Routing to Longest Idle Agent: incoming calls to the ACD system are routed to the agent that has been idle for the longest period of time, to ensure that all agents in a particular group receive an equal workload. FIFO Queuing: incoming calls to the ACD system are put in a queue for a particular ACD group, so that they will be answered on a first in first out basis. Trunk Priority Routing: is a supplement to and may be an override of the FIFO Queuing feature; this feature allows certain trunk groups to be assigned higher priorities so that they will be answered first, even though other, lower priority calls may have been placed in the queue first; this feature is particularly beneficial for customers who have multiple trunk groups coming into the same ACD group, such as a nationwide incoming WATS group, an intrastate incoming WATS group, and a direct dial CO trunk group; since the ACD customer has to pay a higher cost per call on the nationwide incoming WATS group than on the intrastate incoming WATS group, and does not have to pay for calls coming in on the direct dial CO trunk group, priorities can be assigned to handle these different trunk groups accordingly. Queue Factors: is a supplement to the Trunk Priority Routing feature; the ACD customer may not want certain trunk groups to have first answer priority at all times; for example, if a low priority call has been waiting in queue for a certain period of time and a new, higher priority call comes in, the customer may want the waiting, low priority call to be answered first; the Queue Factors feature allows a call's priority to be upgraded if it has been waiting in the queue past a preset threshold period of time. Programmable CO Ringing: allows the ACD customer to program the system to answer incoming calls immediately or after a variable number of ringing cycles; during a low calling period, the system could be set to answer calls immediately, while during peak busy hours, the system could be set to let the call ring four or five times before being answered; this feature is especially beneficial for ACD customers who have a high volume of calls and who are using incoming WATS trunks, since billing of the calls does not start until they are answered by the ACD system; for example, if a customer has 1,000 calls per hour coming into an ACD group and the system is set for a CO ringing delay of 30 seconds, the result is a savings of 500 call minutes during each busy hour, or 8 1/3 hours of call time for which the customer is not billed. Night Service: allows the ACD system to be placed into night mode, which could provide a distinct announcement, route the caller to an attendant or other station on the system, or route the caller to another ACD group or an associated voice mail system. Wrap Up/Work Time: available as a preprogrammed time parameter or via a special key on the ACD agent's phone; this feature allows time for the agent to complete any work which might be related to the last call handled; during this time, the agent will not be available to receive other ACD calls but will remain logged on to the system; many ACD systems will also provide agent reports that include information on how much time was spent on ACD calls, in the Wrap Up/Work Time mode, and in an idle state. Group Overflow: allows calls into an ACD group to overflow to another ACD group, to another (non-ACD) station on the telephone system, to the telephone system attendant, or to a voice mail system, if a preset threshold of calls waiting in queue has been reached; most ACD systems that support this feature allow calls to overflow to other locations within the system and some also allow calls to overflow out of the system to alternate sites. Queue Status: provides a numeric display or blinking lamp indicator to advise the ACD agents and/or supervisors as to the number of incoming calls that are waiting in queue to be answered. Agent ID Codes: allows a code number to be assigned to each agent, so that agents can be identified on reports regardless of the telephone station number or location they are utilizing; ACD systems that do not offer this feature only provide reports based on the telephone station number or ACD position number. Agent Ready/Not Ready: allows ACD agents to place themselves in an available or not available state to handle new calls; this feature allows the agent to enter the Not Ready mode to complete extra (after call) work or to take a work break without logging off of the system. Agent Logon/Logoff: enables ACD agents to sign on and off of the system by activating the station set or entering their ID code numbers; the ACD system then places them into an active ACD group and includes them in the reporting information. Trunk Limit Check: is used primarily for telephone systems equipped with DID trunk service; the system checks for a limiting factor to ensure that not all of the system's DID trunks can be used for incoming ACD calls; once a threshold limit is reached, new ACD calls are given a busy signal, so that some DID trunks are reserved for standard, non-ACD traffic coming into the customer's telephone system. Source ID: provides information to the ACD agent on the incoming call, which could be a recorded message indicating the call type or a display on the phone indicating the trunk type or number; more advanced systems offer such capabilities as collecting the caller's phone number and/or transferring the voice call to the agent along with a data screen (that is obtained from a host computer via an application protocol link, based on the caller's phone number or an identification code entered by the caller before being routed to the ACD agent). Service Calls/Threshold Alert: alerts the on-site supervisor or some device (on-site or possibly at a remote location) that certain threshold parameters have been reached or exceeded; for example, if the volume of incoming calls is too much for the existing agents to handle or the number of calls in the queue is too high, the system sends out a notification. Help/Emergency Key: allows an ACD agent to immediately contact an ACD - supervisor or manager for assistance on a call, without interrupting the call or placing the caller on hold; most systems then allow the supervisor or manager to join the call to either monitor or assist the agent. Call Qualification Key: provides a means for agents to describe or identify each type of call they handle by entering a qualifying code number for each call or for only special call types. Override/Monitor Capability: allows the ACD supervisor or manager to barge in or override an existing ACD agent call, to either provide assistance or monitor the agent's performance; some systems offer this feature only with an accompanying warning tone given to the agent prior to the barge in, while other systems offer this option with no warning tone. Music On Hold: allows incoming ACD calls waiting in the queue to be connected to a music source while waiting for an available agent. Reconfiguration by Manager or Supervisor: allows the ACD manager or supervisor to reconfigure the system for such functions as: agent group assignments, trunk assignments to ACD groups, incoming call routing sequence, system threshold parameter assignments, and incoming call ringing time. PBX Feature Access: allows ACD agents access to the standard telephone system features, such as: speed dial lists, call transfer capabilities, paging equipment, non-ACD calling privileges, etc. Historical Data Storage: defines the period of time that ACD call data is stored in the system for providing reports and on-demand screen information; for example, some systems only store the data for one day and provide a printout at the end of the day, other systems store the data for a month, while still others may store the data for several months or even a full year. Back to Top ADVANCED ACD FEATURES: Agent/Supervisor Instant Messaging: Agents and supervisors can exchange real-time text messages. ANI/DNIS Number Delivery: ANI/DNIS digits are transmitted on the incoming trunk, providing the telephone number/name (ANI) or number dialed (DNIS). The PBX can identify and use these digits when received. Blended Agent: An agent who can handle both inbound and outbound calls and applications. Call Recording: Agent and/or customer interactions can be recorded and stored for later review. Collaborative Browsing/Web Collaboration: links the customer's and agent's Internet browsers, allowing both parties to view the same Web pages. E-mail Response/E-mail Automation: provides an automated response based on key words in a customer-generated e-mail message. Interactive Voice Response (IVR): An automated telephone answering system that plays voice prompts or voice menus and allows the caller to respond via the telephone keypad or via speech recognition technology; the system may integrate database access or fax response. Live Chat/Web Chat: typically initiated by a button on a Web site that enables customers to speak to an agent over the Internet. Multi-media Queuing/Routing: Routing and queuing of all types of incoming communications - phone, e-mail, Web, fax, or IVR. Multi-site Real-time/Historical Reports: Reports for all communication types (E-mail, Voice, Fax, IVR) can be generated and viewed from any site in real-time. Networked Call Center: Agent groups at different locations (on different PBXs) can service calls on the network independently of where the call first entered the network. ACD agents may be located at different PBXs for reasons such as language, coverage outside of local office hours, or location of agent groups in different areas. PDA/Mobile Phone Integration: allows contact center managers to use a personal digital assistant (PDA) or mobile phone browser to view current staffing data while away from their desk. Predictive Dialing: automatically initiates outbound calls, and when answered, routes the call to an agent. Screen Pops: CTI application that presents or 'pops' information related to an incoming call onto an agent's PC screen. Self-Help: Customers can use a touch-tone telephone, speech recognition, text-to-speech, e-mail, fax, or the Web to enable self-service transactions with the option to request live assistance. Skills-based Routing: Agents are assigned skill sets (with priority levels for each skill) to determine the most appropriate agent to handle a call. VoIP/IP Telephone Support: Agents/supervisors can use IP telephones for placing/receiving customer calls. Wallboard Support: wallboard display (can be PC-based or electronic) that shows call center statistics such as the longest waiting call, the number of calls in queue, the number of calls answered, and more. Web Call Back: An application that allows a customer to use a company Web site to request a call back from an agent. Workforce Management/Forecasting: software that enables managers to assess agent productivity and forecast/schedule resource needs. Back to Top ACD DISPLAYS and REPORTS: Online/Real Time Information: provides current (real time) information on activity in the ACD system; this information is usually updated every few seconds and can either be displayed on a supervisor's or manager's CRT screen or requested as a printout. On Demand Reports: allows the supervisor or manager to request hardcopy printed reports at any time, typically by specifying the type of report required and the time period on which the report should be based; for example, an ACD system may be set up to automatically print reports on agent activity and performance at the end of each business day; with this feature, the supervisor can request a report at any time on the current agent activity for that day or for any fixed time period (within the scope of the stored data). Hourly/Daily/Weekly/Monthly/Quarterly Reports: automatically scheduled or on-demand reports that are available with the ACD system; some systems only store and accumulate data in half-hour or hourly increments, while others provide more extensive storage to give customers the flexibility of requesting reports based on daily, weekly, or longer cumulative statistics. User-Definable Reports: gives the supervisor, manager, or system administrator the flexibility to design his/her own report formats, instead of (or in addition to) the standard reports offered by the ACD vendor; these reports must be based on the information available on the particular ACD system. System Status: provides information on overall activity in the ACD system for such areas as: total calls received, total calls answered, and total calls overflowed; these reports may also provide information on the average times for ringing, average time waiting in queue, average agent talk time, and number of calls waiting in queue. Group Activity: provides detailed information on the overall activity within a particular ACD group for such areas as: trunks assigned to the group, number of agents in the group, number of calls coming in to the group, and average times to answer calls, handle calls, wrap up/work times, and idle periods, etc. Trunk Activity: provides detailed information on the activity of specific trunks and trunk groups assigned to the ACD system for such areas as: number of calls, average call waiting time, total usage time, percent of time occupied, amount of time that all trunks were busy, etc; these reports may also contain information on abandoned calls, overflowed calls, problem areas, and performance levels, while some systems offer this type of information in separate reports. Agent Activity: provides detailed information on each ACD agent, (typically arranged by ACD group), for such areas as: agent ID code, agent logon and logoff times, number of calls handled, average call time, average wrap up/work time, total time spent on ACD calls, and total time spent on non-ACD calls; these reports also may provide information on the agent's performance level, although some systems provide this information on a separate report. Performance: provides information on ACD agent or group performance levels for such areas as: total calls handled, total logged in time, call waiting times, active call handling times, idle times, and the performance level as compared to other agents or agent groups; an example of this is the agent's total ACD active call handling time divided by the total logged in time; some systems may provide this information on separate reports while others detail the information as part of other reports. Abandoned Calls: provides information on the number of incoming ACD calls that were abandoned, that is, where the caller hung up before being connected to an available agent; this information could be provided as a separate report or as part of one of the other system or trunk activity reports; when used in conjunction with other system reports, this information can help the ACD supervisor or manager plan for additional trunk or agent assignments and overflow routing assignments, or it may identify a problem area in the system. Overflowed Calls: provides information on the number of calls coming into an ACD group or system that were forced to overflow to another ACD group or system node, due to an all-agent busy condition or exceeding a programmed threshold call-queue level; when used in conjunction with other system reports, this information can help the ACD supervisor or manager plan for additional trunk or agent assignments, or it may identify a problem area in the system. Exceptions/Problems: provides information on specific areas of the ACD system where preprogrammed threshold or parameters have been exceeded: for example, if the average caller is waiting in queue for a longer than normal or acceptable time; if the number of abandoned calls has exceeded a certain percentage; if the total number of calls into an ACD group has exceeded a certain number; or if an agent's performance level has fallen below a certain minimum level. Call Qualification: provides information on the type of call coming into an ACD group or system, for those systems that support the call qualifying feature; for example, a customer may offer several different sales promotions and want to know how many calls are being received for each of them; this feature and the associated report would provide such information; another example would be to identify the calls by the type of customer calling in with an order; the ACD agent typically enters a code number to identify, or qualify, the type of call after the call has been handled. Forecast: provides the capability to analyze historical data and forecast future calling patterns, trunk requirements, and agent staffing requirements; typically, the ACD system should be capable of storing at least one year's worth of historical data upon which to base these forecasts. Back to Top | 
