Example of increasing call handling efficiency

Last Updated : Apr 29, 2013 |

Contact centers can increase revenue by improving the sales opportunity for each call through up-selling or cross-selling. To improve sales opportunities, contact centers classify customers and connect top agents with potential buyers.

This example describes how the following features meet the needs of contact centers:

  • Greatest Need as a call selection method

  • Predicted Wait Time (PWT)

  • Service Level Supervisor (SLS)

  • Service Objective (SO)

  • Uniform Call Distribution-Least Occupied Agent (UCD-LOA) as an agent selection method

Background

A home furnishings catalog company wants to connect the top sales agents to premium customers and increase the sales opportunity per call.

The company classifies customers into the following skills:

  • Premium: Most profitable customers who are likely to buy add-on merchandise.

  • Gold: Profitable customers who discourage up-selling or cross-selling.

  • Silver: Customers who buy items that are marked for clearance.

  • New: First time callers, prospective customers, or callers with queries about a catalog item.

The company wants agents to focus on the Premium skill and the Gold skill categories without losing customers in the Silver skill and the New skill categories.

Skill assignment

The administrator groups agents into the following tiers with the top sales agents in Tier 1 and inexperienced agents in Tier 4.

  • Tier 1 agents receive calls to the Premium skill and serve as reserve agents for the Gold skill.

  • Tier 2 agents receive calls to the Gold skill and the New skill. Tier 2 agents serve as reserve agents for the Premium skill and the Silver skill.

    Tier 2 agents are proficient at selling merchandise and providing information about catalog items but unsuccessful with add-on sales.

  • Tier 3 agents receive calls to the Gold skill and the New skill. Tier 3 agents serve as reserve agents for the Premium skill and the Silver skill.

    Tier 3 agents receive calls to the Premium skill only if all agents in Tier 1 and Tier 2 are busy.

  • Tier 4 agents are inexperienced and receive calls to the Silver skill. Tier 4 agents serve as reserve agents for the Gold skill and the New skill.

The following table shows the agent skill assignment.

Agent tiers

Premium skill

Gold skill

Silver skill

New skill

Tier 1

Primary

Reserve level 1 (R1)

—

—

Tier 2

Reserve level 1 (R1)

Primary

Reserve level 2 (R2)

Primary

Tier 3

Reserve level 2 (R2)

Primary

Reserve level 1 (R1)

Primary

Tier 4

—

Reserve level 2 (R2)

Primary

Reserve level 1 (R1)

Overload thresholds

As all agents, except Tier 1 agents, serve as reserve agents for two skills, the administrator sets two levels of thresholds for each skill.

The following table lists the reserve agent activation time for each skill.

Skill

Overload threshold in seconds

SO in seconds

Premium

Level 1: 20

Level 2: 30

20

Gold

Level 1: 45

Level 2: 60

45

Silver

Level 1: 60

Level 2: 75

60

New

Level 1: 45

Level 2: 60

45

The administrator assigns service objectives at the skill level and the agent level.

Agent selection

The administrator selects UCD-LOA as the agent selection method. Communication Manager routes calls to the agent with the lowest percentage of time on ACD calls since login.

As the company encourages agents to complete all call-related activities during the call, Communication Manager adds the time spent in After Call Work (ACW) to the idle time calculations.

Call selection

The administrator selects greatest-need as the call handling preference and uses SO. Communication Manager selects calls based on the ratio of PWT to administered SO for a skill.

Note:

Use SO to:

  • Reduce Average Speed of Answer (ASA).

  • Improve call selection for agents with more than one primary skill.

Automated agent staffing

The administrator uses SLS to activate reserve agents when the threshold levels for a skill exceed the administered limit.

The administrator does not use Call Selection Override so that Communication Manager delivers calls in the queue for the primary skills of agents.

Summary

PWT and SO determine call selection for agents with two primary skills or reserve skills when a reserve skill exceeds the threshold.

SLS activates reserve agents when the threshold levels for a skill exceed the administered limit.

By administering hunt groups and reserve agents based on skill proficiency, the company ensures that:

  • All calls are handled efficiently.

  • Sales opportunities are not lost.