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Inbound call center service, outbound call center services,
customer service, class registration, seminar registration, and answering services...just
a few of the services we are able to provide for your company. We bring great
people and cutting edge technology together to provide the best in call center
services for your company. We are available whenever you need us and can help
you make the most of your business. If you need services ranging from answering
services, inbound call center services, or total telemarketing call center support,
we will be here.
Glossary of Answering Service / Call Center Terms
Industry Definitions
If you are not
familiar with answering service or call
center industry, please review the following definitions of industry
terms so you can become a more educated consumer.
Abandoned Calls (CDNs): The number of calls accepted into the CDN, but abandoned
before being answered through the controlled operation or routed according
to the CDN's script.
Abandoned Calls (Queues): An incoming ACD call is counted as abandoned when
the caller hangs up before the call is answered by an agent or before the
call is routed off-site. The sum includes calls that abandon while waiting
for an agent to answer the call at their telephone. Calls that abandon while
in the Timed Overflow (TOF) queue are counted against the ACD queue that
initiated the overflow.
Abandoned Trunk Calls Before Threshold: A peg count of Calls Abandoned that
shows how many calls were abandoned before the threshold time is reached.
The threshold time is set in the telephone system for the ACD queue where
a trunk route terminates. Do not try to relate these numbers to the numbers
of Calls Abandoned in the Queue reports. The number of Call Abandoned in
the Queue reports can include Abandoned Calls other than the Abandoned Trunk
Calls (such as Overflowed Abandoned, etc.).
Abandoned Trunk Calls After Threshold: A peg count of Calls Abandoned that
shows how many calls were abandoned after the threshold time is reached.
The threshold time is set in the telephone system for the ACD queue where
a trunk route terminates. Do not try to relate these numbers to the numbers
of Calls Abandoned in the Queue reports. The number of Call Abandoned in
the Queue reports can include Abandoned Calls other than the Abandoned Trunk
Calls (such as Overflowed Abandoned, etc.).
ABD Call Volume: Average Business Day Call Volume – The average number of calls handled during business days.
Accepted Calls (CDNs): The number of calls that entered the CDN and were
routed by the telephone system according to the Enhanced ACD Routing script.
The number of Accepted Calls for the CDN is equal to the number of Calls
Answered plus the number Abandoned plus the number Routed to the CDN plus
the number Disconnected plus the number Busy plus the number Defaulted to
this CDN.
Accepted Calls (Queues): The number of calls placed in this ACD queue, including
any Overflow by Number calls from another ACD queue. Timed Overflow calls
from another ACD queue are not included.
ACD: See Automatic Call Distribution
ACD Report Buffer: A component of ACD Performance Reporting that transfers
your call center data from the Call Accounting
Buffer to the ACD Parser program for processing into your historical database.
The ACD Report Buffer is a software application that runs on a computer
connected to the Call Accounting Buffer.
ACD state: When an agent is engaged on an ACD call, they are considered
to be in the ACD state. Also see Agent states.
ACD time (Talk time, DCP time, ACD time, Customer talk time): The duration
of an ACD call (including ACD hold time), or the length of a customer's
call. Basically, from the time the agent answers the ACD call to the time
when either the customer or the agent disconnects the call. ACD time is
also called Direct Call Processing time, Customer time, ACD Talk time, Call
Processing time, or Talk time.
Actual Agents (ACT) – The average number of agent positions plugged in over a measured period of time.
Active: In the Northern telephone system, 'active' is defined as having
the ability to receive ACD calls. Agents become active when they log into
the telephone system.
Agent: A general term for someone who handles telephone calls in a call
center. Other common names for the same job include operator, Telephone
Service Representative (TSR), attendant, and representative.
Agent states: The type of telephone activity an agent either performed or
is engaged in performing. The time an agent spends in each state is tracked
and is included in the information sent by the Northern telephone system.
All Trunks Busy (ATB): The situation that occurs when a call is received
by a trunk group and, because of the level of telephone traffic, the trunk
group cannot route the call. If a trunk busy condition exists beyond a single
reporting period (for example, it begins during period 1 and is still busy
during period 2), that condition may be pegged for both periods.
All Trunks Busy Calls: A peg count of the number of times a call received
by a trunk group could not be routed by that trunk group, due to the level
of telephone traffic.
All Trunks Busy Time: The total amounts of time calls that were received
by a trunk group could not be routed by that trunk group, due to the level
of telephone traffic.
All Trunks Busy Longest: The longest amount of time a call was received
by a trunk group and could not be routed by that trunk group, due to the
level of telephone traffic.
Allocations: The assigning of tours in a system schedule to the individual Business Offices; usually performed by a computer program and adjusted manually by Force Managers. (Specific tours are then assigned to individual agents within each Business Office.
Answered Call (CDNs): This is the number of calls that entered the CDN and
were answered with the controlled operation or according to the scripting
of the CDN's routing.
Answer Bands: A system of measures used to summarize the consistency of force levels achieving target goals; usually based on evaluation of Average Speed of Answer (ASA).
Answered Call (Queues): A call that was routed to an ACD queue, and was
then answered by an agent in that ACD queue.
Answer Conversion Table: A table which indicates the percentage of calls answered within the specific time intervals for different Average Answer values; used to evaluate service level against Utility Commission and internal targets.
Answer Plans: Methods established by Utility Commissions to evaluate telephone company performance.
Answered Trunk Calls Before Threshold: A peg count of Calls Answered that
shows how many calls were answered before the threshold time is reached.
The threshold time is set in the telephone system for the ACD queue where
a trunk route terminates. Do not try to relate these numbers to the numbers
of Calls Answered in the Queue reports. The number of Call Answered in the
Queue reports can include Answered Calls other than the Answered Trunk Calls
(such as Overflowed Answered, etc.).
Answered Trunk Calls After Threshold: A peg count of Calls Answered that
shows how many calls were answered before the threshold time is reached.
The threshold time is set in the telephone system for the ACD queue where
a trunk route terminates. Do not try to relate these numbers to the numbers
of Calls Answered in the Queue reports. The number of Call Answered in the
Queue reports can include Answered Calls other than the Answered Trunk Calls
(such as Overflowed Answered, etc.).
ASA: See Average Speed of Answer
ATB: See All Trunks Busy
Automated Greeting: Where calls are answered by a personalized greeting
or message customized for your company and then the call is routed to the
most available operator for prompt service.
Automatic Call Distribution (ACD): A software feature of the Northern telephone
system that routes a call to groups of agents (also called a 'queue') based
on first-in, first-answered criteria. The guiding principle is that the
caller who has been waiting the longest will be first the caller routed
to the next available agent. The agent that receives the call will be either
the first available agent or the agent that has been available for the longest
period of time.
Automatic Call Distributor (ACD): The is a specialized telephone system
used in incoming call centers. It is a device
that can be programmed to; automatically answers calls, queue calls, distribute
calls to agents/operators, plays delay announcements to callers and provides
historical reports on these activities.
Automatic Number Identification (ANI): A call center uses ANI to track the
phone numbers of persons calling the call center. Useful for reporting crank
or threatening callers to the appropriate authorities. Caller ID is the
public telephone network version of ANI.
Available state: An agent's telephone is considered in the Available state
when the telephone is able to receive ACD calls. A logged on agent enters
the Available mode when they log into the telephone system and then exit
the Not Ready state. Some telephone systems automatically place agents into
the Available state at log in. A line that is available to receive ACD calls
is also available to receive Non-ACD incoming calls (internal or external).
Available time: The amounts of time that an agent in the ACD queue spends
in the Available state. The Available telephone state is one where an agent
is available to take an incoming ACD call.
Average Business Day: See ABD Call Volume.
Average Speed of Answer (ASA) –The average time that elapses between the time the call reaches the ACD and the time it is connected to an agent.
Average Busy Time: This is the sum of all Position Manned times, minus the
sum of all waiting times, divided by the number of positions that had any
Position Manned time accumulated against them.
Average Delay of Calls (ADC): This is when a customer calls in and reaches
an automated message thanking them for their call and asking them to wait
for the next available operator. The average delay is figured by dividing
total waiting time of all calls by the total number of calls. If this Average
Delay is too long, the amount of “Abandoned Calls” increases.
Average Direct Call-Processing (DCP) Time: The average amounts of time per
Answered ACD call that an agent (or agents) was engaged with an ACD call.
This is the total time (in seconds) that each agent spent handling ACD calls
divided by the total number of calls answered (by either the agent or the
ACD queue). Handling time is the time from initial answer of the call to
final release of the call. When the telephone system data includes Hold
time, the average Direct Call Processing time does not include the Hold
time. In this situation, the Average DCP time is the time that the agents
are active on the call, excluding holding time of ACD calls.
Average Hold Time (HDCP time): The average amounts of time per Answered
ACD call that an agent (or agents) placed an ACD call on hold. Handling
time is measured from the time the agent puts the ACD call on Hold to the
time the agent becomes active on the call again or the caller abandons the
call. The average Hold time is the sum of all ACD call hold times divided
by the number of ACD calls answered by the agent or ACD queue. When the
telephone system data includes Hold time, the average Direct Call Processing
time does not include the Hold time. In this situation, the Average DCP
time is the time that the agents are active on the call, excluding holding
time of ACD calls.
Average Incoming Call Time: The average amounts of time per Non-ACD call
that an agent (or agents) was engaged in a call on their Non-ACD extensions.
This is the total duration (in seconds) of all incoming calls on the agent’s
Non-ACD key(s) during the report period, timed from call answer to final
call release, divided by the total number of Non-ACD calls received during
that time period.
Average Incoming Call Time (Trunks): The average amount of incoming trunk
traffic time per Trunk call. This is the total incoming trunk traffic for
the trunk route (in CCS) between seizure and disconnect (including non-ACD
calls, if any) divided by the total number of calls that came in on this
trunk route (including non-ACD calls) during the report period. The total
number of calls per ACD queue equals the total number of Incoming Calls
for all trunk routes terminating on the ACD queue.
Average Manned Time: The average amounts of time per reporting period agents
were logged into the telephone system. This is the sum of all Position Manned
times divided by the number of agent positions that had any manned time
accumulated. An agent position is considered Manned when an agent logs into
the telephone system, and the agent will continue to accumulate Manned time
until the agent engages the Make Set Busy key (which logs them out of the
telephone system.
Average Non-ACD In Time: The average amounts of time an agent spends engaged
on incoming Non-ACD calls. The Average Non-ACD Incoming time is the sum
of all times from the initial selection of the individual extension key,
including transfer and conference keys, to the final release of the call,
divided by the number of incoming calls. The telephone system only accumulates
call time for one Non-ACD call per agent position at a time. It is not possible
to add multiple simultaneous events (engaging on several Non-ACD calls at
once, using the Hold feature) as the total Non-ACD time would exceed real
clock time. This means that if an agent position has more than one DN (or
extension) key and the agent uses both at once, the reported Non-ACD call
time will not be accurate. Agent positions should be configured with only
one extension key unless you are willing to forego the accuracy of Non-ACD
call statistics.
Average Non-ACD Out Time: The average amounts of time an agent spends engaged
on outgoing Non-ACD calls. The Average Non-ACD Outgoing time is the sum
of all times from the initial selection of the individual extension key,
including transfer and conference keys, to the final release of the call,
divided by the number of outgoing calls. The system only accumulates call
time for one Non-ACD call per agent position at a time. It is not possible
to add multiple simultaneous events (engaging on several Non-ACD calls at
once, using the Hold feature) as the total Non-ACD time would exceed real
clock time. This means that if an agent position has more than one DN (or
extension) key and the agent uses both at once, the reported Non-ACD call
time will not be accurate. Agent positions should be configured with only
one extension key unless the customer is willing to forego the accuracy
of Non-ACD call statistics. If an agent is involved in a conference call
or an outgoing Non-ACD call, or is transferring a call when the telephone
data is generated, the Non-ACD Outgoing time includes the call start time
minus the current time. The Non-ACD Out and Transferred IDN amounts are
not incremented until the call is released, and they are reflected in the
next reporting period.
Average PCP Time (Not Ready): The average amount of time per ACD call that
an agent (or agents) was in the Post Call Processing (or Not Ready) state.
The Average PCP time is measured from the time the agent goes into Not Ready
(the NRD key activated) until the occurrence of any event that removes the
agent from the Not Ready state. The average PCP time is the total time accumulated
against all Not Ready states divided by the total number of ACD calls answered
by an agent or ACD queue.
Average Speed of Answer (ASA): The Average Speed of Answer for calls received
by an ACD queue. The timing for answering the call begins when the call
is queued for the ACD queue and ends when an agent (either in the primary
or overflow ACD queue) answers the call. If an agent in an overflow group
answers the call, Average Speed of Answer is counted in the overflow group.
This is the sum includes Enhanced Overflow Calls from other queues, but
not including Timed Overflow In Calls from another queue nor Network ACD
calls that are answered by a remote target agent.
Average Wait Time before Abandon: The average amounts of time per Abandoned
call the customer waited to be answered before abandoning the call. This
is the total of all waiting times for Abandoned calls divided by the number
of calls abandoned in the ACD queue this reporting period.
Average Waiting Time: This is the average amount of time that an agent was
available to receive an ACD call. It is the total amount of waiting time
divided by the number of incoming ACD calls answered.
Average Work Time (AWT)– Average amount of time (measured in seconds) required to handle calls during a specific period of time.
For
more information on our answering service / call center
including pricing and plan details, please fill out the contact form below and
a representative will fax / e-mail you the requested information.
