Automation has become a synonym of all technology tools. Each industry is unleashing the power of automation in one way or another. This helps in augmenting the efficiency of operations, optimizing the workforce, and improving the profitability of business. Call center automation is one of the most popular fields in this industry. There are several businesses that invest in acquiring the most powerful automation tools to augment the features of their call center solutions and tools like automatic call distribution software, auto dialers, and more.
In this blog post, we will discuss more about ACD automatic call distribution in call centers and the role of Rules Engines in augmenting the functionality. As a result, businesses amplify their profit generation by using this software.
So, let’s delve deeper and understand how this solution has empowered businesses to optimize different aspects of a business and boost profitability.
1. What is an Automatic Call Distribution System?
An automatic call distribution system is an automated solution to manage incoming calls by assigning them to the right agents in the right department to increase first-call resolution or success rate. This system can work as an independent solution managing all incoming calls or it can work as an inbuilt feature of a full-fledged call center solution. In the case of working as one of the features, first, the call is managed by an IVR. Secondly, the call is assigned to the ACD to assign it to the right agent.
In modern call center solutions, multiple types of automated call distributor features are available such as:
- Sticky agent
- Skill based routing
- Most idle agent routing
- Least talk time routing
- Round robin
- And more
The working model of an ACD is classified into three major processes:
Reason Identification
- An IVRS (Interactive Voice Response System) will attend to all calls and greet all callers with a warm greeting. Moreover, it will also ask some common questions to collect data. ACD uses this information to identify the reason for the call. Identification of reason has multiple advantages. For example, it personalizes the customer’s journey by selecting the right agent for the caller.
Adding to the Right Call Queue
Each call center will have multiple queues to place calls in the right queue. Depending on different factors, the ACD automatic call distribution algorithm decides the right queue for the customer.
- Call reason is the first factor in choosing the queue. Depending on the skill set matching to resolve customer concerns, the queue is selected.
- Waiting time in a particular call queue is a necessary factor. A queue with the least waiting time is the first preference to add a call to the queue.
- Customer type is also an important factor in deciding the call queue. Premium or VIP customers receive faster services compared to other customers.
Different automatic call distribution solutions can have different factors to consider while selecting the call queues. Once the call is placed into the call queue, clients will listen to the custom music on hold. Moreover, some solutions also play waiting time to give an estimated time a caller needs to wait.
Call Routing
- The last step is routing the call to the right agent and connecting both client and agents to have a conversation.
2. Customer Service in Automatic Call Distribution
- The role of ACD in delivering impressive customer service is commendable. It makes sure that customers don’t need to spend much time discussing the issue with the agent by identifying the reason for the call. Moreover, it helps in connecting the caller to the most skilled or suitable agent. As a result, the majority of calls are easily concluded with a satisfactory resolution. Furthermore, it helps in delivering a personalized experience.
Read also: Automatic Call Distribution Software Solution & its importance
- Firstly, it improves the experience of clients. Secondly, it improves the efficiency and performance of agents. For example, each successful call boosts the morale and efficiency of agents. As a result, agents can handle similar calls better and with high efficiency.
3. Understanding Rules Engines
- A Rule Engine is an added solution or module. You can easily integrate it with your call center solution or ACD software. It adds efficiency to the processes and augments the functionality of automation.
- An admin can define, execute, and manage rules depending on several factors to enhance results. Moreover, it also helps in streamlining processes. The modern rule engine usage is very easy. Using a GUI-based solution, the admin can define rules with simple else conditions. For example, if call volume increases, then managers will also receive calls from the high-volume call queues.
4. Optimization of Automatic Call Distribution with Rules Engines
Rule engines have several utilities for optimizing the performance of automatic call distribution software. Let’s learn some of the popular ways of using rule engines to optimize working models and the efficiency of ACD rules.
1 . Customization of Call Routing
Rules engines are amazing in optimizing call routing with the right rule implementation. Especially, in customizing existing ACD features is especially possible without any need for custom feature development.
- Custom Rule
You can define custom rules for call routing that blend features of multiple existing automatic call distribution features. For example, route a call to the senior agent if a sticky agent-based agent is unavailable and call waiting time in the call queue is more than 2 minutes.
- Prioritize High Value Customers
Define a rule to give priority to high-profile customers. As a result, even if the customer call queue is long, a high-paying customer will get connected with the agent immediately by overlapping the rule of the automatic call distribution system.
2 . Optimizing Workforce
Rules engines help in optimizing the workforce to work more efficiently and productively. Two major utilities are as below:
- Dynamic Workforce Management
Similar to custom rules to manage incoming calls, workforce optimization rules are also easy to create with Rules Engines. For example, if the agent is idle for a long time and has the least average talk time, then he should get more calls.
- Load Balancing
When the call volume increases, this rule is very vital. It helps in designing custom rules to divert call traffic to another call queue. Moreover, it helps in augmenting resource utilization.
3 . Personalize Customer Experience
Rules engines not only customize call routing rules of automatic call distribution solutions, but they also help in touching several other aspects. For example, the admin can configure rules to personalize the customer experience. Let’s check two utilities for that.
- Define Personalized Script
Rules engines can define a rule to customize the call script based on the call reason. Moreover, the script can add personalized details like last purchase history to personalize customer interaction.
- Tailored Customer-Agent Mapping
In any ACD software, there are some predefined strategies for call routing that automatically route calls. However, rules engines can further tailor the mapping of agents to meet the needs of customers and provide a better and more satisfactory experience.
4 . Better Decision Making in Real Time
Nowadays, a majority of solutions provide real-time analytics and monitoring features. Rules engines are popular in defining custom rules that can fetch this real-time data and make adjustments in adapting strategies. As a result, the best outcomes are possible. Adaptive strategy implementation is easy with the perfect blend of rules engines and automated call distributor features.
5. Future Trends in Rules Engines
As rules engines have several advantages to offer, research and development departments are investing heavily in this space. As a result, we are more likely to see some revolutionary innovations in this space.
Artificial Integration (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
- AI and ML will introduce better features to automate some more areas using rules engines. Furthermore, it is likely to add predictive analytics and its real-time usage to enhance the performance of design rules and execute them.
Omnichannel Support
- Right now, rules engines work with only ACS for voice calls. However, the increasing demand for omnichannel customer support is putting pressure to implement rules engines for multiple other communication channels. Certainly, we can see the implementation of rules engines for other communication channels, too.
Voice and Speech Recognition
- Instant rule selection based on the customer’s voice and emotions is another area of invention. Moreover, voice emotion analysis is a mature industry. Therefore, it is more likely that rules engines implement this functionality.
Concluding Notes
Automated call distributor is one of the most powerful tools for call centers or businesses focusing on improving customer experience. It manages incoming calls based on different factors. Moreover, it provides different features to efficiently manage incoming calls to boost the values of key performance indicators. Rules Engines are making ACDs more efficient and dynamic. The performance capacity of ACD is maximized with the implementation of rules engines.
We have experience in building custom rules engines to implement with your software to meet your tailored needs. Moreover, we provide consultation services to lead your development process or innovation. We also implement Rules Engines with our automatic call distribution software. To learn more about our expertise and offerings, get in touch with our team now!
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