List of basic terms used in a Contact Center
Abandoned Call: A call that is accepted by the call center and placed in queue, but the caller disconnects before an agent handles the call.
ACD: Automated Call Distribution - see Call Center below.
Advanced Call Center: This refers to a call center with enhanced features above and beyond the basic call centers. These are built in the Customer Admin Portal in the Call Center tab, and can allow more calls, better call handling, and other advanced features. Agents in the Advanced Call Center must have the Premium Call Center License.
Agent: A user seat that has a license that permits its inclusion in a call queue. Agent licenses are assigned in the Customer Admin Portal in the Administration section by the individual user.
Agent Status: This refers to the particular point in time which depicts the call center agent’s work status, i.e. busy, wrap, idle, available, unavailable, etc.
Bounced Call: A call that has been presented to an agent that appeared to be available to the algorithm of the call center, but the agent does not accept the call. A bounced call will return to the queue at the top of the stack, with preference to be presented to the next available agent.
Call Center: Also called a “call queue” or “ACD”, this is the set of parameters used to define the treatment of incoming calls, what to do after a call exceeds certain boundaries, and the agents able to take these calls. These are created in the Customer Admin Portal in the Call Center section.
Comfort Messages: These are short recorded messages that interrupt the message on hold at scheduled intervals to provide additional details. These are configured in the Announcements tab.
Dashboard: a web client, part of the Supervisor Console, which shows real-time metrics about queue and agent performance.
DNIS: Dialed Number Identification Service - Premium Call Queues can provide information to the agents about which number was dialed to reach them.
Estimated Wait Messages: Configured in the Announcements tab, these are vocalized messages that interrupt at planned intervals to provide data about position in queue or estimated wait time.
Entrance Message: A recorded message that is played to a caller upon entry into the queue. Mandatory messages will play regardless of the queue status, while those that are not mandatory will only play if the caller is to be placed on hold.
Escape: A call escapes the call center if it follows a preset digit while on hold. The administrator will set this in the Customer Admin Portal in the Call Center itself, in the Queue Profile tab.
Metrics: The data collected about the call center treatment and agent activities. High level metrics are visible in the Customer Administration Portal in the Call Center section, while more precise reports can be run with the Supervisor Console.
Overflow: A call in the queue will overflow if it exceeds some pre-set limits, such as number of calls in queue or time waiting. The administrator should designate a destination for overflow calls, and these are set per call center in the Customer Admin Portal in the Call Center section.
RTA: Real Time Adherence - a means to look at some call stats in real time in order to make decisions about staffing and agent performance. This is typically found in the Dashboard, which is a part of the Supervisor Console.
Skills: Premium call queues can offer skill-based routing, so that agents who exist on multiple queues can have the priority of their incoming calls determined by this skill level.
Stranded Call: A call is stranded if it enters the call center queue and there are no agents logged in or available. Stranded calls should have some action assigned to them, which is configured in the Call Center in the Call Routing tab.
Supervisor Client: A web based interface that allows a call center supervisor to see real time stats, agent status, and access an RTA dashboard as well as a robust reporting engine.
Thresholds: A set of parameters which, when met, will alert supervisors, manager, or others designated via email. These are set up per call center in the Thresholds tab.
WFM: WorkForce Management - a means to look at historical data to make future forecasting and staffing decisions. This is part of the Reports that are found in the Supervisor Console.