First Contact Resolution
Exactly that. Making sure that callers receive an appropriate answer first time, every time. Reduces the expense of additional enquiry handling and can contribute significantly to increased sales and customer satisfaction.
Agent Management
The ability to understand how well Agents make and receive calls, both quantity and quality. Normally achieved by using an "ACD" system, management is normally achieved by using real time and historic information to compare agents' performance.
Queue Management
Again, normally achieved by the use of "ACD" systems that provide real time information and historic statistics on how many calls were received, how quickly they were answered and much more.
Automatic Call Distribution or "ACD" system
The software that installs alongside or on your telephone system to help you manage inbound calls Agent performance.
Interactive Voice Response or "IVR"
IVR allows callers to provide a spoken response to a question. IVR's are now maturing and gaining acceptance by users. This solution can be particularly useful when trying to engage clients in self service solutions.
Call Recording
Used for a variety of purposes. It's useful for both training and reminding people what they actually said. Call recording can easily pay for itself in a very short time. For many, call recording is becoming obligatory, and extends beyond the traditional call centre boundary to home workers and mobile workers.
Multi Media Contact Centres
We interact with our suppliers and clients via email, text, web chat and telephone calls. The Modern Contact Centre needs to be able to offer and manage all these different types of communication. It's not just about the telephone any more.
Inbound/Outbound
Is your communication just inbound? Or outbound? Or, as most are, a combination of both. Are you able to make the most of Agents time using the "ACD" functionality, quickly converting a mainly "inbound" agent to an "outbound" agent when required?
Computer Telephony Integration or "CTI"
The ability to link a call, text, email or web chat session with an existing record on your systems. Can save time, provide agents with valuable insight and information to help guide the call to the best resolution possible. A great enhancement to customer service when you can greet your caller by name, or route the call to the agent who dealt with the client/issue before!
Customer Relationship Management application or CRM
Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics, SageCRM are all great examples of how a business can scale solutions very quickly and introduce powerful relationship management tools integrated into the Contact Centre environment. Not as expensive or as complex as you may think to implement.
Auto Diallers
Do as they say in the title. They are very prominent in overseas call centres where regulations are a little easier around there deployment. They generate an outbound call to you, and then find an agent to complete the call. A great time saver, but can result in "silent" calls if an agent is not available! There are kinder versions that simply allow an Agent to make a call from screen, at a click of a button. These are commonly part of the major CRM applications.
