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Abandoned calls |
| Calls which arrive at the ACD but terminate before an agent has answered.
See also Lost Call. |
ACD – Automatic Call Distributor/Distribution |
| Technology which facilitates the handling of large call volumes by controlling
the order in which calls are offered to agents, routing calls to particular
agent groups and providing a wide range of statistical information used in
managing a call centre. Either hardware or software based, the ACD offers
sophisticated options for call handling within a centre. |
Agent efficiency |
| The time an agent spends in Talk Time and After-Call Work, handling a
transaction. |
Agent id |
| The identity code used by agents to log into the ACD system. The code
enables the system to track performance. |
ANI – Automatic Number Identification |
| A feature which enables the caller’s own telephone number to be forwarded
at the same time as their call, so they can be identified. |
Annualised hours |
| Allows employees to contract to work a set number of hours per year and
then agree with the employer on the actual distribution of hours by days,
weeks, or seasons to fit their mutual convenience. |
Architecture |
| The overall design of hardware or software. ‘Open architecture’ means the
design of the programming can be changed by users. |
Attrition |
| The term used to cover loss of staff from a centre usually described as a
percentage of total staff. To fully understand attrition the reasons for staff
loss need to be understood. |
Auto attendant |
| A recording which asks the customer to either press buttons on the keypad
or state which extension they want. The system then automatically routes
their call. |
Automatic dialler |
| See also OUTBOUND DIALLER, POWER DIALLER, PREDICTIVE DIALLER)
Allows outbound calls to be made automatically and on answer refers the
connection to a free agent. |
Available |
| An agent who is logged into the ACD and waiting for an inbound call. Also
called idle or ready. |
Average Handle Time (AHT) |
| The sum of the average Talk Time and the average After Call Work for a
specified period. |
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Back office |
| That part of an organisation which does not have a first line interface with
the customer. The back office will usually deal with fulfilment, paperwork
and more complex problems requiring a degree of expertise. |
Benchmarking |
| The process of measuring products, services and practices against the
market, competitors or those companies recognised as industry leaders. |
Blending |
| Where the same agents work on both inbound and outbound calling during
any one day dependent on volume requirements. |
Blocked call |
| A call that cannot be connected immediately because (a) no line is available
at the time the call arrives, or (b) the ACD is programmed to stop calls from
entering the queue when the queue exceeds a defined size. |
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Call / Contact centre |
| ‘Contact Centre’ is gradually replacing the term ‘Call Centre’ because it more
accurately describes the activities now taking place. In addition to telephony,
contact centres provide customer access through e-mail and progressively
through web chat. A simple overview of contact centres is focussed in three
areas: |
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 People |
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The basic skill set is literacy, some technology skills or at least keyboard
skills, good interpersonal communication skill and, for e-mail and web
chat reasonable spelling and grammar capability. |
| Process |
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The basic skill set is literacy, some technology skills or at least keyboard
skills, good interpersonal communication skill and, for e-mail and web
chat reasonable spelling and grammar capability. |
| Technology |
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The basic skill set is literacy, some technology skills or at least keyboard
skills, good interpersonal communication skill and, for e-mail and web
chat reasonable spelling and grammar capability. |
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Call or contact centre agent |
| The person who receives or makes calls in a call or contact centre. |
Call or contact centre manager |
| Person with overall operational responsibility for the management of the call
or contact centre. |
Call screening |
| A process for directing calls via an auto attendant or IVR system. |
Caller Identification |
| The identification of the inbound caller in a call or contact centre from their
telephone number. Potentially, this enables customer details to be retrieved
from the customer database and displayed on the agent's screen (screen
popping). It is also called 'calling line identification,' 'automatic number
identification' and 'calling party number.' |
Calling Line Identity (CLI) |
| Technology which enables a caller’s number to be (optionally) forwarded
with the call, thus facilitating identification. |
Computer-Based Training (CBT) |
| A process which, through interaction between a user and a computer,
training is delivered at the user’s pace. Access is through a specific
programme or can be web based. The benefit claimed for CBT is that it can
be utilised at the desk during slack periods. |
Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) |
| The software, hardware and programming that automatically links voice with
the data stored in the computer providing sophisticated customer
management possibilities. CTI will usually allow calls and accompanying
computer screens to be passed between workstations for referral. |
Contact management |
| Contact Management is a software solution which allows instant company
wide access to detailed and integrated contact information |
Cost per call |
| This is calculated by dividing the number of calls handled into the full cost of
the entire call centre operation. There can be issues in comparing costs on
this basis unless operational costs are understood across the comparators. |
Cost per call minute |
| This is calculated by multiplying the average length of call (in minutes) by
the number of calls and dividing this figure into the full cost of the entire
call centre operation. |
Cross selling |
| Selling related goods and services to a customer. |
Customer interface |
| The point of interaction with the customer – including web, telesales
operator, call centre, or face to face. |
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) |
| Where companies record and use a variety of methods and contact
strategies to try to build lasting and profitable relationships in order to retain
the best customers and generate profitable revenue. |
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Data cleansing |
| The process of removing inaccurate and historical data from operational systems. |
Database |
| Any collection of information, but generally one which can be segmented
and searched automatically. |
DDI – Direct Dial Inward |
| The option to dial directly into a company and reach a specific extension
without going through a switchboard. |
Disaster recovery / Business continuity |
| A process intended to provide up to date operational plans to handle and/or
recover from serious or catastrophic events. |
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e-Business |
| All business that is conducted over or from the Internet, digital television or
via e-mail. |
e-Commerce |
| Trading where the transaction, including payment, takes place over the Internet. |
e-Learning |
| Learning together through the internet without necessarily physically being
together. |
Electronic mail response system |
| Software that can draw information from an electronic 'knowledge base' in
order to send an almost instant automatic response by electronic mail. |
Erlang |
| A formula developed to determine call traffic management including
scheduling of agents, call forecasting and service level achievement. There
are several versions of the formula, each with a slightly different purpose. |
Extranet |
| Internet-like system where, in addition to staff access is extended to specific
users outside the company, for example special customers or suppliers. |
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Fax back |
| A facility which allows information to be given to a remote fax machine so
that a fax response can be obtained automatically. |
Fax preference service |
| The Fax Preference Service was set up by the Direct Marketing Association
(UK) Limited (DMA) in 1997 as a voluntary self-regulatory mechanism to
enable consumers to opt-out of receiving unsolicited sales and marketing
faxes at home. |
Firewall |
| A security system intended to protect a network against external threats
(from other networks, such as the internet). A firewall prevents computers
on the organisation’s network from communication directly with nonauthorised
computers. |
Fulfillment |
| The business process which deals with taking orders for goods and services
and ensuring that they are delivered in accordance with promises made.
Some products can be delivered electronically while others require to be
physically delivered. |
Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) |
| The number of agents employed or required expressed in terms of total
man-hours required divided by the number of hours a full time agent would
normally work. |
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Help desk |
| A term that generally refers to a call centre set up to handle queries about
product installation, usage or problems. The term is most often used in the
context of computer software and hardware support centres. |
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Idle |
| Describes an agent who is available and waiting for a call to come in.
‘Available’ or ‘Ready’ may also be used. |
Inbound |
| Calls made to a centre. |
Intelligent routing |
| A process which will take information from callers via auto attendant or IVR
and utilise that information to ensure that calls are directed to a specific area
of the call centre. |
Intranet |
| A network of networks that uses the internet but is contained within a
controlled environment, for example, internal company information that can
only be viewed by employees. |
IVR – Interactive Voice Response |
| Software which will automatically interact with a caller either through a
keypad or using voice recognition software. IVR will provide information or
direct calls as appropriate. |
IVW – Interactive Web Response |
| Enables customers to transact business over the Internet, interacting with
the company’s database, then transfer to an agent in the contact centre to
continue the transaction over the phone or via web chat. |
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Key Performance Indicators (KPI) |
| Those areas identified by organisations as being critical to their successful
performance. |
Knowledge management |
| A process that collates the information available within an organisation and
makes it available in a user-friendly manner to identified groups within or
external to the organisation. |
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Load balancing |
| The capability to switch calls between different call centres depending upon
call volumes and agent availability, creating a virtual call centre. |
Local Area Network (LAN) |
| The connection of multiple computers within a building, so that they can
share information, applications and peripherals. |
Lost call |
| Calls which arrive at the ACD but terminate before an agent has answered.
See also Abandoned Call. |
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Middleware |
| Software that integrates different types of hardware and software on a
network in a more efficient manner. |
MIS – Management Information Services |
| ACD reports providing data on agents and agent groups, inbound and
outbound calls, and exchange lines. |
Monitoring |
| The process of listening to agents' telephone calls for the purpose of
maintaining quality. |
Multimedia |
| Combining multiple forms of media such as voice and web in the
communication of information. |
Music / Messaging on hold |
| Music or service or sales messages played during the period when a caller is
placed in a queue or on hold. |
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Occupancy / Utilisation |
| The percentage of time an individual agent, or all agents (average) are
actively occupied during talk time and wrap up time usually expressed as a
percentage of total logged on time. |
Offered calls |
| All of the attempts callers make to reach the call centre. |
Outbound |
| All calls that are made by the call centre. |
Outbound dialler |
| This automates outgoing calls and has various levels of sophistication. See
Power and Predictive Dialler. |
Outsourcing |
| A service in which an external call centre in employed to provide voice and
related services under contract. |
Overflow |
| When calls are flowed from one Agent Group to another in order to be
handled more quickly or efficiently. |
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Power Dialler |
| Allows outbound calls to be made automatically and on answer refers the
connection to a free agent. See also Power and Predictive Dialler. |
Predictive dialler |
| Software which regulates the number of outbound calls made based on the
probability of an agent being available. See also Power and Predictive Dialler. |
Progressive dialler |
| Monitors the status of operators before calls are made and keeps agents
supplied with live calls and virtually eliminates nuisance calls. |
Psychometric Testing |
| There are three main types of psychometric testing: (1) ability testing; (2)
aptitude testing; and (3) personality testing. These are designed to test a
person’s potential to fulfil and succeed in particular roles. |
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Queue |
| Where calls are held when no agents are free. |
Queue time / Queuing |
| The number of seconds a call waits in queue before handling. |
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Readerboards |
| A visual display, usually mounted on the wall or ceiling, that provides realtime
and historical information on queue conditions, agent status and call
centre performance. |
Ready |
| Describes an agent who is logged into the ACD and available and waiting
for a call to come in. ‘Idle’ or ‘Available’ may also be used. |
Response time |
| The measurement used to describe the period in which a customer awaits a
response either from a call centre or from a website. |
Ring time |
| The length of time between dialling and the call being answered either by a
live agent or the ACD delay announcement. |
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Screen popping |
| Where integration between the computer and the telephone (CTI) enables the
system to attempt identification of each call and look into the database for a
match, and, if available, to deliver a caller information screen with the call. |
Seats |
| Positions or consoles at which agents can work within a call centre. Usually
each seat will have a computer terminal and an ACD turret. Each seat may
represent more than one employee where multiple use of equipment is the
norm. |
Service level |
| The percentage of calls you expect to handle in a specific number of seconds. |
Service level agreement |
| Performance objectives reached by consensus between the user and the
provider of a service, or between an outsourcer and an organisation. A service
level agreement specifies a variety of performance standards that may or may
not include ‘service level’. |
Skills-based routing |
| Where calls are identified and then routed through to the most appropriate
agent. |
SMS |
| Also known as text messaging, these are written messages sent from or
received by mobile phones. |
Speed to answer |
| The time from a call arriving at the ACD to being answered by an agent.
Average Speed of Answer (ASA): The average length of time a caller waits to
be connected to an agent – the total delay divided by total number of calls. |
Supervisor |
| The person who has front-line responsibility for a group of agents. |
Switch |
| The telephone system and/or ACD. |
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Talk time |
| The time in seconds an agent is talking, from answering a call to the caller
hanging up. |
Team leader |
| Person with some supervisory or managerial responsibilities for a team of
agents who may also work as an agent taking or making calls |
Telemarketing / Telesales |
| The terms ‘telesales’ and ‘telemarketing’ refer to any form of customer
contact using the telephone that supports a number of sales and marketing
objectives. |
Telephone preference service |
| The Telephone Preference Service was set up by the Direct Marketing
Association (UK) Limited (DMA) in 1995 as a voluntary self-regulatory
mechanism to enable consumers to opt-out of receiving unsolicited sales
and marketing calls. |
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Unavailable |
| Agent status when logged on to the ACD but not available to take calls, for
example during paid breaks or coaching sessions. |
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Virtual call centre |
| A call centre consisting of several sites that acts as a single site for call
handling and reporting purposes. |
Voice over IP |
| Where a voice conversation with an agent is maintained over the same
telephone line as the Internet connection. |
Voice processing |
| A generic term for a variety of applications such as IVR, voice mail and auto
attendants. |
Voice recognition |
| The capability of a voice processing system to recognise and decipher
spoken words and phrases. |
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Web enabled |
| When the user clicks a ‘press to talk’ icon on a web page it initiates a call
directly into the contact centre through a process called ‘Voice Over IP’.
The agent’s screen may automatically ‘pop’ with the web page the browser
is viewing as the call comes through. |
Workforce management software |
| Software systems that forecast call load, calculate staff requirements,
organise schedules and track real-time performance of individuals and groups. |
Wrap up |
| The time spent completing work associated with a call after the caller has
hung up. Also commonly referred to as After Call Work. |
Wrap-up codes |
| Codes agents enter into the ACD to identify the types of calls they are
handling. The ACD can then generate reports on call types, by handling
time, time of day, etc. |
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