Method and system for automatic call distribution based on location information for call center agents

• US 20050195960A1
• Filed: 03/03/2004
• Published: 09/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chahrouri, Gebran G., Khouri, Joseph F., Shaffer, Shmuel
• Granted Patent: US 7,349,535 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/265.02
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5232 Call distribution algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5233 Operator skill based call distribution

Abstract

A method for distributing calls of an automatic call distributor system includes determining location information for agents at a call center. The method further includes routing a request for connection with one of the agents to one of the agents based at least in part on the location information. A method for managing agents in a call center includes determining location information for a plurality of agents in a call center. The method further includes communicating a message to at least one of the agents requesting the agent to move to a new location in response to at least one request for connection with one of the agents.

Claims

1. A method for distributing calls of an automatic call distributor system, comprising:

determining location information for a plurality of agents at a call center; and

routing a request for connection with one of the agents to one of the agents based at least in part on the location information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of routing is further based on determining that one or more of the agents has a particular skill.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the skill is rated according to a proficiency level;

the location information comprises a location skill rating, wherein the location skill rating for each agent is determined based on the proximity of the agent to a particular resource.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the agents communicate with the automatic call distributor system using wireless communication devices.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the location information identifies a wireless access point used by the agent to access the automatic call distributor system.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the wireless communication devices comprise Internet protocol (IP) telephones.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the location information is determined based on global positioning system (GPS) devices carried by the agents.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the agents are equipped with radio frequency-identification (RFID) transmitters monitored by a plurality of RFID stations; and

the location information is determined based on which of the RFID stations detects each of the agents.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating a message to at least one of the agents requesting the at least one agent to move from a present location to a different location.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of routing comprises determining the agent to whom the request is routed using statistical analysis of the location information for the agents, location information for a plurality of resources, and skill information indicating a plurality of skills possessed by one or more of the agents.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the request is one of a plurality of requests from a plurality of callers; and

the method further comprising determining an order in which to connect the callers to one of the agents based on the location information.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein:

the request is one of a plurality of requests received from a plurality of callers, wherein the requests are places in a queue;

the method further comprises;

skipping at least one caller in the queue based on the location information; and

increasing a priority rating for the skipped caller.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the call center is a time division mutliplex (TDM) system.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a report of agent locations at a particular time.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein:

the particular time is one of a plurality of times; and

the report comprises agent locations at each of the times.

16. A method for managing agents in a call center, comprising:

determining location information for a plurality of agents in a call center; and

in response to at least one request for connection with one of the agents, communicating a message to at least one of the agents requesting the at least one agent to move to a new location.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises:

determining which of the agents possesses a particular skill; and

determining which of the agents will be requested to move is based at least in part on which of the agents possesses the particular skill.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein:

the location information comprises an indication of the proximity of each of the agents to a particular resource; and

determining which of the agents to move based at least in part on the respective proximity of the agents to the particular resource.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the agents communicate with the automatic call distributor system using wireless communication devices.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the location information identifies a wireless access point used by the agent to access the automatic call distributor system.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the wireless communication devices comprise Internet protocol (IP) telephones.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein the location information is determined based on global positioning system (GPS) devices carried by the agents.

23. The method of claim 16, wherein:

the at least one request comprises a plurality of requests; and

the method further comprises;

detecting an increase in a demand for a particular resource based on the plurality of requests; and

determining which of the agents to move based at least in part on the increased demand for the particular resource.

24. The method of claim 16, wherein:

the at least one request comprises a plurality of requests; and

the method further comprises determining whether to move one or more of the agents based at least in part on the requests.

25. The method of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises determining which of the agents to move based on statistical analysis of the location information for the agents, location information for a plurality of resources, and skill information indicating a plurality of skills possessed by one or more of the agents.

26. The method of claim 16, further comprising generating a report of location requirements for a plurality of callers in a queue at a particular time.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising determining which of the agents to move based at least in part on the location requirements.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein:

the particular time is one of a plurality of times; and

the report comprises location requirements at each of the times.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising determining when to request the agents to move based on changes in the location requirements over time.

30. An automatic call distributor including at least one processor, comprising:

an observer operable to determine location information for a plurality of agents at a call center; and

a distributor operable to route a request for connection with one of the agents to one of the agents based at least in part on the location information.

31. The automatic call distributor of claim 30, wherein the processor is further operable to determine that one or more of the agents has a particular skill.

32. The automatic call distributor of claim 30, wherein:

the skill is rated according to a proficiency level;

the location information comprises a location skill rating, wherein the location skill rating for each agent is determined based on the proximity of the agent to a particular resource.

33. The automatic call distributor of claim 30, wherein the agents communicate with the automatic call distributor system using wireless communication devices.

34. The automatic call distributor of claim 33, wherein the location information identifies a wireless access point used by the agent to access the automatic call distributor system.

35. The automatic call distributor of claim 33, wherein the wireless communication devices comprise Internet protocol (IP) telephones.

36. The automatic call distributor of claim 30, wherein the location information is determined based on global positioning system (GPS) devices carried by the agents.

37. The automatic call distributor of claim 30, wherein the processor is further operable to communicate a message to at least one of the agents requesting the at least one agent to move from a present location to a different location.

38. The automatic call distributor of claim 30, wherein the processor is further operable to determine the agent to whom the request is routed using statistical analysis of the location information for the agents, location information for a plurality of resources, and skill information indicating a plurality of skills possessed by one or more of the agents.

39. The automatic call distributor of claim 30, wherein:

the request is one of a plurality of requests from a plurality of callers; and

the processor is further operable to determine an order in which to connect the callers to one of the agents based on the location information.

40. An automatic call distributor comprising at least one processor, comprising:

an observer operable to determine location information for a plurality of agents in a call center; and

an interface operable to communicate a message to at least one of the agents requesting the at least one agent to move to a new location in response to at least one request for connection with one of the agents.

41. The automatic call distributor of claim 40, wherein the processor is further operable to:

determine which of the agents possesses a particular skill; and

determine which of the agents will be requested to move is based at least in part on which of the agents possesses the particular skill.

42. The automatic call distributor of claim 40, wherein:

the location information comprises an indication of the proximity of each of the agents to a particular resource; and

the processor is further operable to determine which of the agents to move based at least in part on the respective proximity of the agents to the particular resource.

43. The automatic call distributor of claim 40, wherein the agents communicate with the automatic call distributor system using wireless communication devices.

44. The automatic call distributor of claim 43, wherein the location information identifies a wireless access point used by the agent to access the automatic call distributor system.

45. The automatic call distributor of claim 43, wherein the wireless communication devices comprise Internet protocol (IP) telephones.

46. The automatic call distributor of claim 40, wherein the location information is determined based on global positioning system (GPS) devices carried by the agents.

47. The automatic call distributor of claim 40, wherein:

the at least one request comprises a plurality of requests; and

the processor is further operable to;

detect an increase in a demand for a particular resource based on the plurality of requests; and

determine which of the agents to move based at least in part on the increased demand for the particular resource.

48. The automatic call distributor of claim 40, wherein:

the at least one request comprises a plurality of requests; and

the processor is further operable to determine whether to move an agent based at least in part on the requests.

49. The automatic call distributor of claim 40, wherein the processor is further operable to determine which of the agents to move based on statistical analysis of the location information for the agents, location information for a plurality of resources, and skill information indicating a plurality of skills possessed by one or more of the agents.

50. Logic embodied in a computer-readable medium, operable to perform the steps of:

determining location information for a plurality of agents at a call center; and

routing a request for connection with one of the agents to one of the agents based at least in part on the location information.

51. The logic of claim 50, wherein the step of routing is further based on determining that one or more of the agents has a particular skill

52. The logic of claim 50, wherein the logic is further operable to perform the step of communicating a message to at least one of the agents requesting the at least one agent to move from a present location to a different location.

53. The logic of claim 50, wherein:

the request is one of a plurality of requests from a plurality of callers; and

the logic is further operable to perform the step of determining an order in which to connect the callers to one of the agents based on the location information.

54. Logic embodied in a computer-readable medium operable to perform the steps of:

determining location information for a plurality of agents in a call center; and

in response to at least one request for connection with one of the agents, communicating a message to at least one of the agents requesting the at least one agent to move to a new location.

55. The logic of claim 54, further operable to perform the steps of:

determining which of the agents possesses a particular skill; and

determining which of the agents will be requested to move is based at least in part on which of the agents possesses the particular skill.

56. The logic of claim 54, wherein:

the at least one request comprises a plurality of requests; and

the logic is further operable to perform the step of determining whether to move an agent based at least in part on the requests.

57. A system for automatically distributing calls, comprising:

means for determining location information for a plurality of agents at a call center; and

means for routing a request for connection with one of the agents to one of the agents based at least in part on the location information.

58. A system for managing agents at a call center, comprising:

means for determining location information for a plurality of agents in a call center; and

means for communicating a message to at least one of the agents requesting the at least one agent to move to a new location in response to at least one request for connection with one of the agents.