One method for solving different tasks: the percentage distribution of calls

Companies usually use a more or less standard call distribution scheme. But some of our clients have an extensive network of offices or franchisees, as well as remote employees and agents, departments and groups ... And here we don’t need to talk about a single call processing algorithm.

In the next release, we made several changes to the percentage distribution scheme, and I decided to talk about how simple setting this method allows you to solve completely different, if not opposite, tasks.

What's in the release

First, I hasten to reassure: customers using this method can not worry. The changes made will not affect the performance of scripts. Only statistics will be more accurate. This will play a plus for those who do not have very many calls (since on small samples the algorithm could admit errors).

What did we add? We taught Virtual PBX when calculating statistics on redirection by interest to take into account different categories of calls: all (successful and not) and only successful.
It is here that the opportunity to solve very diverse tasks is sewn up. The distribution mode affects employee behavior. If it is necessary for healthy competition to appear between them and any of them fight for each call, then it is better to transfer calls taking into account only successful ones. This is especially useful in the sales department, where skipping a call is often a synonym for a lost opportunity to make a deal.

If you want to balance the load, it is better to take into account all accepted. Then the employees will receive calls equally, and the team will maintain a normal working atmosphere.

For a large flow of calls and relatively short conversations, it is more convenient to set a small range of statistics collection. So the system is more sensitive to the intensity of the flow of calls. Less intensity - more statistics collection period.

Some of our clients are primarily interested in the "fatigue" of employees in the call center. They notice that if the operator spoke a lot in a day (say, 5-6 hours of net talk time with customers per shift), then he starts getting tired and works worse.

It is convenient to use the distribution of calls, taking into account the duration of the conversation of each employee. That is, the system will strive to align not the number of conversations of each employee, but their total duration. So the talk load will fall on the operators more evenly. That is, with the same number of received calls, no one will look at the ceiling for half the day while the rest will be blown away.

For distribution, the period of statistics collection is important (the time interval over which calls are analyzed to select the priority number for dialing). As a rule of good tone, we recommend setting it equal to the length of the shift + a little more (an hour, for example).
It is unlikely that managers are able to withstand more than 20 hours in one gulp. Based on this consideration, we have limited the length of the statistics collection period to days. Of course, this mode of operation is most useful for the support department staff. In sales, this will lead to an undesirable effect: operators will try to end the conversation as soon as possible in order to dial themselves more calls to work.

Often, an employee does not have 1 number by which you can connect to him: at least it’s work (SIP) and mobile. In the dial-up configuration, all communication options are usually indicated. We have foreseen this, and if the manager is already talking, then you can set the option for the Virtual PBX not to transfer the call to it.

Otherwise, this may result in the seller, noticing the second incoming call, trying to respond to it. Obviously, in this case, the quality of both (already underway and new) consultations will be lower.

However, there is a subtlety. If all employees are already communicating, then the customer’s call will go to the queue and its loss is possible. Therefore, we have added the ability to set this behavior for the Virtual PBX: first, the call is processed in the "Do not call the employee who is already in the conversation" mode. Then a check is carried out, and if there are no free operators, the second stage can be set up dialing without employment. After all, it is better to process the incoming message less qualitatively than to give the client the opportunity to immediately go to a competitor?

And if you connect with CRM

All this is useful in itself, but the benefits may be much greater. Interactive call processing allows you to integrate telephony with any IT-system, for example, used in the company CRM or ERP.

And here the percentage distribution of calls gives the sales department all the trump cards to increase efficiency. If the integrated system dynamically tracks the effectiveness of each employee or a whole group, then the most productive number of calls can be dynamically transmitted by the most productive ones.

Control is conducted on the basis of the specifics of the business, for example, by the number of contracts concluded by a specific manager or by the average check of all its transactions.

That is, at any given time, the most efficient employee (group) automatically receives the most calls. The main thing here is not to get carried away: people need to rest in order to continue to work efficiently and not burn out professionally.

Setting priorities for percentage distribution encourages sellers to compete with each other, and therefore work as productively as possible. At the same time they have the opportunity to influence their own load. For example, an employee may take another call and increase his percentage of distribution (if successful, of course), or take a short break and then pounce on a new challenge with new forces in order to surely make a deal.