AS Level ICT Mrs. Ghazaal

In the past, when a customer wanted to talk to someone in a company they would usually be able to telephone and be put through to the right person who could help them. ICT made it possible for large call centres to be created. These can be a room or large office where staff are employed to do nothing else except take telephone calls from customers and sort out their problems.

Most forms of call centre technology are integrated with its physical equipment. The number of customers waiting in the queue is displayed on a large electronic board in the call centre along with how many calls have been answered that day and how many customers have hung up without getting their call answered. Calls can be monitored and recorded thus making it easier to confirm what was said and agreed. They can also be used for training purposes to give examples on calls which were dealt with very well or badly.

Is used to integrate all aspects of the system together Queues calls Displays caller’s number Directs phone call to operator Sends commands from the operator's computer to the telephony server Any computer in the network has the potential to control any phone in the telephone system Used to combine the data and voice input to the system. Calling-line information display caller's number, number dialled Customer account information can be displayed On-screen phone control. Answer, hang up, hold, conference Software sends commands from a user's computer to a telephony server Software directs phone call to appropriate operator

Even though many callers find the IVR menu to be annoying at times, choosing the right selection helps agents avoid having to transfer callers to the appropriate department. IVR technology is also used internally by agents to contact other call centres that handle certain customer issues, such as service cancellations. Phone calls are processed using interactive voice response (IVR) software IVR provides automated services As well being able to queue calls, the system needs to be able to transfer calls to a person with the appropriate expertise

Call centres take such a large volume of calls that it is necessary to use servers to control and route incoming as well as outbound calls. When agents log into their individual phone systems at their desks, their extension becomes active within an ACD (automatic call distributor) system. This is a computer software application that works with the phone lines to distribute calls to the next available agent. It actively monitors the number of agents that are available and attempts to route calls in a logical and efficient manner. ACD software recognizes different codes depending upon the agent’s activity and will skip over an agent who is unavailable when distributing calls. The amount of calls that are distributed to a single agent is largely determined by his productivity.

When callers input their service phone number or another piece of personal data into the automated IVR system, it automatically pulls up the customer’s account for the agent. The database (CRM – customer relationship management) that the agent uses to resolve customer issues will track call resolutions recognizes the account, saving the agent time. Most agents will verify that the CTI technology retreived the correct account. Multiple agents who deal with the same customer are able to research case notes logged in CRM databases, which saves them time and enables them to possibly address the customer’s issue more productively.

Allows operator to have a direct connection between their computer and the phone set. Allows the operator’s computer to control the functions of the operator’s phone. First party is only suitable for small call centres.

Requires a dedicated telephony server to connect the telephone network and the computer network Operator’s phone communicates directly with the server The server controls all the phones The server can direct a call to the appropriate operator Any computer in the system can control any phone Supervisors can intervene if the call proves too complex for the operator to handle