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What type of call queuing is right for our call center?

Do you recommend a specific type of call queuing -- skills-based, customer-based or something else? I understand this depends on client requirements, but if those requirements are agnostic towards the call routing type, what would you recommend?

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Deciding on your call routing or call queuing strategy requires you to consider key elements of your business strategy and operations strategy. Does your company have any customer segmentation? If so, that could play a key role in your call routing strategy. You may need to involve marketing or product groups to weigh in on some of the big picture inputs to defining your strategy. What range of complexity and diversity does your call center handle for the products/services offered? That characteristic will have a big impact on your call routing strategy.

Most call centers use some level of skills-based routing. How the calls are segmented can be influenced by languages, call types (e.g., simple to complex), licensing requirements (e.g., by state or sales function), up-selling/cross-selling strategies, customer segmentation strategies and other factors. I suggest you start by defining the characteristics or your call types and customer needs. Then identify the options that make sense and evaluate them against key criteria for your business.

This was first published in April 2008

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