"Call center glue" and the ACD-centric approach to call blending

Complete integration of all elements within the call center is fast becoming a dominant issue. The blending of inbound and outbound call functions is just one such example. As the Gartner Group has noted in a recent report on Enterprise Network Strategies, leading-edge companies are beginning to integrate all resources within the call center. Gartner refers to this seamless integration as "call center glue" and suggests that it will become a potent market force within the next two years.

One of the most critical and expensive business decisions facing today's call center managers is that of staffing. Does it make sense on the inbound side to staff to peak call volumes only to be burdened with an underutilized staff when call volumes drop off? Obviously, the answer is no. And the solution, interestingly enough, is "call center glue," the integration of outbound call management with inbound call handling, or simply put, call blending.

Effective call blending allows call center management to staff inbound to average call volumes and yet maintain their ability to manage the peaks and take advantage of the valleys. This dynamic nature of call blending ensures that average-speed-of-answer goals will not be compromised when call volume increases, and that agents will remain productive with proactive account servicing when call volume declines.

There are two fundamental approaches to call blending: Dialer-centric and ACD-centric. In the Dialer-centric approach, the dialer takes over for the ACD as inbound calls are routed to the dialer to be handled by a dialer agent. In the ACD-centric environment, an agent is dynamically reassigned from the dialer to the ACD or from the ACD to the dialer as required by inbound and outbound traffic.

Certain inescapable problems exist in the Dialer-centric environment, which, we believe, make it an unacceptable approach. For example, as calls come into the ACD, they may go through a series of hold queues, utilizing sophisticated queuing logic based on priorities that move a call from queue to queue in search of the next available agent. Utilizing the Dialer-centric approach, calls may be moved from the ACD hold queues to the dialer where they may again enter a single hold queue should no agent be available. When you move the call to the dialer, you bypass the sophisticated queuing logic of the ACD.

The ACD-centric approach, on the other hand, offers a more elegant, seamless and cost-effective solution, and utilizes computer-telephony integration as the means by which agents--not calls--are switched. Users of this approach can continue to take advantage of the many hundreds of man-years of ACD development and all critical ACD features such as DNIS and ANI.

And since there is only one phone per agent in the ACD-centric environment, desk real estate and agent confusion are significantly reduced. Anyone with a telephone and a workstation can now become either an inbound or an outbound agent.

Finally, any successful call-blending solution must provide for self-monitoring and the automatic shifting of resources between inbound and outbound. And it must protect all the existing inbound (ACD) reporting capabilities. Solutions that rely on switching inbound calls to the dialer where they may languish in the hold queue neither solve the inbound onhold problem nor maintain the integrity of the inbound call statistics.

As you investigate a call-blending solution for your call center, consider the following capability requirements.

* Your solution should protect your current investment in PBX/ACD technology.

* Your solution should continue to provide all the inbound reporting capabilities to which you are accustomed.

* Your solution should be self-monitoring and should provide automatic resource balancing.

* Your solution should seamlessly integrate into your current call center environment.

* Your solution should easily integrate with any new applications and technologies you may add in the future.

* And, of course, your solution should significantly improve your answer rate.

Call blending can be a highly effective solution to the staffing versus customer service issue, but a careful evaluation of the pros and cons of the two basic approaches will prevent headaches in the long run.

Jim Mitchell is a founder of Davox Corporation and served as vice president of Engineering from 1981 to 1983. He is currently senior vice president and chief technical officer. Under Jim's direction, Davox developed and introduced UnisonTM in late 1993, a new-generation integrated call center management system based on open system, client/server technology.

Copyright Technology Marketing Corporation Jan 1995
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