System for Facilitating Loosely Configured Service Worker Groups in a Dynamic Call Center Environment

• US 20090168990A1
• Filed: 12/28/2007
• Published: 07/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Inventors: Kikinis, Dan, Makagon, Petr, Ristock, Herbert Willi Artur
• Granted Patent: US 8,666,056 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/265.90
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063112 Skill-based matching of a person or a group to a task
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5125 with remote located operators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5175 Call or contact centers supervision arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5183 Call or contact centers with computer-telephony arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5191 interacting with the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5233 Operator skill based call distribution

Abstract

A system for soliciting and activating one or more groups of workers to service contact center business includes an interface accessible to the one or more groups for accepting group registration data, publishing contact center business and for enabling the groups to subscribe to receive business; a data repository for storing the registration data for subscribing groups; and a routing server for specifying routing strategies for event routing to the groups. The system is characterized in that the one or more groups of workers may be activated during contact center business activity to perform services based on need.

Claims

1. A system for soliciting and activating one or more groups of workers to service contact center business comprising:

an interface accessible to the one or more groups for accepting group registration data, publishing contact center business and for enabling the groups to subscribe to receive business;

a data repository for storing the registration data for subscribing groups; and

a routing server for specifying routing strategies for event routing to the groups;

characterized in that the one or more groups of workers may be activated during contact center business activity to perform services based on need.

2. A system for assembling a virtual service group from a pool of service workers and activating the group for servicing contact center business comprising:

an interface accessible to the remote service workers for publishing contact center business and for enabling the workers to subscribe to receive service events;

a data repository for storing current information about subscribing service workers;

a server for aggregating the subscription information of more than one service worker subscribing to a same piece of contact center business; and

a routing server for routing service events to the assembled worker group.

3. A method for acquisitioning contact center resources to service contact center business comprising the steps:

(a) accepting registration information from potential contact center resources and presenting for subscription one or more service opportunities to the registrants;

(b) receiving and validating subscription requests relative to the one or more service opportunities;

(c) reserving validated subscribers for potential activation during occurrence of one or more service opportunities; and

(d) activating those subscribers in reserve to perform services according to need.

4. A method for dynamic aggregation of a number of a contact service workers identified by registration data into a contact center resource group comprising the steps:

(a) presenting for subscription one or more service opportunities to the registrants;

(b) receiving and validating subscription requests relative to the one or more service opportunities;

(c) at or before the start of a service opportunity, aggregating required data about the registrants subscribing to and validated to work the service opportunity;

(d) notifying the involved subscribers of their assignments relative to the opportunity; and

(e) establishing a shared routing point, interface, or bridge for use by the group for interfacing with customers.