappropriate agentbyproviding thenatureof service requested.This is donebypressing certainnumbersforeachchoiceinresponsetoanIVRsystemthatisintegratedwiththeACDsystem.SomeACDsystemsalsohavethecapabilitytoperformintelligentroutingorskillbasedroutingbasedonbusinessrules.ACDsystemsalsohavebuilt‐indatavalidationmechanismswherebyuserscanself‐authenticatebydialinginpersonaldetailssuchasanaccountnumberordateofbirth.

RemoteRouting:Today,ACDsystemsarenolongerlimitedtotheinternaltelephonenetworkofthecompanyandoffertheabilitytoroutecallstoremoteagents. Inthisway,acompany’sworkforcecanbelocatedindifferentpartsoftheworldandthecallcentercanstilltakeadvantageofalargerskillspoolwhileselectingagents.ACDscoupledwithrouterscanhelptocreatevirtualcallcenters.

PrioritizedCall Routing: ACDs also prioritize call routing by allowingprivileged customers to beplacedaheadofthequeueandfacealowerwaittimeduringpeakperiods.

EaseofUse:Unlikethe initialdayswhereoperatingandconfiguringanACDwasaverytechnicaltask,todaymostplayersofferaneasytousegraphicaluserinterface(GUI)thataidsbusinessusers

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and call centermanagers in configuring the business rules aswell asmeasure andmonitor keyperformancemetrics.

Multimedia Support: Today ACD systems offermuchmore than the plain vanilla solution of callrouting. Apart from the ability to generate reports,most ACD systems also support alert emails,chatcapability,andsupportforbothinboundandoutboundcalls.

Report Generation & Analysis: Advanced ACD systems have the ability to capture and storeextensivecallinformation,whichhelpsthecallcenteradministratoranalyzetheperformanceofthebusinessrulesandtweakthem,ifnecessary.

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3. UsesinCallCenterApplications

ACDsaremostwidelyused in inboundcall centers inorder toenhance customerexperiences aswell as to improve the efficiency of the call center agents by minimizing agent idle time anduniformly distributing workload. ACDs can also be used in outbound call centers for effectivecampaignmanagementactivities.

When combinedwith advanced technologies such as CTI, IVR and PredictiveDialers, ACDs offeramazingcapabilitiesforcallcenters.

TheeffectiveuseofanACDdependsonhowwelltherulebaseisconfigured.Typicallytherulebaseisconfiguredsuchthateachcalltypeisinitiallydirectedtoasmallgroupofagents.Ifalltheagentsinthatgrouparebusy,thentheACDlooksforafreeagentinawidercircle.Thisgoesonuntilafreeagentisidentified.

There are several creative ways in which ACD rules can be configured to achieve maximumcustomersatisfactionwiththeminimumnumberofagents.Thiswillenablecallcenterstocutdownonagentcostswithout sacrificingoncustomerdelight.Herewewill lookat someof theways inwhichbusinessrulescanbeconfigured:

1. LinguisticBasis:Ifthecallersbelongtodifferentlinguisticareas,ACDscombinedwithIVRsystemscanbeusedtoroutethecalltoagentsproficientinthechosenlanguage.

2. ProductBasis:Ifacallcentercaterstocustomersofdifferentproducts,thenthecallscanberouted to agent groups based on knowledge and experience in specific products. Forexample, a call center for a bankmay typically havedifferent agentswhohandle savingsaccountcustomers,creditcardcustomersandloancustomers.

3. CallHistoryBasis:Insomecases,suchasinahotelwherecustomerserviceisofparamountimportance,callsmayberoutedtothesameagenteverytime,sothattheagentcanrespondeffectivelytothecaller’spersonalrequestssuchasbookingtheminaspecificroom.

Oftencallcentersuseacombinationoftheserulestoroutethecallstotheagentwhocanmosteffectivelyrespondtothecaller’sneeds.

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4. BenefitsofACD&SkillsBasedRouting

Automaticcalldistributionhasseveral features,butthemosttalkedaboutfeatureisthatofskillsbasedrouting.ItistoutedasthebiggestadvantageofACDincallcentercirclesacrossindustries.Inthissectionwewilllookatsomeofthekeybenefitsofskillsbasedrouting.

WhatisSkillsBasedRouting?

Skillsbasedroutingaimstomatchaparticulartypeofcalltoaspecifictypeofagentwithdefinedskillsets.Itisessentiallyamappingofbusinessrulesthatdirectcallsfromacertaincall‐grouptoapre‐definedagentgroup.Incomingcallsfallintoacertaincall‐groupbucketbasedonseveralfactorssuchasnatureofquery,previouscallhistory,whetherthecustomerbelongstoaprivilegegroupandsoon.Agentsaregroupedintobucketsbasedonclientshandledpreviously,skilllevels,etc.

Sometimes,callsmaygetroutedinitiallytoaprimaryagentgroupandifallagentsinthegrouparebusy,thenthesearchexpandstoincludeasecondaryagentgroup.

EnhancedCustomerService: This is thebiggestadvantageofACDand skillsbasedcall routing.Whenconfiguredcorrectly,onecaneasilyenhancethecustomerexperiencebyroutingthecalltotheagentwhoisknowledgeableenoughtoaddressthecustomer’squery.Otherservicesthatcanbeofferedincludeaconvenientcallback,speediertransactionsaswellastheabilityofthecustomertodomoreautomatedtransactions.

ReducedWaitingTime:ACDsignificantlyreduceswaitingtimeforcustomers,therebymakingiteasyforcustomerstoreachcallcenterexecutives.Thiswillalsoreducethecalldroprate.

CostSavings:Inabsenceofanautomaticcalldistributor,callswillneedtobemanuallydistributedbyareceptionistoraswitchboardoperator.Havinganautomaticcalldistributorsavesasignificantamountofdollarsthatwouldbespentassalaryandrelatedexpensesforaswitchboardoperator.

IncreasedEfficiency:WhilemostcallcenterstodayrelyonACDsinbusinessesthathavein‐housecustomercare,executivesareslowtoadoptthenewtechnology.However,usinganACDhelpstoimprove the overall efficiency of the receptionist, especially if he or she has other jobresponsibilitiesaswell.Asignificantamountof timeisspent in lookingupextension informationandroutingthecallstotherightexecutive.Ifthereistrafficofnearlyahundredcallseachday,asmuchasonehourofproductivetimecouldbewastedinjustlookinguptherelevantinformation.

ExpandedCallCapacity:ACDsallowyourbusinesstohandlemorecallsperhourwithouthavingtohireadditionaloperators.Anoperatorwouldtakeatleastafewminutestohandleeachcall.WithanACD inplaceyoucanachievecall routing inamatterof seconds, thusallowingyou tohandlemorecallsperexecutive.

ExtendedHoursofOperation:HavinganACDallowsyou toacceptcallsany timeof thedayornight.Evenifyourcallcenterexecutivesworkonlyduringnormalbusinesshours,youcanofferallautomatedservicestoyourcustomersduringnon‐officehours,thusmakingitabetterexperienceforthecustomer.

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5. Technology&SystemDesign

AnACDbasedcallroutingsystemconsistsofthehardwarefortheagentsorterminals,theswitchestoroutethecalls,thetelephonelinesaswellasthesoftwarefortheroutingstrategy.ThesoftwareessentiallyconsistsofasetofbusinessrulesthattelltheACDhowthecallsmustberouted,sothatthebestavailableemployeerespondstoeveryincomingcall.OftentheACDsystemalsoincludesanIVRsystemtohelpcollectadditionalinformationfromthecallerinordertodeterminethereasonforthecallandalsotovalidatethecaller’sidentity.

Intheinitialdays,theACDfunctionalitywasbuiltintothePBXsystemofacompany.Thiswasveryrudimentaryinnatureanddidnothavemuchflexibilitywhenitcametotheroutinglogic.SoontheACDfunctionalitywasshiftedtoaseparatecomputingserverwithwhichthePBXcommunicatedinordertoreceivedirectionsonhowtoroutethecall.

External routing applications also enabled the integration of agents’ computers and telephonysystems. This helped to improve call handling by providing the relevant customer data on theagent’sPCscreenassoonasanincomingcallisroutedtohim.

The most common protocol used to achieve CTI and ACD is the computer‐supportedtelecommunications applications (CSTA) protocol. However, most vendors of ACDs successfullybuild a programming GUI layer above the CSTA layer in order to make it easier to use. It alsoenablesfasterconfigurationandincreasestheeaseofeditingtheroutingrules.

TheotheradvantageofanexternalACDisthatitcancombinemultiplePBXsfromdifferentvendorsintoonevirtualsystemandalsoenablecommonreportgenerationacrossremotesites.

Inthediagrambelow,theinternalarchitectureofatypicalACD‐basedcallcenterisdepicted:

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O th e rs

5.1. CallFlow

The first step in configuring anACD system is to create a customer database. Every time a newcustomerisadded,theyareassignedtoaspecificcustomerqueuebasedontheirattributeswhichmayvaryfromtheirnativelanguage,totheproductthattheyhavepurchasedfromthecompany,ora combination of several factors. A queue canbe either for a live human agent or an automatedmachine agent. Queues may either be static, which means specific customers always fall into acertainqueueoritmaybedynamicbasedonthepurposeofthecall.

Oncecustomerqueueattributesaredefined,thenagentsareassignedtoeachqueuebasedontheirskills to service the calls. Both live agents as well as machine agents are assigned to queues.Machine or automated agents help customers in self‐servicing their needs such as informationrequirements.Atypicalexampleisacalltoabankingcallcentertoknowtheaccountbalance.

Sinceautomatedagentsaretypicallyusedforaspecificsetofcustomerrequests,theyareassignedincommontoallcustomerqueues.Asingleagentmaybeassignedtomultiplequeuesbasedontheskill levels. The agent assignment to a queue can be edited by the administrator based on callstatisticswhichareavailableinarealtimemannerinadvancedACDsystems.

Everytimeacallcomesin,theACDroutingalgorithmdetermineswhichqueuethecallershouldbeassignedto,basedontheprofileofthecallerthatmaybecollectedeitherusingaDNISsystemoranANIsystem.FurtherprofilingcanalsobeachievedfrominformationcollecteddynamicallyduringthecallusinganIVRsystem.

Ideally calls shouldbe routed to the agentwhoonlyhas the skillsneeded tohandle the call. Forexample, ifyouhaveanEnglishspeakingagentandabilingualagent, thenacallerwhoneedsan

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Englishspeakingagentshouldalwaysberoutedtotheformeragentfirst.Thiswillkeeptheagentwithadditionalskillsavailabletohandlecallsrequiringthoseskills.

Although intelligent queuing rules canminimize theneed to change the rules often, it cannot becompletelyavoided.This isbecausethenumberof liveagentsavailableandthenatureofcallsaswellas thecallvolumechangeeveryday,andoftenanadministratorwouldneed tomonitor theACDstatistics very closely to ensure that cricital ServiceLevelAgreements in termsof customerservicequalityandagentutilizationaremetonanearrealtimebasis.

Inaddition,queuingruleswillneedtobemodifiedeverytimeanagentishired,fired,orretrained,as thenumberofagentsavailable inacertainqueuedirectlydetermines theefficiencyof thecallcenterasawhole.

ExternalforcesmayalsorequireanadministratortochangethequeueingrulesintheACDsystem.Theseincludeanewproductbeingintroducedbythecompany,thecompanyexpandingintoanewgeographicalarea,andsoon.

Ideally,theinitialconfigurationandnecessarytweakingshouldbedonebyadministratorswhoareproficientintheconceptsofqueuemanagementandfamiliarwiththecenter’scallpatterns.Unlessconfigured properly, an ACD system can actually lead to an increase in call drop as well asmaximumwaittimeforcustomers.

SeveraltechnologyarchitectureshavebeenadoptedintheimplementationofcallcentersthatuseACD.Thesearchitecturesvaryfromoneanotherintermsofcomplexity,costs,andskillsrequiredtoimplementandmaintainthem.

Inthissection,wewilllookatsomeofthesearchitecturessuchas:

EnhancedACD,IVR&SkillsBasedRouting;

CTIServerEnhanced;

OutboundCallCenters&CampaignManagement;

VirtualCallCenter;and

FullyIntegratedCallCenter.

5.2. EnhancedACD,IVR&SkillsBasedRouting

Inthismodel,anACDandIVRsystemareusedtodirectcallstoagentsbasedontheirskilllevels.AgraphicaluserinterfacethatisattachedtotheACDallowstheadministratortosetupprioritylevelsand business rules to route the calls. Thus, the system can be customized in such a way that acustomerisalwayshandledbythesameagenteverytimehecalls.TheIVRhelpstohandlealotofcalls that do not require agent intervention and gives the caller the ability to get informationdirectly, allowingmore calls to be handledwith the same number of agents. An IVR can acceptverbalinputsaswellasinputsfromthekeypad.Itcanalsobeprogrammedtorespondinmultiple

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languages.ExperiencedcallerswillalsobeabletospeedupthetransactionbyinterruptingtheIVRsystemusingtheirresponses.ThebiggestadvantageofincludinganIVRalongwithanACDsystemis toprovide theability for thecall center tooperatearound theclockwithouthaving toemployphysicalagentsbeyondnormalbusinesshours.

5.3. CTIServerEnhanced

SincePostComputerTelephonyIntegration(CTI)cameintoexistence, theconceptofanACDhasundergonerevolutionarychanges.ACTIserverallowstelephonydevicestobecontrolledfromaPCasthetelephonycontrolsarealsobuilt intotheapplication.ThemainbenefitofCTI istoprovidecustomer informationto theagentat thesametimethattheACDroutesthecall totheirheadset.The PBX system would use either CLI (Calling Line Identification) or ANI (Actuating LineIdentification)toidentifytheinboundcaller.ThisnumberisthenpassedtotheCTIserver,whichobtainsthecaller’sinformationfromthedatabasebasedonthedialednumber.Theinformationisthen passed on to the application server that delivers the relevant transactional and historicalinformation about the caller to the screen on the agent’s workstation as the call reaches theirheadsets. The othermain advantage of CTI‐based architecture is that it allows a combination ofinboundandoutboundcalls.CTIscanmonitortheidleitemofagentswhohavebeenassignedtoaninbound call queue and then dynamically route them to handle outbound calls, thus helping toachieveloadbalancing.

5.4. OutboundCallCenters&CampaignManagement

ACDsplayakeyroleinoutboundcallcenters.ACDsareespeciallyusefulincampaignmanagementwherepredictivedialingmethodsmaybeused.Apredictivedialer(PD)wouldbefedanoutboundcall list fromadatabaseandthePDwouldtransfercallstotheACDoncethecall is live.TheACDwouldthenroutethecallsbasedonbusinessrulestotherespectiveagents.Thisimprovesagents’productivityastheydonothavetospendtimedialingorwaitingforcallstoconnect.

Intelligence canbebuilt into these systemsatvarious levels.Forexample, the integrated systemcan be configured such that calls answered by fax machines and answering machines can bedropped from the database to be used for future campaigns. A list of unanswered calls can bemaintainedforlatercalls.Rulescanalsobeconfiguredtodropnumbersfromcalllistsafterthecallgoesunansweredforacertainnumberoftimes.

5.5. VirtualCallCenter

Today, most organizations cater to global markets and have call centers that are located ingeographicallydiverseareas.Inthismodel,severalsmallercallcenterscanbeconnectedthroughaWide Area Network (WAN), and an ACD can be used to dynamically route calls across agentslocated in any of these centers, making the geographic location of the agent transparent to thecaller. Virtual call centers have several advantages including the ability to effectively performdisasterrecoveryifoneormorephysicallocationshasaproblem.

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5.6. FullyIntegratedCallCenter

Ina fully integratedcallcenter,an intelligentroutermaybeusedtotransferbothvoiceanddataacross a PSTN so that both calls and customer data can be passed on to remote agentswithoutaffecting call quality. If aweb server is used to enable internet telephony, then live chat can beemployedonwebsitesforuserstodirectlyspeaktoanagentwhilebrowsingthroughdetailsonline.

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6. ChoosinganACDVendor

ThereareseveralplayersintheACDmarketandchoosingtherightvendorforyourneedscanbeadauntingtask.ThefirststepinchoosinganACDsystemistolookattheoveralldesignofyourcallcenter.Youwillthenneedtoprofilethenatureofyourcallersaswellascallerprofile.Youmustalsohave a fair idea about the kind of services that you plan to offer your customers. Once this isfinalized,thenextstepistodecideonthenumberandtypeofagentsthatyouneed.Youmayhavetorecruitagentswithdifferentskilllevelsandexperienceforyourcallcenteroperations.

Afteridentifyingcallerandagentprofiles,youcandecideonthetypeoffeaturesthatyouneedinyourACDsystem.HerearesomeofthequestionsthatyoumustaskyourvendorbeforechoosinganACDsystem:

1. Howmanyskillscananagentbeassignedatagiventime?

2. Istherearestrictionontheagentprofiles?

3. Can a call be queued concurrently against multiple queues, and if so, is there arestrictiononthenumberofqueuesinwhichacallcanbeplaced?

4. Whattools(suchasintegratedIVR)areprovidedtoidentifycustomerneeds?

5. WhattypesofrealtimeandhistoricalreportscantheACDsystemgenerate?

6. Cancustomreportsbegeneratedfromthesystem?

7. Isthereaprovisiontointegratemulti‐siteoperations?

8. Doyouofferanytrainingforadministratorsinconfiguringthesystem?

9. Whatisthecostofownershipofthesystem?

10. WhatisthemaximumcapacityoftheACDsystemintermsofcallvolumesandagentsthatcanbeconfiguredinthesystem?

Ease of configuration is an important parameter to consider when choosing an ACD system. Asystemthatcanbeeasily integrated intoyourexistingnetworkwillbe farmorehelpful thanonethat requires your entire system to be revamped.Thiswill not only lead to additional hardwarecostsintermsofwiringandports,butalsohavetheissueofeffectivechangemanagementwithintheorganization.

Keepinmindthatbudgetisalsoakeyconsideration.Whileevaluatingthepriceofeachsystem,itisimportant to look at the cost of the system and its configuration, as well as the total cost ofoperation. Inaddition,ACDsystemsarepronetoa lotofmalfunctioning,so it isbesttonegotiatethemaintenanceandpurchasecontractsforyourinvestment.

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7. CurrentPlayersintheMarket

In this section, we will look at the product offerings of key players in the market. While somesolutionsonly cater to call centerswitha fewseats,othersofferproducts that can route calls tomorethanathousandagentsbasedonacomplexarrayofcriteria.

TherearemainlytwotypesofACDsystemscurrentlyavailable–thefirst isbasedonahardwareswitchthatroutesthecall,andthesecondisavirtualACDthatreliesonsoftwareforrouting.

FrontRange:InthevirtualACDmarket,FrontRangeoffersatoolcalledtheIPContactCenterthatincorporatesthefeaturesofanACDandanIVR.Italsohastheabilitytogeneratecustomizedagentscreens,providingsupportrecordsbasedonthecustomer’scontactinformation.

DSC: Database Systems Corp. (DSC) is another leading player in the ACD systems and softwaremarket.TheDSCsystemcomes integratedwith IVRsoftware thatcananswer incomingcallsandprocessthesecallsbeforeroutingthem.DSCoffersbothdigitalandanalogACDsystems;thedigitalACDsystemgoesby thebrandnameofPACER,and theanalogsystem isknownas theWIZARD.Both systems offer the ability to manage multiple call queues, maintain call logs and other callgroupactivitymetricssuchasagent idle time,andhold time.DSC’sproductcomeswitharobustsoftware library thatallowsusers todevelop theirown IVRapplications.The IVRsystems in theDSCACDsoperateinaclient/serverenvironment.

inContact:The inContactplatformisan integratedsolutionthatoffersmuchmorethan justACDrouting. It includes skills based routing, IVR with speech recognition and CTI capabilities. Theplatformalsoenablesadministrators to generate reports,optimizeworkforce, andevenmeasurecustomersatisfaction.Inaddition,theplatformincludesane‐learningandrecruitmentmoduleandenablesmulti‐siteintegration.

OtherplayersinthisspaceincludeAvaya,CiscoandGenesys.Alloftheseplayersaregloballeadersinthecallcenterandenterprisecustomercommunicationsolutionsmarketplace,andprovidethehardwareandsoftwareneededtooperateastrongACDroutingsystem.

Angel.com is a recent entrant into the market and provides a hosted solution for call centermanagement. The software includes the call distribution capabilities of an ACD systemwith thecapabilitiesofanIVRsystem.Thehostednatureofthesolutionallowsquickdeploymentandofferscall centeradministratorsa lotof flexibilitywithouthaving to investheavily innewhardware. Italsooffersrealtimemonitoringandreportgenerationcapabilities.

CosmoCom'sUniverseisanothermajorplayerinthevirtualACDcategory.IthelpstolinkvariousmodesofcommunicationsuchastextchatsandIPtelephonyaswellaslegacyPSTNsystems,androutes them to various agents. There are several other vendors offering ACD systems, so it isessentialtomakeawell‐informeddecision.

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8. EnhancingCustomerServicethroughACDRouting

ThebiggestadvantageofanACDsystemisthatitnevergivesthecustomerabusytone.ThereareseveralwaysinwhichcustomerserviceisenhancedbytheuseofanACDroutingsystem.

FasterConnectionTimes:Automaticcallroutingconnectsthecallertoanagentmuchfasterthaninthetraditionalmethodofusingaswitchboardoperator.Thisalsoensuresthatcustomersdonotgetfrustratedwithhaving to listen to a busy signal every time they try to reach a customer servicerepresentative.

MinimalWaiting Time: Once the call is connected, ACD systems calculate the wait time of eachcallerandensurethatcallersdonotwaitformorethanaprescribedtimebeforebeingconnectedtoanagent. If liveagentsarebusy,thesystemcanat leastconnectthecallertoanautomatedagentthatallowsthecallertoperformseveralactivitieswithouttheaidofahumanagent.

Higher Percentage of First Call Resolution: With skills based routing, ACDs enable better callresolutions on the first call. First call resolution influences customer satisfaction levels andconsequent customer loyalty towards the company and its products. When customers arereassuredthattheywillbeservedquicklyandeffectivelywheneverthereisaproblem,thenitnotonly increases the revenue and brand image of the company, but also provides a lot ofword ofmouthpublicity.

FasterComplaintResolution:Skillsbasedroutingat theACDlevelcombinedwithIVRtechnologyenablescomplaintstoberoutedtoanagentwhoisknowledgeableandauthorizedtotakeactiontoresolvetheproblem.Thiswillresultinfastertroubleshootingandissueresolutionforthecustomer.

IncreasedServiceOfferings:Today,ACDsofferanincreasedbasketofservicestoyourcustomers.Themostimportantistheavailabilityof24/7support,whichgoesalongwayinensuringcustomersatisfaction.Inaddition,ACDsallowcallbackstobeconfigurediftheexpectedwaittimeexceedsacertainthreshold.Inthecaseofskillsbasedrouting,complaintresolutioncallscanberoutedtothesameagenteverytimesothatthecustomerwillbeabletospeakwithafamiliarperson.Moreover,CTI integrationhas ensured that the customer’s relevantdetailspopupon theagent’s screen assoonastheACDroutesthecall.Thismakesiteasierfortheagenttoresolvetheissueathand,asthereisnotimewastedininquiringaboutthedetailsofprevioustransactionswiththecompany.

ACD was the first technology to revolutionize the concept of call centers. With multi‐mediaintegration and CTI systems in place, customer service has come a long way and customerexpectationshaveskyrocketed. It isno longerenoughto justmaintainyourown internalmetricswhenitcomestocustomersatisfaction.Youmustalwaysofferyourcustomersabetterservicethanyour competitors and at a lower cost. ACDs play a key role in achieving these twin objectiveseffectively.Today,theroutingrulesinyourACDsystemareasmuchacompetitiveadvantageasanewproductfeature.Whileinitialsalesmaybedrivenbyyourmarketreach,customerloyaltyandcustomerupgradesaretotallydependentonthelevelofservicethatyouoffer.Youragentsplayanintegralpartinthis.

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9. EnhancingCallCenterProfitabilitythroughACDRouting

WhileACDscanbeusedtoenhancecustomerexperiencewhentheycontactyourcallcenter,theyalsoservestoenhancetheprofitabilityofthecallcenterinseveralways.InthissectionwewilllookatsomeofthewaysinwhichanACDsystemhelpstoimprovetheprofitabilityofcallcenters.

IncreasedConversionRates: If the customer is calling to purchase a service such as an airlineticket reservation or a hotel room reservation, then it is important that they be responded toquicklyandbyaknowledgeableperson.Withoutpromptattention,customerswilllikelysearchforalternateserviceproviders.ACDsplayacrucialroleinreducingcalldropsandconsequentlossofsales.Inaddition,ifeffectiveskillsbasedroutingisused,thenACDscanmakesurethatcustomersareattendedtobytherightagent,thushelpingtoimprovetheconversionratesofliveinboundandoutboundcalls.

AbilitytoUpsellorCrossSell:WiththeuseofanACDandIVRsystem,wait timescanbemadeadvantageous to the call centerby informing the callerabout variousnewproductsandservicesavailable,givingcustomerstheoptiontosignup forthem. Inthisway,anACDsystemeffectivelyaidsintheupsellandcrosssellofthecompany’sproducts.Ifthecallerchoosestosignuporwantstoknowmoreaboutacertainoffer,thentheskillsbasedroutingalgorithmwillroutethecalltoanagentwhocanexplaintheofferandgetthecustomeronboard.

IncreasedHoursofOperation:AnACDsystemcombinedwithanIVRsystemgivesthecallermorepowerbyremovingtheneedforanagentformosttransactions.Thecallcentercanbeoperational24/7withouthavingtoincurthecostofadditionalagents.Byincorporatingacallbackfeature,ACDsystemsallowthecallcentertopreventcustomersfromdefectingtocompetition.

Measurement&Analysis: You cannot improvewhat you cannotmeasure.ACD software allowstherecordingofkeycallstatisticsandgeneratescustomreportsthathelpcallcentersanalyzeagentproductivity,calldroprates,conversionrates,andsoon.Administratorscanthentweakrulessuchthattheproductivityofeachagentismaximized.

ReducedStaffCosts: AnACD system reduces unproductive time spent by agents,which in turnhelps to minimize the amount of staff needed to handle a certain call volume. As a result, thecompanysavesonstaffingcosts. In thecaseofanoutboundcallcenter,anACDcombinedwithapredictivedialerhelpstosavetimespentondialingandwaitingforacalltoconnect.Incomingcallsareroutedtothebestpossibleagent,therebypreventingdelayscausedbyhavingtoescalatecallstootheragentsforissueresolution.WiththeuseofaCTIsystemtosendrelevantcustomerdatatoagents’screenspriortoacall,lesstimeneedstobespentonauthenticatingcustomeridentity.

AdvancedACDsystemsalsohelpinreducingoverallcostofownershipinthefollowingways:

Optimizing Infrastructure: ACD systems combined with other call center technology allowcreationofvirtualcallcenters,therebyhelpingtocentralizeandoptimizeresourceusage.

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ReducedLicensingCosts:Inatraditionalcallcenter,allcallshitanACDfirst.Todayhowever,anIVRisusedtoeffectivelyscreencallsthatneedtohitanACD.ThisreducesthelicensingcostsoftheACDandhelpstohandleadditionalcallvolumesbyjustaddingportsinsteadofentirePBXsystems.

OptimizingOutsourcing: If call center operations are outsourced tomultiple vendors, the totalcost of ownership can be reduced by using an ACD at the initial level, creating a virtual andseamlesscallcenteracrossvendors.Thishelpstoreducethecostpercall.

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10. DisadvantagesofanACDSystem

AlthoughanACDsystemoffersa lotofbenefits, italsohas itsshareofpitfalls. Inthissection,wewilllookatsomeofthecommonproblemsassociatedwithACDs.

10.1. Cost

A state of the art automatic call distributor can cost a significant amount of money in terms ofhardware purchase and software licensing costs, not to mention the cost of customization andmaintenance.Otherexpenseswouldincludeadditionalhandsetsforagents,wiringandconnectivitycosts,aswellascreationofadirectory.Moreover,althoughanACDsystemwillhelptosaveonthecostofaswitchboardoperator,youmaystillneedtohaveareceptionistforpeoplewhoareunabletonavigatethephonesystem.

10.2. Breakdowns

OneofthecommonproblemswitharudimentaryACDsystemisthatlikeallothertechnicaldevices,it may break down from time to time. When that happens, unless you have a maintenanceagreementwiththevendorwithspecificSLAsforrestorationofservice,itmayactuallyaffectyourcallcenter’soperations.Thiscanbeasignificantsourceof inconveniencetoemployeesaswellascallers. The other option of having a backup ACD system may not always be cost effective,particularlyinthecaseofsmall‐timeplayers.

10.3. CallerFrustration

WhileACDsingeneralincreasecustomersatisfaction,alotofcallersmaygetfrustratedwithanIVRbasedACD,especiallyifthereisnowaytobypassthesystemandreachanagentinafewseconds.ThismayleadtoalossofcustomersandpotentialrevenuefromthosewhodonotwanttonavigatethroughacomplexIVRsystem.

10.4. BusinessImage

ThebusinessrulesconfiguredinyourACDsystemwillindirectlyinfluenceacaller’sperceptionofyourbusiness.Forexample,ifthevoiceintheIVRsystemisdifficulttounderstand,thenthecallermayperceiveyourcompanyasbeingunprofessional.IfyourACDrequiresuserstodivulgealotofinformationbeforebeingallowedtospeaktoanagent,customersmaynotperceiveyourbusinessinapositivelight.

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11. Conclusion

ACDsareanintegralpartofanycallcenteroperations.Intheinitialdays,thetechnologywasonlyused to reduce the reliance on a switchboard operator and to answer callsmore quickly. Todayhowever,ACD systems and software have evolved and offer several benefits for call centers andtheircustomers.Itisthusawin‐winsituation.Operationalefficiencyisincreasedbyensuringthatcallsareroutedappropriately,yourcall center is functionalaround theclock,andcustomerscanperformmanyactivitiesbythemselvesevenwhenthemaincallcenterisnotoperational.

ChoosinganACDisonlyonepartofacomplexprocessofdesigningyourcallcenterarchitecture.ACDs vary widely in cost and features, and in order to have a profitable and customer‐friendlyoperation, you must choose the hardware and software that is right for your needs. Certaincustomersmaynotbehappydealingwithanautomatedsystem,sothenatureofyourcallersisakeyfactor indeterminingthelevelofautomationyouwanttobuild,aswellasthebusinessrulesthatyouconfigureonyourACDsystem.

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12. References

1. Keith Dawson. 2004. BEYONDACDs Smart Call Routing For theModern Age. Call CenterMagazine,June1,14‐24.http://www.proquest.com/(accessedFebruary9,2012).

2. ‘automatic call distributor (ACD)’ 2001, in Hargrave'sCommunicationsDictionary,Wiley,Wiley, Hoboken, NJ, USA, viewed 09 February 2012, <fromhttp://www.credoreference.com.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/entry/hargravecomms/automatic_call_distributor_acd>

3. Klenke,Maggie.1995.ACDsgetskills‐basedrouting.BusinessCommunicationsReview,July1,48.http://www.proquest.com/(accessedFebruary9,2012).

4. Hotel has no reservations about ACD. 1997. Communications News, June 1, 53.http://www.proquest.com/(accessedFebruary9,2012).

5. Telrex releases Accelerator advanced ACD. 2003. Customer Inter@ction Solutions,November1,40.http://www.proquest.com/(accessedFebruary9,2012).

6. Ellen Muraskin. 1999. CosmoCom's virtual ACD. Computer Telephony, December 1, 44.http://www.proquest.com/(accessedFebruary9,2012).

7. ‘Automatic Call Distributor’ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_call_distributor(accessedFebruary9,2012)

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