Archive for July, 2009
Call Centres and Automatic Call Distributors (acd) – an Overview
A call centre is a facility which is mostly used by companies to provide customer service. This type of facility used to handle only incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. However nowadays companies use call centres for a variety of activities like marketing, trouble shooting and making outbound service calls to the customers.
One defining feature of call centres is the receiving and dialling of a large volume of telephone calls. Nowadays, with high speed Internet and broadband connections available in most cities, customer servicing is also done over a variety of web media such as chat and e-mail. Since these service centres handle letters, faxes, and e-mails apart from telephone calls all at one location, they are also known as contact centres.
The physical topography of call centre offices typically consists of extensive open workspace dotted with work stations equipped with a computer and a telephone set/headset connected to a telecom switch. All the work stations are monitored by supervisors who with the help of call centre software can watch the process in real time.
The technological topography can be quite complex as modern call centres handle a variety of communication media such as voice calls, faxes, e-mails and chat. In other words, this throws up the need for a seamless interface to accommodate all of these media.
Moreover the system should be flexible and scalable enough to meet future challenges. In addition to managing all the above mentioned modes of interaction, sometimes call centres are operated or networked with additional centres.
How do call centres manage all these complex tasks with ease and provide customer satisfaction? They have at their disposal an array of software called ‘call centre software’ which can help managers and agents manage the inbound queries and outbound response and service calls. These software solutions also help the senior management to keep track of performance and productivity.
One of the most important pieces of call centre software is an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) which is discussed in detail below.
Automatic Call Distributor (ACD)
An Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) recognizes, answers and routes incoming calls to the next available agent. Its scale can range from just a few lines for small operations to hundreds of lines for large applications and campaigns.
The ACD on receiving a call distributes it to an agent or operator, a recorded message (or Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system), or puts it on hold until an agent can receive it. This distribution is done on the basis of specific instructions, regarding the handling of the call, received from the caller or the system itself.
ACD systems can also act intelligently by routing the call to the specifically skilled agents or specific IVR menus by filtering the calls on many factors such as the number of the caller, country of origin, agent availability and expertise and time of day.
An example of such capability is that a person calling from France will be directed to the agent who is fluent in French and the IVR menu he/she will encounter will also be in French. This capability goes a long way in satisfying a customer and building up the image of the company as one which takes care of its customers.
An ACD system can be of use to any organization looking to satisfy its customers and other stake holders. Plus, it is also of great importance to customer service centres, inbound service bureaus and government agencies.
Today’s ACD systems are far ahead of their predecessors. Digital recording, conferencing, silent observation, agent coaching and outbound call blending are some of the advanced features that modern day ACD systems are equipped with.
One defining feature of call centres is the receiving and dialling of a large volume of telephone calls. Nowadays, with high speed Internet and broadband connections available in most cities, customer servicing is also done over a variety of web media such as chat and e-mail. Since these service centres handle letters, faxes, and e-mails apart from telephone calls all at one location, they are also known as contact centres.
The physical topography of call centre offices typically consists of extensive open workspace dotted with work stations equipped with a computer and a telephone set/headset connected to a telecom switch. All the work stations are monitored by supervisors who with the help of call centre software can watch the process in real time.
The technological topography can be quite complex as modern call centres handle a variety of communication media such as voice calls, faxes, e-mails and chat. In other words, this throws up the need for a seamless interface to accommodate all of these media.
Moreover the system should be flexible and scalable enough to meet future challenges. In addition to managing all the above mentioned modes of interaction, sometimes call centres are operated or networked with additional centres.
How do call centres manage all these complex tasks with ease and provide customer satisfaction? They have at their disposal an array of software called ‘call centre software’ which can help managers and agents manage the inbound queries and outbound response and service calls. These software solutions also help the senior management to keep track of performance and productivity.
One of the most important pieces of call centre software is an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) which is discussed in detail below.
Automatic Call Distributor (ACD)
An Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) recognizes, answers and routes incoming calls to the next available agent. Its scale can range from just a few lines for small operations to hundreds of lines for large applications and campaigns.
The ACD on receiving a call distributes it to an agent or operator, a recorded message (or Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system), or puts it on hold until an agent can receive it. This distribution is done on the basis of specific instructions, regarding the handling of the call, received from the caller or the system itself.
ACD systems can also act intelligently by routing the call to the specifically skilled agents or specific IVR menus by filtering the calls on many factors such as the number of the caller, country of origin, agent availability and expertise and time of day.
An example of such capability is that a person calling from France will be directed to the agent who is fluent in French and the IVR menu he/she will encounter will also be in French. This capability goes a long way in satisfying a customer and building up the image of the company as one which takes care of its customers.
An ACD system can be of use to any organization looking to satisfy its customers and other stake holders. Plus, it is also of great importance to customer service centres, inbound service bureaus and government agencies.
Today’s ACD systems are far ahead of their predecessors. Digital recording, conferencing, silent observation, agent coaching and outbound call blending are some of the advanced features that modern day ACD systems are equipped with.
Kath Dawson is a researcher and writer with an interest in call centre software systems such as telephone call routing software, automatic call distribution. Her articles have appeared in various newspapers, magazines and online media.
VoIP Phones – the Best Way to Stay Connected
The concept of VoIP phones is gaining in popularity as it provides great effectiveness and usefulness to its users. VoIP is an abbreviated form of Voice over Internet Protocol. The phones that make use of this facilitating technology are just like your conventional telephony instruments, which are utilised for making effective long distance phone calls. However, the divergence lies in the prices and the transporters, which transmit the signals from one place to another. IP telephony is completely correlated to the Internet services, which means you make your calls using the Internet. On the other hand, the call rate that you get through IP telephony is much cheaper as contrasted to the customary PSTN lines.
In addition, you can be certain of the quality of voice that remains undisturbed. The sound quality is impressive and is comparable to the sound output obtained in the traditional phones. The service reduces the telephone bills for its users.
You can accept your incoming calls from anyplace around the world, as the calls are unswervingly routed to your Voip Phones. All you have to do is to remain connected to the Internet with the help of some instruments. You will also need the subscription from any VoIP service provider. In such services, instant messaging also becomes possible. With these phones and a service in place, the users can make cost effective calls to any corner of this world. As a matter of fact, the concept of VoIP phone services have turned out to be really helpful for the call centres. As the agents, they can operate their functions from everywhere around the world using the means of IP telephony.
In recent times, Toshiba has instigated two such phones named as Toshiba G500, and Toshiba G900. These devices are adding more strength to the concept of Voice over IP phones and related services. There are also several other mobile phones that can be used for making calls routed through the internet. With the design and development of such phones, the concept of IP telephony is gaining ground. A large number of people who were not familiar with it earlier now know the various benefits that these high-end gadgets can deliver.
Indubitably, the Voice over IP phones have made things simpler for us, and are evolving to be the latest sensation in the field of long distance communication.
In addition, you can be certain of the quality of voice that remains undisturbed. The sound quality is impressive and is comparable to the sound output obtained in the traditional phones. The service reduces the telephone bills for its users.
You can accept your incoming calls from anyplace around the world, as the calls are unswervingly routed to your Voip Phones. All you have to do is to remain connected to the Internet with the help of some instruments. You will also need the subscription from any VoIP service provider. In such services, instant messaging also becomes possible. With these phones and a service in place, the users can make cost effective calls to any corner of this world. As a matter of fact, the concept of VoIP phone services have turned out to be really helpful for the call centres. As the agents, they can operate their functions from everywhere around the world using the means of IP telephony.
In recent times, Toshiba has instigated two such phones named as Toshiba G500, and Toshiba G900. These devices are adding more strength to the concept of Voice over IP phones and related services. There are also several other mobile phones that can be used for making calls routed through the internet. With the design and development of such phones, the concept of IP telephony is gaining ground. A large number of people who were not familiar with it earlier now know the various benefits that these high-end gadgets can deliver.
Indubitably, the Voice over IP phones have made things simpler for us, and are evolving to be the latest sensation in the field of long distance communication.
Raina Kelsey is an expert author, and writes about latest gadgets.
BT Freestyle 3500
BT Synergy 4500