Call centre definitions

Abandoned calls Absence ACD Adherence AHT Announcement Answered calls Attrition Available Busy tone CIQ CLI Cost per call Cost per call minute CRM Cross selling CTI DDI Erlang FRE FTE Group Handled calls Handled first time Hold time ICT Inbound call Intelligent routing IVR KPI Logged on time Lost calls LWT Message Offered calls Outbound call Overflow Position in queue Queue Queue time Screen popping Service levels Shrinkage SLA Skills based routing Speed of answer Status Talk time Unavailable Utilisation Wallboard Wrap

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Term Abandoned calls

Definition Calls that arrive at the ACD but terminate before an advisor has answered. See also answered calls & lost calls. The call centre SLA for abandoned calls is 5% or less of offered calls. Call centre management information only reports on calls that abandon after 15 seconds. Callers abandoning before this time are generally those whove heard the welcome announcement & realise theyve called the wrong number, or are organisations testing HDC for speed & type of response. The time is set at 15 seconds because its from that time on that the customer is placed with or queues for an available advisor.

Absence

Unplanned inability of an advisor to work the scheduled shift. Typically this arises from sickness, or compassionate leave where the advisor has no holiday entitlement left.

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Term ACD

Definition Automatic Call Distributor. Technology that facilitates the handling of large call volumes by controlling the order in which calls are offered to advisors, routing calls to particular advisor groups and providing a wide range of statistical information used in managing a call centre. Either hardware or software based, the ACD offers sophisticated options for call handling within a centre. How well advisors adhere to their shift schedules. Usually expressed as a percentage of logged on time. A recorded verbal message played to callers.

Adherence Announcement

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Term Answered calls

Definition Calls that arrive at the ACD & are answered by an advisor. See also answered calls & lost calls. The call centre SLA for answered calls is 95% or more of offered calls. Call centre management information only reports on calls that abandon after 15 seconds, so the answered percentage is measured on offered calls whose call length is at least that length. Callers abandoning before this time are generally those whove heard the welcome announcement & realise theyve called the wrong number, or are organisations testing HDC for speed & type of response. The time is set at 15 seconds because its from that time on that the customer is placed with or queues for an advisor.

Attrition Available AHT

The term used to cover loss of staff from a centre usually described as an annualised percentage of total staff. The status of an advisor who is logged into the ACD and waiting for an inbound call. Average handling time. The sum of the average talk time, hold time and the average wrap for a specified period.

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Term Busy tone

Definition Callers unable to get through because all lines in are occupied will get a busy tone (the equivalent of an engaged tone). The call centre has a total of 60 lines, split between 30 for inbound calls & 30 for outbound calls. However, calls coming into the call centre are routed through the switch at Pathfinder House. To some extent the capacity of the call centre is therefore governed by the capacity at PFH.

CIQ CLI Cost per call

Calls in Queue. The number of calls received by the ACD but not yet connected to an advisor. Calling line identification. Technology that enables a caller's number to be (optionally) forwarded with the call, thus facilitating identification. Calculated by dividing the number of calls handled into the full cost of the entire call centre operation. There can be issues in comparing costs on this basis unless operational costs are understood across the comparators. Calculated by multiplying the average length of call (in minutes) by the number of calls and dividing this figure into the full cost of the entire call centre operation.

Cost per call minute

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Term Cross selling CRM

Definition Recommending related goods and services to a customer. Customer Relationship Management. Where companies record information and use a variety of methods and contact strategies to try to build lasting and profitable relationships. Computer Telephony Integration. The software, hardware and programming that automatically links voice with the data stored in the computer, providing sophisticated customer management possibilities. CTI will usually allow calls and accompanying computer screens to be passed between workstations for referral, called screen popping. Direct Dial Inward. The option to dial directly into a company and reach a specific extension without going through a switchboard. A formula developed to determine call traffic management including scheduling of advisors, call forecasting and service level achievement. There are several versions of the formula, each with a slightly different purpose. Free advisors. The number of advisors who are available to take a call.

CTI

DDI Erlang

FRE

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Term FTE

Definition Full time equivalent. The number of advisors employed or required expressed in terms of total man-hours required divided by the number of hours a full time advisor would normally work. A collection of advisors that share a common set of skills, such as being able to handle customer payments. The number of calls answered by advisors. Handled calls do not include calls that abandon or receive a busy tone. The proportion of calls that are handled by call centre advisors without the need to transfer the call to the service department. If an advisor refers to the service department for advice but retains the call this is counted as first time resolved. The time in seconds an advisor puts a customer on hold. Information & Computer Technology. Computer technology used specifically to handle information and communication. Where the customer is making the call.

Group Handled calls Handled first time

Hold Time ICT Inbound call

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Term Intelligent routing

Definition A process that will take information from callers via auto attendant or IVR and utilise that information to ensure that calls are directed to the right group within the call centre. Interactive Voice Response. Software that will automatically interacts with a caller either through a keypad or using voice recognition software. IVR will provide information or direct calls as appropriate. Key Performance Indicators. Those areas identified by organisations as being critical to their successful performance. The longest time a caller has waited in the queue. The time an advisor is signed on to the ACD, regardless of their status during that time. Calls that arrive at the ACD & are not answered by an advisor. A recorded message left by a customer who selects the option to do this while queuing rather than waiting to speak to an advisor.

IVR

KPI LWT Logged on time Lost calls Message

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Term Offered calls

Definition The attempts callers make to reach the call centre. The call centre SLA on offered calls is to forecast within +/-5% of actual. Call centre management information only reports on calls that abandon after 15 seconds, so offered calls reported are those whose call length is at least that length. Callers abandoning before this time are generally those whove heard the welcome announcement & realise theyve called the wrong number, or are organisations testing HDC for speed & type of response. The time is set at 15 seconds because its from that time on that the customer is placed with or queues for an advisor.

Outbound call Overflow Position in queue Queue

Where HDC is making the call. Calls that flow from one group another after defined criteria such as queue time. The position a customers call is within the queue, generally used to play an announcement to the customer giving this information. Where calls are held when no advisors are available.

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Term Queue time Screen popping

Definition The number of seconds a call waits in queue before being handled. Where integration between the computer and the telephone (CTI) enables the system to attempt identification of each call and look into the database for a match, and, if available, to deliver a caller information screen with the call. A range of performance objectives. The main ones for the calls centre are offered calls, answered calls, speed of answer, handled first time and speed of response to emails (for which the service level is within 2 working days) A percentage of scheduled ftes that will be away from work during a particular period for such things as holidays, sickness, training, one to ones and unavailable reasons. This enables a forecast to be built from the minimum required staffing to reach service levels up to the number of staff to be scheduled to ensure the minimum is reached during the period. Service Level Agreement. Performance objectives agreed between the user and the provider of a service. A service level agreement specifies a variety of performance standards.

Service levels

Shrinkage

SLA

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Term Skills based routing Speed of answer

Definition Where calls are identified by number called or IVR responses and routed through to the most appropriate advisor. The average time taken for a call to be answered by an advisor. Calculated as the average length of time a caller waits to be connected to an advisor divided by total number of calls. The call centre SLA for SoA is 80% of calls to be answered within 20 seconds.

Status Talk time Unavailable Utilisation

The mode an advisor is in (Available, Talk Time, Hold Time, Wrap & Unavailable). The time in seconds an advisor is talking to the customer, from answering a call to the caller hanging up, but excluding any hold time. Advisor status when logged on to the ACD but not available to take calls, for example during paid breaks or coaching sessions. The percentage of time advisors are actively occupied handling customers calls, usually expressed as a percentage of total logged on time.

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Term Wallboard

Definition A visual display mounted on the wall that provides real-time and historical information on queue conditions, advisor status and call centre performance. The time spent completing work associated with a call after the caller has hung up. Currently the ACD is set to automatically give HDC advisors 10 seconds wrap before becoming available again as a breathing space between calls.

Wrap

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