Techniques for benchmarking performance in a contact center system

• US 10,142,473 B1
• Filed: 06/08/2016
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Afiniti Ltd
• Original Assignee: Afiniti Europe Technologies Limited (Afiniti Ltd)
• Inventors: Chishti, Zia
• Primary Examiner(s): Matar, Ahmad
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pope, Kharye
• Application Number:
  US15/176,899
• Time in Patent Office: 902 Days
• Field of Search: 37926512, 37926601, 37926509, 37926502, 37926511, 37926513, 37926607, 37926503, 37926505, 37926608, 37926501, 37926506, 37926507, 37926606, 3792661, 370352, 370356, 370353
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06393 Score-carding, benchmarking or key performance indicator [KPI] analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5175 Call or contact centers supervision arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5191 interacting with the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5233 Operator skill based call distribution
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/50 Systems or methods supporting the power network operation or management, involving a certain degree of interaction with the load-side end user applications

Abstract

Techniques for benchmarking performance in a contact center system are disclosed. In one particular embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a method for benchmarking contact center system performance comprising cycling, by at least one computer processor configured to perform contact center operations, between a first contact-agent pairing strategy and a second contact-agent pairing strategy for pairing contacts with agents in the contact center system; determining an agent-utilization bias in the first contact-agent pairing strategy comprising a difference between a first agent utilization of the first contact-agent pairing strategy and a balanced agent utilization; and determining a relative performance of the second contact-agent pairing strategy compared to the first contact-agent pairing strategy based on the agent-utilization bias in the first contact-agent pairing strategy.

Claims

1. A method for benchmarking performance in a contact center system, the method comprising:

cycling, by at least one computer processor communicatively coupled to and configured to perform benchmarking operations in the contact center system, between a first contact-agent pairing strategy and a second contact-agent pairing strategy for pairing contacts with agents in the contact center system, wherein the cycling comprises alternatively applying the first contact-agent pairing strategy and the second contact-agent pairing strategy in the contact center system to pair contacts with agents according to the respective pairing strategy being applied for connection in the contact center system;

determining, by the at least one computer processor, an agent-utilization bias in the first contact-agent pairing strategy comprising a difference between a first agent utilization of the first contact-agent pairing strategy and a balanced agent utilization, wherein the agent-utilization bias suppresses a performance of the contact center system using the second contact-agent pairing strategy;

determining, by the at least one computer processor, a relative performance of the contact center system using the second contact-agent pairing strategy compared to the first contact-agent pairing strategy based on the agent-utilization bias in the first contact-agent pairing strategy; and

generating, by the at least one computer processor, a representation of the relative performance of the contact center system using the second contact-agent pairing strategy compared to the first contact-agent pairing strategy, wherein the representation indicates that performance of the contact center system is optimized using one of the first or second contact-agent pairing strategy instead of the other of the first or second contact-agent pairing strategy.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adjusting, by the at least one computer processor, a target agent utilization of the second contact-agent pairing strategy to reduce the suppression of the performance of the contact center system using the second contact-agent pairing strategy caused by the agent-utilization bias in the first contact-agent pairing strategy.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the agent-utilization bias in the first contact-agent pairing strategy further comprises:

determining, by the at least one computer processor, an average available-agent performance of a plurality of agents during at least one transition from the first contact-agent pairing strategy to the second contact-agent pairing strategy.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the agent-utilization bias in the first contact-agent pairing strategy further comprises:

determining, by the at least one computer processor, an average availability of at least one of a plurality of agents during at least one transition from the first contact-agent pairing strategy to the second contact-agent pairing strategy.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

outputting, by the at least one computer processor, a transition management report comprising the agent-utilization bias of the first contact-agent pairing strategy.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first contact-agent pairing strategy is a performance-based routing strategy.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the second contact-agent pairing strategy is a behavioral pairing strategy.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the second contact-agent pairing strategy is a hybrid behavioral pairing strategy, and wherein the hybrid behavioral pairing strategy is biased toward a performance-based routing strategy.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein adjusting a target agent utilization of the second contact-agent pairing strategy further comprises:

adjusting, by the at least one computer processor, at least one parameter of the second contact-agent pairing strategy.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one parameter comprises a Kappa parameter for a hybrid behavioral pairing strategy.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first contact-agent pairing strategy targets an unbalanced agent utilization, and wherein the second contact-agent pairing strategy targets the balanced agent utilization.

12. The method of claim 2, wherein the target utilization of the second contact-agent pairing strategy is adjusted at least once at one or more points in time between a transition from the first to the second contact-agent pairing strategy and a subsequent transition from the second to the first contact-agent pairing strategy.

13. A system for benchmarking performance in a contact center system comprising:

at least one computer processor communicatively coupled to and configured to perform benchmarking operations in the contact center system, wherein the at least one computer processor is configured to;

cycle between a first contact-agent pairing strategy and a second contact-agent pairing strategy for pairing contacts with agents in the contact center system, wherein the cycling comprises alternatively applying the first contact-agent pairing strategy and the second contact-agent pairing strategy in the contact center system to pair contacts with agents according to the respective pairing strategy being applied for connection in the contact center system;

determine an agent-utilization bias in the first contact-agent pairing strategy comprising a difference between a first agent utilization of the first contact-agent pairing strategy and a balanced agent utilization, wherein the agent-utilization bias suppresses a performance of the contact center system using the second contact-agent pairing strategy;

determine a relative performance of the contact center system using the second contact-agent pairing strategy compared to the first contact-agent pairing strategy based on the agent-utilization bias in the first contact-agent pairing strategy; and

generate a representation of the relative performance of the contact center system using the second contact-agent pairing strategy compared to the first contact-agent pairing strategy, wherein the representation indicates that performance of the contact center system is optimized using one of the first or second contact-agent pairing strategy instead of the other of the first or second contact-agent pairing strategy.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one computer processor is further configured to:

adjust a target agent utilization of the second contact-agent pairing strategy to reduce the suppression of the performance of the contact center system using the second contact-agent pairing strategy caused by the agent-utilization bias in the first contact-agent pairing strategy.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one computer processor, configured to determine the agent-utilization bias in the first contact-agent pairing strategy, is further configured to:

determine an average available-agent performance of a plurality of agents during at least one transition from the first contact-agent pairing strategy to the second contact-agent pairing strategy.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one computer processor, configured to determine the agent-utilization bias in the first contact-agent pairing strategy, is further configured to:

determine an average availability of at least one of a plurality of agents during at least one transition from the first contact-agent pairing strategy to the second contact-agent pairing strategy.

17. An article of manufacture for benchmarking performance in a contact center system comprising:

a non-transitory processor readable medium; and

instructions stored on the medium;

wherein the instructions are configured to be readable from the medium by at least one computer processor communicatively coupled to and configured to perform benchmarking operations in the contact center system and thereby cause the at least one computer processor to operate so as to;

cycle between a first contact-agent pairing strategy and a second contact-agent pairing strategy for pairing contacts with agents in the contact center system, wherein the cycling comprises alternatively applying the first contact-agent pairing strategy and the second contact-agent pairing strategy in the contact center system to pair contacts with agents according to the respective pairing strategy being applied for connection in the contact center system;

determine an agent-utilization bias in the first contact-agent pairing strategy comprising a difference between a first agent utilization of the first contact-agent pairing strategy and a balanced agent utilization, wherein the agent-utilization bias suppresses a performance of the contact center system using the second contact-agent pairing strategy;

determine a relative performance of the contact center system using the second contact-agent pairing strategy compared to the first contact-agent pairing strategy based on the agent-utilization bias in the first contact-agent pairing strategy; and

generate a representation of the relative performance of the contact center system using the second contact-agent pairing strategy compared to the first contact-agent pairing strategy, wherein the representation indicates that performance of the contact center system is optimized using one of the first or second contact-agent pairing strategy instead of the other of the first or second contact-agent pairing strategy.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein the at least one computer processor is further caused to operate so as to:

adjust a target agent utilization of the second contact-agent pairing strategy to reduce the suppression of the performance of the contact center system using the second contact-agent pairing strategy caused by the agent-utilization bias in the first contact-agent pairing strategy.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein the at least one computer processor, caused to operate so as to determine the agent-utilization bias in the first contact-agent pairing strategy, is further caused to operate so as to:

determine an average available-agent performance of a plurality of agents during at least one transition from the first contact-agent pairing strategy to the second contact-agent pairing strategy.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein the at least one computer processor, caused to operate so as to determine the agent-utilization bias in the first contact-agent pairing strategy, is further caused to operate so as to:

determine an average availability of at least one of a plurality of agents during at least one transition from the first contact-agent pairing strategy to the second contact-agent pairing strategy.