Virtual contact center with flexible staffing control

• US 6,804,345 B1
• Filed: 01/27/2000
• Issued: 10/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Westrich, Robert S., Weber, Roy Philip, Goldman, Shelley B., Wang, Shaoqing Q., Foladare, Mark Jeffrey, Fowler, Kathleen C., Bala, Srinivas
• Primary Examiner(s): TIEU, BENNY QUOC
• Application Number:
  US09/492,594
• Time in Patent Office: 1,720 Days
• Field of Search: 379/265-2-2, 379/266.01, 379/266.04, 379/266.08, 379/266.09, 379/309
• US Class Current: 379/265.04
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/382 using authorisation codes or passwords
• 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 3/5191 interacting with the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/12 for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/121 Details of network access arrangements or protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1235 where one of the core networks is a wireless network

Abstract

Paging, cellular telephone or other messaging functionality is incorporated into a virtual contact center system to permit logged-off customer service representatives (CSRs) to be alerted to a need to logon to the system, and to permit CSRs to alert supervisors or specialists to logon to the system. Matching at a contact control server of existing conditions to predetermined criteria, e.g., failure to login at an assigned time, or specified network conditions (such as length of customer queues), triggers a command for a communication to one or more logged-off CSRs. Results of follow-up testing at the contact control server for matches causes page requests to be renewed, redirected or canceled. Unusual contact requirements or emerging network conditions requiring supervisory input or increased monitoring by traffic or subject matter specialists is likewise triggered by analysis at a contact control server or by CSR click selection of messages to be sent to a virtual contact center requesting issuance of information such as web pages to cognizant personnel.

Claims

1. In a network virtual contact center comprising a contact control server and at least one customer service representative (CSR) for serving contacts from customers, a method for alerting CSRs who are not logged on comprising

identifying values for at least one virtual contact center state variable,

when said identified values bear a predetermined first relationship to respective first predetermined values for at least one of said state variables, issuing a command for at least one communication to alert additional contact center resources.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said at least one contact center state variable comprises a measure of CSRs logged-in to said contact control server, and said first predetermined value for said at least one contact center state variable comprises a measure of a scheduled number of CSRs logged-in to said contact control server.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said at least one contact center state variable comprises a number of queued incoming contacts to said virtual contact center, and said first predetermined value for said at least one contact center state variable comprises an allowable value for the length of queued incoming contacts to said virtual contact center.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising

repeatedly comparing values of said contact center state variables that previously gave rise to a command for said communication, and

canceling said command for said communication when said first predetermined relationship no longer exists.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising

repeatedly comparing values of said contact center state variables that previously gave rise to a command for said page, and

modifying said command for said communication when a second predetermined relationship exists between said identified values and second predetermined values for said at least one contact center state.

26. The method of claim 1 wherein said at least one network control server state variable comprises a number of queued incoming contacts to said network control server, and said first predetermined value for said at least one network control server state variable comprises an allowable value for the number of queued incoming contacts to said network control server.

6. In a network virtual contact center comprising a contact control server and at least one customer service representative (CSR) for serving contacts from customers, a method for augmenting available call center resources comprising

identifying values for at least one virtual call center state variable

when said identified values bear a predetermined first relationship to respective first predetermined values for at least one of said state variables, issuing a command for at least one communication to alert additional call center resources, said at least one call center state variable comprising a value signaled by a CSR to said call control server in a message identifying existence of a class of problems at a CSR location.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising

issuing a command at said call control server to an alerting server for said alerting server to send a communication to a logged off additional call center resource.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein said logged off additional call center resource is a call center supervisor.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein said logged off additional call center resource is a subject matter specialist.

10. A virtual contact center contact control server comprising

means for receiving values for at least one contact center state variable,

means for storing information relating to CSRs associated with said virtual contact center, said information comprising

logged on/logged off state,

identification for at least one mobile communications terminal,

means for relating said received values for said contact center state variables to predetermined values, and

means responsive to said means for relating for sending a command to an alerting server to generate a message to at least one selected logged off CSR.

11. The virtual contact center server of claim 10 wherein said means for sending comprises means for formulating content of said message, and means for forwarding said content and said identification information to said alerting server.

12. The virtual contact center server of claim 10 wherein said identification information comprises a network address for said mobile communications terminal and information relating to the communications capabilities of said mobile communications terminal.

13. The virtual contact center server of claim 10 wherein said means for relating comprises means for executing at least one contact algorithm and means for determining when said executing yields at least one predetermined relationship between said received values for said state variables and said predetermined values.

14. The virtual contact center server of claim 13 wherein said contact algorithms are subject to modification by said received values for said state variables.

15. The virtual contact center server of claim 13 wherein said contact algorithms comprise at least an algorithm relating contact queue length to a predetermined queue length.

16. The virtual contact center server of claim 13 wherein said contact algorithms comprise at least an algorithm relating the number of logged on CSRs to a desired number of logged on CSRs.

17. A method of operating a virtual contact center contact control server comprising

receiving values for at least one contact center state variable,

storing information relating to CSRs associated with said virtual contact center, said information comprising

logged on/logged off state,

identification for at least one mobile communications terminal,

relating said received values for said contact center state variables to predetermined values, and

sending a command to an alerting server to generate a message to at least one selected logged off CSR in response to said relating.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein said sending comprises formulating content of said message, and forwarding said content and said identification information to said alerting server.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein said identification information comprises a network address for said mobile communications terminal and information relating to the communications capabilities of said mobile communications terminal.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein said relating comprises executing at least one contact algorithm and determining when said executing yields at least one predetermined relationship between said received values for said state variables and said predetermined values.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein said contact algorithms are modified by said received values for said state variables.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein said contact algorithms comprise at least an algorithm relating contact queue length to a predetermined queue length.

23. The method of claim 20 wherein said contact algorithms comprise at least an algorithm relating the number of logged on CSRs to a desired number of logged on CSRs.

24. In a virtual network serving a group of persons, said virtual network comprising a network control server, less than all of said persons in said group being logged on to said control server, a method for selectively alerting persons in said group who are not logged on to said control server comprising

identifying values for at least one network control server state variable,

when said identified values bear a predetermined first relationship to respective first predetermined values for at least one of said state variables, issuing a command for at least one communication to alert at least a predetermined one of said persons who are not logged on.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein said at least one network control server state variable comprises a measure of persons in said group who are logged-in to said network control server, and said first predetermined value for said at least one network control server state variable comprises a measure of a scheduled number of persons logged in to said network control server.

27. The method of claim 24 further comprising

repeatedly comparing values of said network control server state variables that previously gave rise to a command for said communication, and

canceling said command for said communication when said first predetermined relationship no longer exists.

28. The method of claim 24 further comprising

repeatedly comparing values of said contact center state variables that previously gave rise to a command for said communication to alert said at least a predetermined one of said persons who are not logged on, and

modifying said command for said communication when a second predetermined relationship exists between said identified values and second predetermined values for said at least one contact center state.