Call management method and system for skill-based routing
First Claim
1. A call-management method of distributing calls of a common pool of calls to a plurality of individuals comprising steps of:
- assigning and storing first data indicative of proficiencies of at least one call-handling capability of each of said individuals with respect to processing various types of calls from said common pool, including assigning proficiency indicators to each said individual, each proficiency indicator being related to a different call-handling capability within a defined set of call-handing capabilities;
assigning and storing second data indicative of call-management preferences for particular individuals to process particular types of calls from said common pool, including assigning preference indicators to said individuals based upon said preferences, each said individual thereby being associated with individualized first and second data that are indicative of said proficiencies and said preferences with respect to said each individual;
assigning said plurality of individuals to handling said calls of said common pool of calls;
for each call that is to be distributed from said common pool, associating said call with an identification of at least one call-handling capability advantageous to processing said call;
in response to said identification of said at least one call-handling capability advantageous to processing said call, correlating at least one of said first data and said second data of said plurality of individuals with said identification as a basis for routing decisions regarding to which individual said call should be routed; and
routing said call in accordance with said routing decisions.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A call-management method and system for distributing calls to individuals, such as ACD agents, include storing a resume for each individual. In the preferred embodiment, each resume includes first data indicative of call-handling capabilities of the individual and includes second data indicative of preferences of the call-management system for particular individuals to process particular types of calls. When an inbound call is received or an outbound call is generated, the call is tagged with identification of abilities advantageous to processing the calls. Thus, the desired skills for a call may be correlated with either or both of the call-handling capabilities of the individuals and the call-management preferences. Again referring to the preferred embodiment, "tagging" each call is a step of associating a skill expression with each call and includes identifying two or more desired abilities for processing the call. Each call may be tagged with a number of related or unrelated skill expressions, each with a timeout value, thereby permitting routing criteria to be changed depending upon the time that the call has been in queue. The abilities may be designated as mandatory skills and optional skills, with the optional skills being disregarded or reduced in emphasis after the call has remained in a queue beyond a preselected time period. The resumes are stored in an adjunct server that facilitates generating quality of service reports.
1028 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A call-management method of distributing calls of a common pool of calls to a plurality of individuals comprising steps of:
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assigning and storing first data indicative of proficiencies of at least one call-handling capability of each of said individuals with respect to processing various types of calls from said common pool, including assigning proficiency indicators to each said individual, each proficiency indicator being related to a different call-handling capability within a defined set of call-handing capabilities; assigning and storing second data indicative of call-management preferences for particular individuals to process particular types of calls from said common pool, including assigning preference indicators to said individuals based upon said preferences, each said individual thereby being associated with individualized first and second data that are indicative of said proficiencies and said preferences with respect to said each individual; assigning said plurality of individuals to handling said calls of said common pool of calls; for each call that is to be distributed from said common pool, associating said call with an identification of at least one call-handling capability advantageous to processing said call; in response to said identification of said at least one call-handling capability advantageous to processing said call, correlating at least one of said first data and said second data of said plurality of individuals with said identification as a basis for routing decisions regarding to which individual said call should be routed; and routing said call in accordance with said routing decisions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A call-management method of distributing calls to automatic call distribution (ACD) agents comprising steps of:
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forming a resume database in which each of said ACD agents is rated with respect to a plurality of skills associated with efficient handling of calls, said ratings being indicative of skill levels; for each call, determining which of said skills is relevant to efficient handling of said call, including associating a skill expression with said call such that said skill expression has capacity for identifying a plurality of relevant skills and skill levels; for occasions upon which an available call is to be routed to one of a plurality of available ACD agents, utilizing said associated skill expression of identified relevant skills to select a particular available ACD agent and then routing said available call to said particular available ACD agent, said utilization of said skill expression including collectively applying more than one relevant skill to selecting said particular available ACD agent when said associated skill expression identifies a plurality of relevant skills; and for occasions upon which a single ACD agent is available for a plurality of queued calls, utilizing said associated skill expressions of said plurality of queued calls in a selection of which one of said queued calls is to be routed to said single ACD agent and then routing said selected queued call to said single ACD agent, said utilization of said skill expression including comparing said identified relevant skills of said skill expressions with said ratings stored within said resume database. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. An automatic call distribution (ACD) system for distributing transactions among a plurality of ACD agents comprising:
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call switching circuitry for routing said transactions; a transaction queue for storing said transactions in common for distribution among said ACD agents, with each transaction being associated with an expression indicative of (1) a skill level of a transaction-handling skill relevant to efficient handling of said transaction and (2) a preference level of a preference in selection of an ACD agent having said transaction-handling skill to handle said transaction; a server electronically connected to said call switching circuitry for transmission of data between said server and said call switching circuitry, said server having a stored resume database of transaction-handling skills of each of said ACD agents, said server further having a stored preference database of transaction-management preferences in selection of ACD agents in accordance with information related to types of transactions, said resume database including identifications of at least three levels of skill for said transaction-handling skills for each ACD agent and said preference database including identifications of at least three levels of preference for said transaction-management preferences with respect to each of said ACD agents, both of said indications of levels of skill and levels of preference being specific to individual ACD agents; and a transaction dispatcher means for selecting a particular one of said ACD agents to handle a particular one of said transactions stored in said transaction queue in response to a comparison between said expression associated with said particular one of said transactions and database information of said server. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification