Call sharing for inbound and outbound call center agents

• US 5,519,773 A
• Filed: 06/07/1994
• Issued: 05/21/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Unify GmbH & Co. KG (Atos SE)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Communications Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Dumas, Gregory P., Perkins, Mark M., White, Charles M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass, Jeffery
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dharia, Parag
• Application Number:
  US08/255,155
• Time in Patent Office: 714 Days
• Field of Search: 379/265, 379/266, 379/309, 379/137, 379/214, 379/216
• US Class Current: 379/265.05
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/46 Arrangements for calling a number of substations in a predetermined sequence until an answer is obtained
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/48 Arrangements for recalling a calling subscriber when the wanted subscriber ceases to be busy
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5158 in combination with automated outdialling systems devices for signalling identity of wanted subscriber H04M1/26
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5231 with call back arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5238 with waiting time or load prediction arrangements

Abstract

Method for multiplexing inbound and outbound calls from a call center to improve the efficiency of call center agents since an idle agent can sometimes place an outbound call rather than wait for another inbound call. A parameter k is used to have an ACD agent place an outbound call instead of waiting to receive an inbound call. Specifically, if more than k agents in an inbound/outbound ACD call group are idle, and no calls are in the inbound call queue, then, in accordance with the present invention, callback or outbound calls are assigned to idle ACD agents until k agents are idle. For example, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, callback calls will be assigned to an ACD agent before outbound calls. Note that, in accordance with the present invention, at any instant, at most k agents will be idle, because as soon as k+1 agents are idle, an agent will be assigned to a callback or to an outbound call.

Claims

1. A method for operating an ACD system which comprises the steps of:

providing a single groupof ACD agents;

accessing each ACD agent of said single group on an availability basis for handling inbound calls, outbound calls, and callback calls;

detecting when inbound calls arrive at the ACD system;

when ACD agents complete connected calls;

or when arrived calls in an inbound call queue time out;

if an inbound call arrives, determining whether at least one ACD agent is free;

(a) if an ACD agent is free, assigning the inbound call to the free ACD agent;

(b) if no ACD agent is free, placing the inbound call in the inbound call queue;

if an ACD agent completes a connected call, assigning an arrived call, if any, from the inbound call queue to the ACD agent;

(a1) determining whether the number of ACD agents that are free exceeds a predetermined number that is greater than one;

(b1) if the number of free ACD agents exceeds the predetermined number, assigning one of the free ACD agents to handle a callback call in a callback queue or assigning one of the free ACD agents to handle an outbound call; and

if arrived calls in the inbound call queue time out, removing the timed-out arrived calls from the inbound call queue and placing the timed-out arrived calls on the callback queue as callback calls.

2. The method for operating the ACD system of claim 1 wherein step (b1) further comprises determining whether there are any callback calls in the callback queue and, if so, assigning one of the free ACD agents to handle one of the callback calls, otherwise, assigning one of the free ACD agents to handle an outbound call.