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Make the Case for Better Utilizing ACD...or Moving on From It


Make the Case for Better Utilizing ACD...or Moving on From It

October 14, 2015
By Rory J. Thompson, Web Editor

It’s pretty commonly accepted throughout the call center industry that agent salaries take up between 60 and 70 percent of the budget. That’s not unrealistic, but if you could better utilize your staff, it stands to reason that cost factors might drop significantly.


One way to better handle calls (and staffers) is by more effectively utilizing the technology available. A recent whitepaper by Genesys (News - Alert), one of the pioneers in advancing customer service, offers up some ideas on how to carefully dissect your automatic call distributor (ACD) usage and perhaps go with a better alternative.

Pool Agent Resources: “A contact center solution that enables you to pool agents across the company provides tremendous economies of scale while avoiding the costly proprietary upgrades and high maintenance costs associated with centralizing work with the legacy ACD,” the paper notes. “If you have 100 agents and an overall 20 percent idle rate today, could you reduce that to 10 percent by virtualizing resources?” It’s worth looking into.

Reduce Abandonment Rate: “With a virtualized agent pool, you’ll be able to respond more quickly and preempt abandons,” the whitepaper suggests. By better utilizing what you have on hand, cost reductions are sure to follow.

Reduce Customer Contact Time … for Everyone’s Benefit: How happy would customers and staffers be with shorter calls for everyone? Consider looking into an omnichannel solution, which better reflects how people are communicating today. Quicker calls mean more calls handled, which means happier customers overall.

Have you looked into a SIP-based Open-Standards Platform? “Take a look at your current maintenance contracts for your ACD solution, and assess the price associated with proprietary hardware systems,” the paper suggests. “How much would you save in both hardware and monthly carrier expenses by going to a SIP solution?

Bring in the Big Guns: “If your company has a Chief Customer Officer, you’re going to want to align with them. A more nimble, personalized customer experience keeps you from losing ground with your competitors,” it was observed. “In fact, your IT Director, Contact Center Director, and Chief Customer Officer are key stakeholders — if you can enlist them, your case will be stronger.”

Bottom line: ACD serves a valuable purpose in the call center, but make sure you’re getting full value from that technology. If not, it might be time to cast a wider net.




Edited by Kyle Piscioniere



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