When managing a contact center or
handling the customer service department, you are not unknown to the sheer
volume of calls coming in and going out in a single instance. As soon as an
agent completes a call, the next call in waiting is automatically routed to
them, and this is all thanks to the automatic call distribution mechanism. The
primary purpose of an automatic call distributor is to route incoming calls to
contact center agents or employees with specific skills. However, contact
center owners and admins can make necessary changes to the distribution logic
to increase the call processing efficiency of their teams.
Here is everything you need to
know about Automatic Call Distribution.
How does Automatic Call
Distribution Work?
The Automatic Call Distribution
is designed to eliminate unnecessary call transfers, prevent extended customer
hold times, and increase first-call resolution rates by automatically
connecting customers to the agent most qualified to assist them with their
specific issue. It relies on a routing engine that screens incoming calls based
on pre-determined parameters. Based on the skills, customer data, real-time
contact center performance, customer sentiment, and artificial intelligence
(AI)-powered behavioral profiles, the engine automatically matches the customer
to the correct agent in the least amount of time.
You may confuse ACD with another
integral call center tool, i.e., the Intelligent Voice Response (IVR). While
both are integral to business telecommunications and connect the users to the
right department or contact center agent, the intent and mechanism is
different. IVR uses guided responses from the user to connect them to the
correct agent and allows the callers to solve their own issues over the phone.
However, an ACD system can make use of inputs from an IVR to collect necessary
information for the redirection.
Read more about the basics of IVR and its Importance
in VoIP Communications.
The different factors on which an
Automatic Call Distribution routes incoming calls are:
- The dialed extension number (the caller is
calling sales, support, or feedback extension)
- Area code
- Caller ID
- Time of day
- Client status (VIP, Premium, Regular)
- Any IVR option selected
- Database entry
- Queue Statistics
- Agent Availability
- Agent Skills
The Call Distribution can be any
of the following ways:
- Sequential Call Distribution:
The calls are distributed in a pre-defined order to all agents for every
new call. If the first agent is busy, the call is forwarded to the next in
sequence until an available agent attends to the call. This routing method
is effective when the top agents are busy, and the callers need to be kept
engaged.
- Round-robin (Circular) Call
Distribution:
The next call is routed to the next in sequence after a previous call is
attended. The call is directly connected to the available agent in this
routing method as per the sequence. Only after the last agent has taken a
call is the sequence repeated.
- Uniform Call Distribution:
The least active agent is forwarded the next call. This way, the workload
is divided among the call agents and allows the calls to be distributed
uniformly.
- Simultaneous Call
Distribution:
The call is sent to all the agents, and the first one to answer handles
the call. This is, however, effective when all your call agents are of the
same skill level.
- Time-based Call Distribution:
The ACD in the contact center system uses the pre-input time availability
of each call agent to determine the right call route. This is a great way
to manage business calls when you have users calling from different
geographical locations.
- Score-based Call
Distribution:
Every call agent receives a score based on their call performance. These
scores become the deciding factors and add weight to routing purposes.
This way, lesser experienced agents and those starting out are exempted
from attending high-priority calls.
- Data-based Call Distribution:
The ACD taps into the caller information from the CRM or other tools to
determine which agent can better assist a specific caller. This call
distribution method is profitable as the experienced call agents can
easily manage to upsell or offer upgrades to the callers.
What are the Features to look for
in an Automatic Call Distribution system?
Callback Scheduling
In a scenario where no call
agents are currently available to take the call immediately, you can’t have
your callers stay on hold for any longer than a minute without taking a chance
of losing them forever. With automated callbacks, a caller doesn’t need to wait
to get the best quality help. They often are presented with an option to select
a preferred date and time for their callback.
Voicemail Notification
In addition to callback
scheduling, having a voicemail in place is important. Callers can record a
short message informing their pain points and the call agents can callback
equipped with the correct information or solution. Features like voicemail
notifications, voicemail-to-text, and voicemail-to-email ensure that call
agents are on top of their communication.
Intelligent Call Queing
Your ACD would require a call
queuing feature depending on the routing methods implemented. Call agents can
view the calls they have in waiting and manage their call workflow to reduce
the call churn accordingly. Admin can review the call queue history to
add/remove agents to better manage call traffic. Call agents can add VIP or
blacklist tags to prioritize certain calls.
Call Monitoring
Call monitoring is vital to
improve the agent training process and allow managers to assist agents in real
time. In addition, to listen ongoing calls, managers can ‘barge’ in when the
call might derail to offer instant support and a higher level of customer
assistance.
3rd Party Integrations
Businesses already use multiple
business software programs for everyday operations. You simplify the
communication process by allowing integrations with your CRM, IVR system, email
marketing platform, and your agents don’t need to spend time learning new
systems.
The Benefits of Automatic Call
Distribution
Having highly customizable call
paths and call routing options doesn’t just help to prevent call center agent
burnout and increase efficiency.
Additional automatic call
distribution benefits include:
- Streamlines communication
- Higher first call resolution rates
- Lowers operating costs
- Improves customer experience and higher
customer satisfaction rates
- Fully optimizes workforce
- Faster customer resolution times
- Fewer lost customer support tickets and
requests
- Shorter hold times for customers
- Increases employee flexibility/empower the
remote workforce
- More personalized customer experience thanks
to CRM integration
Wrapping Up
Automatic Call Distribution systems offer contact centers
with a wide range of features that can easily boost agent productivity and
customer satisfaction. Yet, they are not an autonomous tool and needs to be
connected to your contact center software to function. Alternatively, you can
go for a solution that offers ACD as one of its core features, such as
the contact center solution developed
by Vindaloo Softtech.
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