U.S. patent application number 09/442997 was filed with the patent office on 2002-04-11 for method for telephony call blending.
Invention is credited to KAMEN, VLADIMIR.
Application Number | 20020041674 09/442997 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25508388 |
Filed Date | 2002-04-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020041674 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KAMEN, VLADIMIR |
April 11, 2002 |
METHOD FOR TELEPHONY CALL BLENDING
Abstract
An automated dialer for a call center maximizes agent efficiency
in two different ways. In a first method overdial probability is
expressed as a probability function of number of agents and total
traffic volume; the probability function is set equal to a maximum
allowable overdial probability; and the resulting equation is
solved for maximum total traffic volume producing the maximum
overdial probability. The maximum total traffic volume is then used
to determine a new dialing rate by dividing the difference between
the calculated maximum traffic volume and known inbound traffic
volume by the product of average call length and hit rate, where
hit rate is the percentage of connected calls to total dialed
outbound calls. In a second method a maximum total traffic volume
is calculated from total number of agents times a desired agent
utilization factor, and the total traffic volume is used as in the
first method to calculate and set a new dialing rate for outbound
calls.
Inventors: |
KAMEN, VLADIMIR; (SAN
FRANCISCO, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CENTRAL COAST PATENT AGENCY
PO BOX 187
AROMAS
CA
95004
US
|
Family ID: |
25508388 |
Appl. No.: |
09/442997 |
Filed: |
November 18, 1999 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
09442997 |
Nov 18, 1999 |
|
|
|
08964309 |
Nov 4, 1997 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
379/266.07 ;
379/265.02 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04Q 2213/13093
20130101; H04Q 2213/13395 20130101; H04Q 3/64 20130101; H04M 3/5158
20130101; H04M 3/36 20130101; H04M 3/42323 20130101; H04M 3/5183
20130101; H04M 3/5231 20130101; H04Q 2213/13164 20130101; H04Q
2213/13224 20130101; H04Q 2213/13072 20130101; H04Q 2213/13166
20130101; H04Q 2213/1322 20130101; H04M 3/5234 20130101; H04Q
2213/13107 20130101; H04Q 2213/13034 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
379/266.07 ;
379/265.02 |
International
Class: |
H04M 003/00; H04M
005/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A telephony dialing system for use with a call center,
comprising: a list of telephone numbers to be dialed; a dialing
rate controller; and sensors adapted for monitoring activity of the
call center, including call volume, call characteristics, and agent
availability; wherein the dialing rate controller sets dialing rate
for the dialing system based on one of a maximum allowed overdial
probability and a desired agent utilization factor.
2. The telephony dialing system of claim 1 wherein the dialing rate
controller sets the dialing rate based on a maximum allowed
overdial probability by expressing overdial probability as a
function of number of agents and total traffic volume, setting the
probability function equal to the maximum allowable overdial
probability, solving the resulting equation for maximum total
traffic volume producing the maximum overdial probability, and
determining and setting a new dialing rate by dividing the
difference between the calculated maximum traffic volume and known
inbound traffic volume by the product of average call length and
hit rate, where hit rate is the percentage of connected calls to
total dialed outbound calls.
3. The telephony dialing system of claim 1 wherein the dialing rate
controller sets the dialing rate based on a desired agent
utilization factor, determining maximum total traffic volume by the
product of number of agents and the desired agent utilization
factor, and then determining and setting a new dialing rate by
dividing the difference between the calculated maximum traffic
volume and known inbound traffic volume by the product of average
call length and hit rate, where hit rate is the percentage of
connected calls to total dialed outbound calls.
4. The telephony dialing system of claim 1 wherein the
determination and setting of dialing rate is a repeatable and
repeated function of the dialing system, recalculation occurring
more often than once per second.
5. A call center adapted for automatically accomplishing outbound
calls, comprising: a telephony switch connected to a trunk and to a
plurality of telephones at agent stations; and an automated
telephony dialing system having a list of telephone numbers to be
dialed, a dialing rate controller, and sensors adapted for
monitoring activity of the call center, including call volume, call
characteristics, and agent availability; wherein the dialing rate
controller sets dialing rate for the dialing system based on one of
a maximum allowed overdial probability and a desired agent
utilization factor.
6. The call center of claim 5 wherein the dialing rate controller
sets the dialing rate based on a maximum allowed overdial
probability by expressing overdial probability as a function of
number of agents and total traffic volume, setting the probability
function equal to the maximum allowable overdial probability,
solving the resulting equation for maximum total traffic volume
producing the maximum overdial probability, and determining and
setting a new dialing rate by dividing the difference between the
calculated maximum traffic volume and known inbound traffic volume
by the product of average call length and hit rate, where hit rate
is the percentage of connected calls to total dialed outbound
calls.
7. The telephony dialing system of claim 5 wherein the dialing rate
controller sets the dialing rate based on a desired agent
utilization factor, determining maximum total traffic volume by the
product of number of agents and the desired agent utilization
factor, and then determining and setting a new dialing rate by
dividing the difference between the calculated maximum traffic
volume and known inbound traffic volume by the product of average
call length and hit rate, where hit rate is the percentage of
connected calls to total dialed outbound calls.
8. The telephony dialing system of claim 5 wherein the
determination and setting of dialing rate is a repeatable and
repeated function of the dialing system, recalculation occurring
more often than once per second.
9. In a call center operation including an automated call dialer, a
method for setting the dialing rate comprising steps of: (a)
expressing overdial probability as a probability function of number
of agents and total traffic volume; (b) setting the probability
function from step (a) equal to a maximum allowable overdial
probability; and (c) solving the resulting equation in step (b) for
maximum total traffic volume producing the maximum overdial
probability; and (d) determining and setting a new dialing rate by
dividing the difference between the calculated maximum traffic
volume and known inbound traffic volume by the product of average
call length and hit rate, where hit rate is the percentage of
connected calls to total dialed outbound calls.
10. In a call center operation including an automated call dialer,
a method for setting the dialing rate comprising steps of: (a)
determining maximum total traffic volume by the product of number
of agents and a desired agent utilization factor; and (b)
determining and setting a new dialing rate by dividing the
difference between the calculated maximum traffic volume and known
inbound traffic volume by the product of average call length and
hit rate, where hit rate is the percentage of connected calls to
total dialed outbound calls.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention is in the field of telephony
communication and has particular application to methods including
software for blending incoming calls with out-bound calls that
result from an automated dial-out system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Telephone call processing and switching systems are, at the
time of the present patent application, relatively sophisticated,
computerized systems, and development and introduction of new
systems continues. Much information on the nature of such hardware
and software is available in a number of publications accessible to
the present inventors and to those with skill in the art in
general. For this reason, much minute detail of known systems is
not reproduced here, as to do so may obscure the facts of the
invention.
[0003] At the time of filing the present patent application there
continues to be remarkable growth in telephone-based information
systems. Recently emerging examples are telemarketing operations
and technical support operations, among many others, which have
grown apace with development and marketing of, for example,
sophisticated computer equipment. More traditional are systems for
serving customers of large insurance companies and the like. In
some cases organizations develop and maintain their own telephony
operations with purchased or leased equipment, and in many other
cases, companies are outsourcing such operations to firms that
specialize in such services.
[0004] A large technical support operation serves as a good example
in this specification of the kind of applications of telephone
equipment and functions to which the present invention pertains and
applies, and a technical support organization will be used from
time to time in the current specification for example purposes.
Such a technical support system, as well as other such systems,
typically has a country-wide or even world-wide matrix of call
centers for serving customer's needs. Such call center operations
are more and more a common practice to provide redundancy and
decentralization. However, the components of the present
specification can apply to a single call center as well.
[0005] In a call center, a relatively large number of agents handle
telephone communication with callers. Each agent is typically
assigned to a telephone connected to a central switch, which is in
turn connected to a public-switched telephone network (PSTN),
well-known in the art. The central switch may be one of several
types, such as Automatic Call Distributor (ACD), Private Branch
Exchange (PBX), or PSTN.
[0006] An organization having one or more call centers for serving
customers typically provides one or more telephone numbers to the
public or to their customer base, or both, that may be used to
reach the service. The number or numbers may be published on
product packaging, in advertisements, in user manuals, in
computerized help files, and the like. There are basically two
scenarios. If the organization providing the service has a single
call center, the number will be to the call center, and all further
routing to an agent will be at the call center. If there are
several call centers, the organization may provide several numbers,
one for each call center, and the customer may be expected to use
the number for the closest center, or for the center advertised to
provide specifically the service he or she might need. In some
cases the number provided will connect the caller with a first
Service Control Point (SCP) which is adapted to pre-process
incoming calls and forward the calls to other call centers.
[0007] Routing of calls, then, may be on several levels.
Pre-routing may be done at SCPs and further routine may be, and
almost always is, accomplished at individual call centers. As
described above, a call center typically involves a central switch,
which may be, for example, an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD),
Private Branch Exchange (PBX), or a public-switched telephone
network (PSTN) switch. The central switch is connected to the PSTN
network, well-known in the art. Agents, trained to handle customer
service, man telephones connected to the central switch. This
arrangement is known in the art as Customer Premises Equipment
(CPE).
[0008] If the call center consists of just a central switch and
connected telephone stations, the routing that can be done is very
limited. Switches, such as ACD, PBX, PSTN and the like, although
increasingly computerized, are limited in the range of computer
processes that may be performed. For this reason additional
computer capability in the art has been added for such central
switches by connecting computer servers adapted to run control
routines and to access databases. The processes of incorporating
computer enhancement to telephone switches is known in the art as
Computer Telephony Integration (CTI), and the hardware used is
referred to as CTI equipment.
[0009] In a CTI system telephone stations connected to the central
switch may be equipped also with computer terminals, so agents
manning such stations may have access to stored data as well as
being linked to incoming callers by a telephone connection. Such
stations may be interconnected in a network by any one of several
known network protocols, with one or more servers also connected to
the network one or more of which may also be connected to a
processor providing CTI enhancement, also connected to the central
switch of the call center. It is this processor that provides the
CTI enhancement for the call center.
[0010] When a call arrives at a call center, whether or no the call
has been pre-processed at a SCP, typically at least the telephone
number of the calling line is made available to the receiving
switch at the call center by a telephone carrier. This service is
available by most PSTNs as caller-ID information in one of several
formats. If the call center is computer-enhanced (CTI) the phone
number of the calling party may be used to access additional
information from a database at a server on the network that
connects the agent workstations. In this manner information
pertinent to a call may be provided to an agent.
[0011] Even with present levels of CTI there are still problems in
operating such call centers, or a system of such call centers.
There are waiting queues with which to contend, for example, and
long waits may be experienced by some callers, while other agents
may be available who could handle callers stuck in queues. Other
difficulties accrue, for example, when there are a number of call
backs due to missed orders or other problems that must be initiated
by agents who are trying to field incoming calls simultaneously.
Still other problems accrue due to known latency in conventional
equipment. There are many other problems, and it is well recognized
in the art, and by the general public who have accessed such call
centers, that there is much room for improvement in the entire
concept and operation of such call center systems. It is to these
problems, pertaining to efficient, effective, timely, and
cost-effective service to customers (patrons) and to better
management of agents working in call center systems that aspects
and embodiments of the present invention detailed below are
directed.
[0012] Typically, call centers are manned by agents connected by
telephone and trained to handle certain problems experienced by
customers such as questions regarding complicated installations of
software and so on. Another instance might be a large sales network
wherein the agent is trained to take customer orders and the like.
Generally, agents who are employed to operate in such a call center
work on site and must log-in and be counted present so that calls
can be routed to that particular agent.
[0013] In typical call center operations agents are primarily
engaged in handling incoming calls from persons seeking services
provided by the call center. This is not, however, the only task
agents handle. In many instances there is a need for agents to make
outgoing calls. An agent, for example, in interaction with a
calling party, may need to research some item of information, then
place a call back to the original caller. In other instances the
primary function of the call center may be agent-initiated calls
(sales, marketing for example). In any case, there are often
reasons for agents taking part in calls originated at the call
center, in addition to their other duties.
[0014] In the operation of call centers wherein calls are placed
from the call center, it is known in the art to make such calls by
an automatic dialing system, wherein a call answered by a client is
then transferred, hopefully quickly, to an available agent.
[0015] There are somewhat crude methods known in the art for
allocating time for agents to handle both incoming and outgoing
calls. For example, some conventional systems establish a rough
ratio of incoming to outbound calls by limiting the number of
outbound calls agents can make, by limiting the available number of
trunk lines available to agents for outbound calls. Very little has
been done in the art at the time of the present application,
however, to efficiently manage agent's activity in handling
outbound calls.
[0016] What is clearly needed is a method whereby outbound calls
can be made in automated fashion, transparent to the agent, and
when connected, can be distributed efficiently among available
agents, while providing call data quickly to agents to which
outbound calls are connected. Maximum efficiency can be achieved in
such a system by blending and distributing the calls among agents
in a group or groups of agents based on specific and tightly
controlled, tested protocols.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0017] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention a
telephony dialing system for use with a call center is provided,
comprising a list of telephone numbers to be dialed; a dialing rate
controller; and sensors adapted for monitoring activity of the call
center, including call volume, call characteristics, and agent
availability. The dialing rate controller sets dialing rate for the
dialing system based on one of a maximum allowed overdial
probability and a desired agent utilization factor.
[0018] In an embodiment based on a maximum allowed overdial
probability the dialing rate controller sets the dialing rate based
on the maximum allowed overdial probability by expressing overdial
probability as a function of number of agents and total traffic
volume, setting the probability function equal to the maximum
allowable overdial probability, solving the resulting equation for
maximum total traffic volume producing the maximum overdial
probability, and determining and setting a new dialing rate by
dividing the difference between the calculated maximum traffic
volume and known inbound traffic volume by the product of average
call length and hit rate, where hit rate is the percentage of
connected calls to total dialed outbound calls.
[0019] In an embodiment based on a desired agent utilization factor
the dialing rate controller determines maximum total traffic volume
by the product of number of agents and the desired agent
utilization factor, and then determining and setting a new dialing
rate by dividing the difference between the calculated maximum
traffic volume and known inbound traffic volume by the product of
average call length and hit rate, where hit rate is the percentage
of connected calls to total dialed outbound calls. In both methods
the determination and setting of dialing rate is a repeatable and
repeated function of the dialing system, recalculation occurring
more often than once per second, and in practical systems on the
order of milliseconds. Dialing systems according to the embodiments
of the invention described are adapted to call centers of various
architectures, typically through interfacing with CTI
applications.
[0020] In the methods of the present invention in various
embodiments call blending between inbound and outbound calls is
accomplished in a manner maximizing agent utilization and equipment
efficiency.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
[0021] FIG. 1 is a simplified overview of a call center enhanced
with call-blending hardware and software according to an embodiment
of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 2 is a step listing of a method for call blending
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 3 is a step listing for a method for call blending
according to an alternative embodiment of the present
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0024] FIG. 1 is a simplified overview of a call center 105
enhanced with call-blending hardware and software according to an
embodiment of the present invention. Central switch 101 may be a
PBX or ACD switch as shown in this instant embodiment, or may be
any other type of telephony switch known in the art and utilized as
a central switch in conjunction with a call center. It will be
apparent as well, that the present invention is not limited to a
call center architecture just as in the example shown in FIG. 1,
but may be applied as well to other arrangements of elements
wherein agents may be engaged with clients in handling calls. The
methods described below may be applied, for example, over multiple
call centers, distributed systems, and the like.
[0025] In the exemplary embodiment shown call center 105 (dotted
rectangle) includes a series of agent stations 114a through 114d.
Agent stations 114a through 114d each have a telephone (113a-113d)
connected to switch 105 via lines 119, and also each is equipped
with a computer platform having a video display unit (PC/VDU), and
each PC/VDU is connected to a local area network (LAN) through LAN
connection 117.
[0026] Also connected to network connection 117 is a processor 115
executing an instance of a computer-telephony integration (CTI)
application 121, known by the inventor as a T-Server. The T-Server
executing on processor 115 has several purposes associated with the
operation of call center 105. For example, the T-server may
exercise control over switching functions and the like in switch
101, and may also monitor events relative to the switch, such as
agent availability (phone busy or not busy). A file server 116 also
connected to the LAN may be used for various purposes, such as a
client data base for example, which may be accessed by the T-Server
for sending data to agents as screen-pops and the like.
[0027] In this embodiment, processor 115 is connected to an
outbound dialer 100 and is integrated or enhanced with
call-blending software according to an embodiment of the present
invention. The call-blending application forms a control interface
with outbound dialer 100 so that functions of the dialer can be
altered and controlled. There are a number of ways dialer 100 may
be implemented. The dialer may be executed on a separate processor
coupled to processor 115 as shown, or the dialer may be integrated
with the T-server application executing on processor 115, for
example. Processor 115 is connected to switch 101 by a CTI link
112, so outbound calls initiated by dialer 100 may be placed
through switch 101 by control of T-server 121.
[0028] Referring now back to FIG. 1, agents at agent stations 114a
through 114d will from time to time be required to make contact
with callers who have perhaps requested additional information that
wasn't available at the time of their original call. Perhaps the
reason for the required contact resulted from an incorrect
shipment, or failure to obtain necessary information with the
original call, etc. Conventionally, the agent would have to
manually dial the caller and initiate contact. There may be several
callers that need to be responded to requiring a significant amount
of the agents time as briefly described with reference to the
background section. The call-blending software of the present
invention, through it's integration with outbound dialer 100, is
designed to operate transparently to the agent automatically
dialing customer numbers and connecting them to a next available
agent in an appropriate and efficient manner.
[0029] There are a variety of reasons, as previously stated, why
outbound calls may need to be placed. There are similarly a variety
of methods by which dialer 100 may receive numbers for calls to be
dialed. In one instance, for example, agents at agent stations
114a-114d will have an interface for entering the numbers via
PC/VDU and LAN connection to the dialer or a database accessible to
the dialer. Regardless of how and why the numbers are entered, and
any priority or other requirements for placing such calls are also
entered, once these numbers and possible other criteria are
entered, outbound dialer 100 can initiate telephone contact with
customers such as customer 103 through central switch 101. Out
bound dialer 100 can be programmed through it's interface with the
call blending software of the present invention to initiate
telephone contacts only after a predetermined criteria is met. For
example, the criteria may contain a specification for dialing out
only when a detected level of incoming calls is below a target
number, or at specified time blocks requested by customers (i.e.
after 4.00 PM). Callers whose numbers have been sorted by a
particular time block could be stored in a separate dial-out queue
or list.
[0030] In this embodiment, outbound calls are initiated by dialer
100 and placed through switch 101 by control of T-Server 121
executing on processor 115. Once initiated, the actual call is
placed to a client such as client 103 over link 111 through PSTN
102. Outbound dialer 100 using techniques well-known in the art can
determine whether or not an established connection is with a live
person, a message machine, or a fax, and so on. In the event a
message machine is called, outbound dialer 100 could hang up and
re-queue the number for a later attempt, or perhaps leave a
recorded message of the attempted call.
[0031] In the event a live person answers the phone, routines in
the dialer or coupled to the dialer connect the call immediately
typically to the next available. Connections established by
outbound dialer 100 arrive at agent stations 114a through 114d in
much the same fashion as incoming calls accept that a screen pop
provided to the agent's PC/VDU identifies the connection as a call
back, or provides some other appropriate script.
[0032] While there are outbound dialers that are known to the
inventor and to those with skill in the art that can dial
preprogrammed numbers and establish a phone connection, there are
no known outbound dialers that are integrated with or generically
linked to a unique call-blending software such as the call-blending
software of the present invention. Further, the call-blending
software of the present invention provides unique and added
functionality to the outbound dialing process. For example,
established outbound connections can be distributed efficiently
among a group of agents eliminating possible overloading of some
agents and under-loading of others. With the aid of the
call-blending software of the present invention, outbound dialing
can be programmed to operate in accordance with a given set of
criteria so as to maximize call center efficiency.
[0033] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention,
preprogrammed criteria used to control the outbound dialing
function is allowed to change with the dialing rate changing
accordingly and without loosing automation. For example, if the
number of incoming calls to the call center becomes greater while
the number of working agents in a group stays the same then the
outbound dialer function will scale back accordingly by dialing
less frequently. As various variables in the equation change, the
call-blending software of the present invention will adjust the
dialing function accordingly. More detail describing the
call-blending software of the present invention in different
embodiments is provided in examples to follow.
[0034] One measure of the efficiency of outbound dialing is an
overdial rate. Overdial rate is the percentage of clients that have
been contacted by outbound dialer 100 of FIG. 1 wherein no agent
was available to answer the call. In a preferred embodiment of the
present invention, the ideal goal is to drive the overdial rate
toward zero. FIG. 2 is a step listing for a method of practicing
the present invention according to overdial rate. Because a call
center will experience wide fluctuation in call volume, and number
of agents available at any one time to answer calls, control
routines in various embodiments of the present invention must be
flexible, therefore values that dictate how outbound dialer 100 of
FIG. 1 will respond will preferably be continually recalculated. In
particular, because dialer 100 is coupled to processor 115, and
processor 115 monitors all activity of switch 101, the dialer can
access current values of variables associated with calls, call
volume, call duration and the like. Definitions of variables and
associated acronyms are listed under Definitions in FIG. 2. In a
preferred embodiment Poisson distribution is used to recalculate
average call length E(ts), call arrival intensity E(n), inbound
traffic T.sub.inb, hit rate (HR), and the like at very frequent
intervals. In practicing the invention, because of rapid (high
frequency) operation of computer systems and the relatively short
sequence of calculations required to determine dialing rate, the
system recalculates at a high frequency, such as in a few
milliseconds. In practice, a much slower recalculation, such as on
the order of once per second could be used.
[0035] A desirable goal in the overdial method of managing outbound
calls by dialer 100 would be to minimize overdial rate as much as
possible, while at the same time maximizing usage of available
agents to connect to answered calls. Management is accomplished by
varying the dialing rate (DR), measured in calls dialed per minute,
for example. As a practical matter, however, if no calls are made
at all (DR=0), the overdial rate will be zero. As the dialing rate
increases, the overdial rate will remain near zero until a
threshold is reached at which the overdial rate begins to increase
significantly. The method is driven, then, by assuming an allowable
maximum (low) overdial rate.
[0036] In the overdial method some assumptions are made, as briefly
mentioned above. One is that calls arrive according to a Poisson
arrival pattern with intensity E(n) calls/hour. Another is that the
call time length has Poisson distribution with the average of
E(t.sub.s). As described above, these values are determined by
sampling and calculation according to known Poisson distribution
methods, and recalculated each time a new determination of dialing
rate is made.
[0037] The overdial method can be divided essentially into three
steps. In Step 1 it is shown that the probability of having an
overdialed call for a group of M agents if M is zero, is 1. The
probability of an overdialed call for M>0 is a function of the
recursive formula shown in Step 1 of FIG. 2 as a function of
traffic volume and the number of agents in the group.
[0038] As a second step, the probability function shown in step 1
is set equal to the maximum allowed overdial rate, and the
resulting equation is solved for maximum traffic volume, T.sub.max.
As a third and final step, the calculated value for T.sub.max from
step 2 is used to calculate a new dialing rate according to the
formula shown in FIG. 2 as step 3.
[0039] Again, because the values of M, T, and so forth change
dramatically with time, the dialing rate to achieve the goal has to
be recalculated repeatedly, and the values of many of the
statistical variables have to be recalculated frequently as well,
and this is done in practicing the method, although the frequency
of recalculation can vary widely. FIG. 3 is a step listing for a
second control method for controlling dialing rate for dialer 100
to achieve efficiency in utilization of agents, according to an
embodiment of the present invention. In this method a Busy Factor
goal is used. The Busy Factor value is the ratio of the useful time
to the total time that an agent has spent in the system. The Busy
Factor in this embodiment is synonymous with the term agent
utilization. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention the
ideal goal for the agent's utilization will be 100 percent. For
example, after the agent has logged on to the system, he will
ideally be kept busy either answering incoming and/or interfacing
with outbound calls 100 percent of the time.
[0040] Because a call center has many fluctuations in call volume,
number of agents available at any one time to answer calls, and in
other variables as described above with reference to FIG. 2, the
control routines must be. Therefore values that dictate how
outbound dialer 100 of FIG. 1 will respond must be continually
recalculated using a "sliding window" algorithm, as also described
with reference to FIG. 2 above. Definitions and their associated
acronyms are listed under Definitions in the embodiment of FIG.
3.
[0041] It is assumed here as described above with reference to FIG.
2, that calls arriving into the call center and calls that are
being distributed to agents have a Poisson pattern well known in
the art. For example, calls arriving have a Poisson arrival pattern
with the intensity of E(n) calls/Hour. The length of the call has a
Poisson distribution with the average of E(t.sub.s). These values
are recalculated frequently based on empirical monitoring of call
center characteristics.
[0042] Referring now to FIG. 3, in Step 1, the value of the maximum
volume of traffic T.sub.max that a group of agents can handle for a
given number of agents and the required agent utilization is
calculated according to the formula shown, as the number of agents
in the group times a required agent utilization factor. The next
step is similar to the first method described above; that is, the
required dialing rate is determined for dialer 100 as a function of
the calculated value of T.sub.max.
[0043] In the embodiment of FIG. 3, steps 1 and 2 are continuously
repeated during the call-blending process for reasons similar to
the embodiment of FIG. 1, along with statistical values for
variables required in the calculations.
[0044] It will be apparent to one with skill in the art that the
call-blending methods of the present invention may be utilized in
various outbound calling schemes without departing from the spirit
and scope of the present invention. For example, the call-blending
software could be utilized to make cold-calls to customers and
distribute connected customers to next available sales agents. In
another embodiment, outbound numbers could be sorted by different
criteria and entered in outbound calling lists wherein the outbound
dialer would dial the numbers according to the established
protocol. For example, calling certain lists of numbers within a
certain applied time window may be programmed into the
call-blending software and interfaced with the outbound dialer and
so on.
[0045] As an automated software application, the call-blending
software of the present invention could be programmed to stop when
a predetermined level of inbound traffic is detected, or at certain
times of the day when there may be fewer agents available to answer
the calls, such as at lunch time or around closing time. It will be
apparent to one with skill in the art that a vast number of varied
configurations are possible within the spirit and scope of the
invention.
[0046] It will further be apparent to those with skill in the art
that the call-blending software could be tailored and utilized for
different groups operating within the same call-center and
connected to the same customer information system (CIS) without
departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For
example, one group of agents may be responsible for
customer-requested call backs whereas another group of agents may
be engaged in handling cold calls, etc. In this embodiment
addressing techniques well known in the art could be employed to
route the outbound calls to the appropriate group of agents charged
with the responsibility for those particular outbound calls. There
are many other embodiments that are possible, many of which have
already been described. The spirit and scope of the present
invention is limited only by the claims that follow.
* * * * *