Call Center applications and solutions have been around for large corporations for many years; however, it has only been recently that the fully loaded Call Center technology has been available and affordable for small to medium-sized businesses. Complex or simple Call Center applications and solutions are now available for both the enterprise and the SMB (small & medium business) market places.

There are many different versions of Call Center applications. The complex, full-blown ‘multi-channel’ systems allow callers to communicate via email, on-line chatting with a Call Center representative, or use web front ends that provide instant messaging capabilities.

Call Center solutions can also offer Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) functions, Interactive Voice Respsonse (IVR) functions, and Computer-Telephony Integration (CTI). All of these primary functions distinguish a true Call Center from a simple ACD hunt group.


ACD handles how calls are routed to Call Center agents. Typically there would be workflow scripts that tell the system where to direct the call. This could include Caller ID and Called Number features, as well as the time of day and information that has been entered via the telephone keypad.

Skills-based routing can be used in conjunction with other routing information to get the call to the best person on the first attempt. This would eliminate having to transfer a caller around various agents. For international sites, the calls could be directed to someone who speaks the same language as the caller, for instance.

Within a group of agents, options can be selected for which agent gets the next call, whether it’s a circular hunt group arrangement, or whether or not new calls go to the person who’s been idle the longest. Another useful option is the ability to allow for a call wrap-up time. This feature gives the agent a few moments to finish writing up any notes after a call is completed before being connected to a new caller.

The IVR feature provides the capability of collecting information from callers to be used to direct calls. This is so that a caller can select whether they’re an existing customer querying the status of an order, or a new customer wishing to place one. The IVR can also be used to provide recorded announcements. These announcements can be the usual “please hold” type of messages; or, they can be dynamic messages that advise the user of his/her place in a queue, or of the estimated waiting time. This feature can help to improve customer satisfaction.

When a call is passed to an agent, he/she should be presented with any information that has been collected along the way, such as caller ID, anything entered by the keypad, how long the call has been waiting, and whether this call has already been dealt with by anyone else. This could also include any notes that might have been previously recorded. Links to back-end databases will have varying levels of integration, but some form of CTI will be essential.

Typical features to look for are the ability for agents to communicate via instant messaging while on a call, if they need assistance (this is particularly useful for the training of new staff), being able to record calls, easily log into and out of the system, and the ability to make themselves temporarily unavailable for new calls without needing to log out.

Supervisor features should include the ability to monitor calls silently or interrupt for quality assurance or training. Being able to broadcast messages to a group of agents can also be important. The main focus for the supervisors, though, will be the statistics they can get — reporting on wait times, call durations, and agent activity are required features for a Call Center.

Of course, system size is a consideration--both in terms of concurrent agents and call volumes, and whether a multi-site system is needed. Using a Voice-Over-IP compatible telecom system will allow a more cost-effective solution, by having agents login to the Call Center from remote sites. Some travel agencies do this by using home-based travel agents as Call Center agents. This can reduce overhead costs.

Whether you are analyzing staffing levels or productivity, or you are attempting to become more efficient with inbound or outbound call handling, a Call Center application can provide many solutions for your organization.

Kevin Staley