skill-based routing

By closely matching an incoming call to the call center agent best-prepared to address a particular issue, callers experience shorter wait times and faster resolution of their issues, reducing average handle time (AHT). Because agents are trained for more specific skill sets, less training is required. Furthermore, the most highly-skilled agents can be assigned to important clients, targeting resources where they will provide the most return for the call center. These factors significantly reduce abandon rates and increase agent utilitization, productivity and overall call center efficiency.

In a SBR system, a caller is assigned to an agent based upon a wide range of potential criteria, including:

• The telephone number that was used to initiate the call
• The identity of the caller or the caller's number
• Choices made on the interactive voice response (IVR) system

Automating the process of agent allocation means that call center managers don't have to manually assign agents with certain skills to different queues throughout the day. Skill-based routing also has benefits in terms of employee satisfaction, allowing agents to develop specific areas of expertise.

Critics of SBR point out that the necessarily high complexity of the systems and related implementation costs may not provide a high ROI for call centers.

Read more about skill-based routing: - The University of Pennsylvania published 'The Wharton Call Center Forum: Skill-based routing and its operation complexities.' (PDF) - Contact Center World has a relevant article, 'Agent Skills - Use Them Or Lose Them: The Advantages Of Skill-Based Routing.' - Telemarketing & Call Center Solutions featured 'Implementing skill-based routing in a service agency environment.' - Wikipedia provides more context into the theoretical systems that support SBR systems. - Lyn Kramer makes 'The Business Case for Skill-Based Routing' on ContactProfessional.com. - Nortel explains more about SBR in 'Beyond ACD: The advantages of skill-based routing in today's contact centers.' (PDF)

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