U.S. patent application number 13/540906 was filed with the patent office on 2012-11-01 for dynamic work assignment strategies based on multiple aspects of agent proficiency.
This patent application is currently assigned to AVAYA INC.. Invention is credited to Andrew D. Flockhart, Robert C. Steiner.
Application Number | 20120278136 13/540906 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46547680 |
Filed Date | 2012-11-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120278136 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Flockhart; Andrew D. ; et
al. |
November 1, 2012 |
DYNAMIC WORK ASSIGNMENT STRATEGIES BASED ON MULTIPLE ASPECTS OF
AGENT PROFICIENCY
Abstract
A contact center having a plurality of performance goals is
provided. The contact center includes a routing agent operable,
when a work item is to be routed to a servicing destination,
determine, for each performance goal, a status of goal realization
and a corresponding set of selection criteria for the determined
statuses of goal realization and a destination selector operable to
select the servicing destination based, at least in part, on the
set of selection criteria.
Inventors: |
Flockhart; Andrew D.;
(Thornton, CO) ; Steiner; Robert C.; (Broomfield,
CO) |
Assignee: |
AVAYA INC.
Basking Ridge
NJ
|
Family ID: |
46547680 |
Appl. No.: |
13/540906 |
Filed: |
July 3, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11064367 |
Feb 22, 2005 |
8234141 |
|
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13540906 |
|
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60613994 |
Sep 27, 2004 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/7.38 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 2201/18 20130101;
G06Q 10/063112 20130101; H04M 3/5233 20130101; G06Q 10/06311
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/7.38 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 10/06 20120101
G06Q010/06 |
Claims
1. A goal satisfaction table, comprising: (a) a plurality of goals,
each goal having at least two corresponding goal statuses, to
provide a plurality of sets of goal statuses for the plurality of
goals; and (b) a set of at least one of (i) qualifiers and (ii)
agent proficiency aspects corresponding to each of the plurality of
sets of goal statuses.
2. The table of claim 1, wherein the at least one of (i) qualifiers
and (ii)agent proficiency aspects is the qualifiers.
3. The table of claim 1, wherein the at least one of (i) qualifiers
and (ii) agent proficiency aspects is the agent proficiency
aspects.
4. The table of claim 1, wherein plurality of sets of goal statuses
differ from one another and the sets of at least one of (i)
qualifiers and (ii) agent proficiency aspects differ from one
another.
5. A method for servicing work items in a contact center, the
contact center having a plurality of performance goals, comprising:
selecting a multi-skilled agent for servicing one of a plurality of
different types of queued work items; determining, for each
performance goal, a status of goal realization; selecting one of
the agent's skills based, at least in part, on the statuses of the
performance goals; and selecting, based on the selected skill, one
of the plurality of different types of queued work items for
servicing by the multi-skilled agent.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the performance goals comprise a
plurality of a maximum wait time in a work item queue, minimum
agent staffing level in an agent queue, minimum revenue realized
per serviced work item, a minimum customer satisfaction level,
maximum time for an agent to a work item, and a minimum number of
contacts to be serviced by a set of agents during a selected time
period.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein the status of realization of a
goal is whether or not the respective goal is met during a selected
time period and/or over a selected number of transactions.
8. The method of claim 5, wherein the status of realization of a
goal is a measured service level for the respective goal during a
selected time period and/or over a selected number of transactions.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 11/064,367, filed Feb. 22, 2005, which claims the benefit
of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/613,994, filed
Sep. 27, 2004, the entire disclosures of which are hereby
incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is directed generally to servicing a
contactor in a contact center and specifically to allocating work
items among contact center resources.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Contact centers, such as Automatic Call Distribution or ACD
systems, are employed by many enterprises to service customer
contacts. A typical contact center includes a switch and/or server
to receive and route incoming packet-switched and/or
circuit-switched contacts and one or more resources, such as human
agents and automated resources (e.g., Interactive Voice Response
(IVR) units), to service the incoming contacts. Contact centers
distribute contacts, whether inbound or outbound, for servicing to
any suitable resource according to predefined criteria. In many
existing systems, the criteria for servicing the contact from the
moment that the contact center becomes aware of the contact until
the contact is connected to an agent are customer-specifiable
(i.e., programmable by the operator of the contact center), via a
capability called vectoring. Normally in present-day ACDs when the
ACD system's controller detects that an agent has become available
to handle a contact, the controller identifies all predefined
contact-handling skills of the agent (usually in some order of
priority) and delivers to the agent the highest-priority oldest
contact that matches the agent's highest-priority skill. Agents
with a higher skill are normally preferred over agents with lower
skill levels when assigning an agent to a contact. When agents have
multiple skills, the controller is more likely to select a contact
for which the agent has a high skill level over a contact for which
the agent has a lesser skill level. Generally, the only condition
that results in a contact not being delivered to an available agent
is that there are no contacts waiting to be handled.
[0004] Contact-distribution algorithms ultimately seek to maximize
contact center performance and profitability. That may involve
minimizing cost, maximizing contact throughput, and/or maximizing
revenue, among others. Skills-based routing, which allows each
agent to be slotted into a number of agent groups based on the
agent's skill types and levels, is an attempt to maximize contact
center performance and profitability. Skills-based routing systems
have been further modified by introducing, as criterion in
assigning work items to available agents, the service level
associated with each work item. Service level refers to the
proportion of work item transactions meeting specified objectives
or goals. Service level is typically measured over some period of
time or over some number of transactions. Examples of service
levels are the percentage of customer problems resolved without
further activity (one-and-done), the proportion of telephone calls
handled by a qualified representative without requiring a transfer
or referral to another agent, the proportion of telephone calls
that can be connected to a server without delay, the proportion of
email requests that are answered within 24 hours, the proportion of
transactions handled not resulting in a customer complaint, the
proportion of preferred customer calls handled by fully qualified
agents, the percentage of Spanish customers handled by an agent
fluent in Spanish, the percentage of telephone calls not abandoned
by the customer before connection to an agent, the percentage of
customer inquiry telephone calls that are not blocked at the
central office switch, the percentage of customer sessions with the
self-service World Wide Web pages that are not aborted while
waiting for a display, the percentage of customer requests via
telephone that can be completed immediately while on the phone, and
the percentage of priority telephone calls answered within 8
seconds and handled properly by a qualified server, to name but a
few.
[0005] A contact center's goal for a service level is a particular
desired value of the service level. The goal is said to be
satisfied or attained if the attained or measured service level is
at least as high as the desired service level for the goal.
Conversely, the goal is said to be not satisfied or unattained if
the realized service level is less than the desired service level.
For example, the goal of at least 85% of telephone calls from
preferred customers each day being answered within 12 seconds would
be attained if, among the telephone calls from preferred customers
during the current day, 87% were answered within 12 seconds;
inversely, if only 84% of such calls are answered within 12
seconds, the goal would be unattained.
[0006] In existing skills-based contact routing algorithms using
service levels as part of the work item routing determination, the
skill level is normally a simple integer assigned to each skill
that the agent can perform and is a composite of all of the various
and numerous aspects of agent proficiency or expertise. One example
of such a contact routing algorithm is described in U.S. Pat. No.
6,173,053 ("the '053 patent"). The algorithm described in the '053
patent uses agent profiles to identify a best agent to service an
incoming contact. Each agent has a service profile for each contact
type or skill that they handle. As will be appreciated, a "contact
type" is determined by segmentation using suitable criteria, such
as language, intent, geography, channel, and the like. A service
profile includes present values of a number of service metrics,
such as agent proficiency, profitability, customer satisfaction,
and agent satisfaction. When a contact of a particular type is
available for servicing, the present values of the service metrics
of the service profile of each agent who is available to handle the
contact are combined into a score according to one of a number of
formulas, which correspond to that contact type, and the agent with
the best score is assigned to the contact. When the assigned agent
finishes handling the contact, his or her performance is evaluated
based on the service metrics, and the valuations are used to revise
the present values of the service metrics of that agent's service
profile. The revision process gives more weight to valuations of
more-recently-handled contacts to reflect both long-term and
short-term agent performance trends and variations.
[0007] These contact allocation algorithms can have drawbacks. By
focusing solely on a composite score they ignore other aspects of
agent proficiency. Such aspects include agent effectiveness, speed,
efficiency, experience, cross-sell ability, and the like. They also
fail to consider the interplay between contact center goals and
aspects of agent proficiency. When different sets of goals are
unmet in the contact center, it may advantageous to focus on
different aspects of agent proficiency to address the unmet goal
sets. By way of illustration, when there is limited work and a
surplus of available agents the optimal strategy may be to focus on
the agent aspect of effectiveness and assign what work there is to
the most effective agents. When work queues are excessively long,
the optimal strategy may be to focus on the agent aspect of speed
and assign work to the fastest agents.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] These and other needs are addressed by the various
embodiments and configurations of the present invention. The
present invention is directed generally to a resource allocation
system and method that dynamically and automatically applies
different work item destination routing algorithms under different
contact center conditions.
[0009] In a first embodiment, a method for servicing work items in
a contact center is provided. The contact center has a number (or
set) of performance goals. Exemplary contact center objectives or
goals include, in addition to the goal examples noted above, a
maximum wait time in a work item queue, minimum agent staffing
level in an agent queue, minimum revenue realized per serviced work
item, a minimum customer satisfaction level, maximum time for an
agent to a work item, a minimum number of contacts to be serviced
by a set of agents during a selected time period, and/or a
specified degree of compliance therewith. The steps of the method
include:
[0010] (a) selecting a work item for routing to a servicing
destination;
[0011] (b) determining, for each performance goal, a status of goal
realization; and
[0012] (c) selecting the servicing destination based, at least in
part, on the statuses of the performance goals. Differing sets of
goal statuses commonly result in differing sets of servicing
destination selection criteria and/or different work item routing
algorithms.
[0013] The work item can be any item of work for a contact center
resource, such as a human or robotic agent. Typically, a work item
is a contact, such as a voice call, an email, a facsimile, a voice
message, an instant message, and Web chat.
[0014] The servicing destination can be a contact center resource,
such as a human agent, an automated attendant, an Interactive Voice
Recognition unit or IVR, and a class of service, such as a work
item queue.
[0015] The status of goal realization can take many different
forms. The status can be based on a simple binary system; that is,
the goal is either attained or not attained based on the service
level measured for the goal. The status can be based on meeting
various selected service levels for a corresponding goal and/or
levels of compliance with the goal. For example, the goal is
satisfied for only Y % of contacts, is X % out of compliance, and
the like. The status can be a combination of the foregoing.
[0016] When the servicing destination is an agent, the agent
selection criterion is one or more aspects of agent proficiency.
Exemplary aspects of agent proficiency include agent effectiveness,
revenue generating proficiency, customer satisfaction level, speed,
efficiency, experience, cross-sell ability, personal satisfaction,
proficiency at closing the sale, and occupancy.
[0017] When the servicing destination is a class of service or work
item queue, the selection criterion is typically one or more
qualifiers.
[0018] In one configuration, a goal satisfaction table is
maintained to facilitate determination of the appropriate selection
criteria. The goal satisfaction table maps the differing sets of
outcomes for the various goals against the desired selection
criteria.
[0019] The present invention can have a number of advantages
relative to the prior art. For example, the present invention does
not use a composite score and thereby ignore other aspects of agent
proficiency. It can dynamically consider the various agent
proficiency aspects based on the conditions of the contact center
to achieve the best results under the current conditions. By using
different selection criteria or selection algorithms for different
sets of goal statuses, the present invention can dynamically
consider the complex interplay between, often conflicting, contact
center goals, such as revenue generation and customer satisfaction.
As will be appreciated, the priorities of the goals typically vary
depending on the contact center state.
[0020] These and other advantages will be apparent from the
disclosure of the invention(s) contained herein.
[0021] The above-described embodiments and configurations are
neither complete nor exhaustive. As will be appreciated, other
embodiments of the invention are possible utilizing, alone or in
combination, one or more of the features set forth above or
described in detail below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting a contact center
according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a server according to an
embodiment of the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 3 is a goal satisfaction table mapping goal status
against desired agent proficiency aspect for an embodiment of the
present invention;
[0025] FIG. 4 is a flow chart depicting an operational embodiment
of the routing agent according to an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0026] FIG. 5 is a goal satisfaction table mapping goal status
against desired agent proficiency aspect for another embodiment of
the present invention;
[0027] FIG. 6 is a flow chart depicting an operational embodiment
of the routing agent according to yet another embodiment of the
present invention;
[0028] FIG. 7 is a flow chart depicting an operational embodiment
of the routing agent and agent in contact selector according to an
embodiment of the present invention; and
[0029] FIG. 8 is a goal satisfaction table mapping agent skill
against goal status for an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0030] The invention will be illustrated below in conjunction with
an exemplary communication system. Although well suited for use
with, e.g., a system having an ACD or other similar contact
processing switch, the invention is not limited to use with any
particular type of communication system switch or configuration of
system elements. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the
disclosed techniques may be used in any communication application
in which it is desirable to provide improved contact
processing.
[0031] FIG. 1 shows an illustrative embodiment of the present
invention. A contact center 100 comprises a central server 110, a
set of data stores or databases 114 containing contact or customer
related information and other information that can enhance the
value and efficiency of the contact, and a plurality of servers,
namely a voice mail server 118, an Interactive Voice Response unit
or IVR 122, and other servers 126, a switch 130, a plurality of
working agents (not shown) operating packet-switched (first)
telecommunication devices 134-1 to N (such as computer work
stations or personal computers), and/or circuit-switched (second)
telecommunication devices 138-1 to M, all interconnected by a local
area network LAN (or wide area network WAN) 142. The servers can be
connected via optional communication lines 146 to the switch 130.
As will be appreciated, the other servers 126 can also include a
scanner (which is normally not connected to the switch 130 or Web
server), VoIP software, video contact software, voice messaging
software, an IP voice server, a fax server, a web server, and an
email server) and the like. The switch 130 is connected via a
plurality of trunks 150 to the Public Switch Telecommunication
Network or PSTN 154 and via link(s) 152 to the second
telecommunication devices 138-1 to M. A gateway 158 is positioned
between the server 110 and the packet-switched network 162 to
process communications passing between the server 110 and the
network 162.
[0032] The term "switch" or "server" as used herein should be
understood to include a PBX, an ACD, an enterprise switch, an
enterprise server, or other type of telecommunications system
switch or server, as well as other types of processor-based
communication control devices such as media servers, computers,
adjuncts, etc.
[0033] Referring to FIG. 2, one possible configuration of the
server 110 is depicted. The server 110 is in communication with a
plurality of customer communication lines 200a-y (which can be one
or more trunks, phone lines, etc.) and agent communication line 204
(which can be a voice-and-data transmission line such as LAN 142
and/or a circuit switched voice line 140). The server 110 can
include Avaya Inc.'s an Operational Analyst.TM. with On-Line
Analytical Processing or OLAP technology or a Call Management
System or CMS 228 that gathers contact records and contact-center
statistics for use in generating contact-center reports. OA and CMS
will hereinafter be referred to jointly as CMS 228.
[0034] The switch 130 and/or server 110 can be any architecture for
directing contacts to one or more telecommunication devices.
Illustratively, the switch and/or server can be a modified form of
the subscriber-premises equipment disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.
6,192,122; 6,173,053; 6,163,607; 5,982,873; 5,905,793; 5,828,747;
and 5,206,903, all of which are incorporated herein by this
reference; Avaya Inc.'s Definity.TM. Private-Branch Exchange
(PBX)-based ACD system; MultiVantage.TM. PBX, CRM Central 2000
Server.TM., Communication Manager.TM., S8300.TM., IP600.TM. or
S8700.TM. media server, and/or Avaya Interaction Center.TM..
Typically, the switch/server is a stored-program-controlled system
that conventionally includes interfaces to external communication
links, a communications switching fabric, service circuits (e.g.,
tone generators, announcement circuits, etc.), memory for storing
control programs and data, and a processor (i.e., a computer) for
executing the stored control programs to control the interfaces and
the fabric and to provide automatic contact-distribution
functionality. The switch and/or server typically include a network
interface card (not shown) to provide services to the serviced
telecommunication devices. Other types of known switches and
servers are well known in the art and therefore not described in
detail herein.
[0035] Referring to FIG. 2, included among the data stored in the
server 110 is a set of work item queues 208a-n and a separate set
of agent queues 212a-n. Each work item queue 208a-n corresponds to
a different set of agent skills, as does each agent queue 212a-n.
Conventionally, work items are prioritized and either are enqueued
in individual ones of the work item queues 208a-n in their order of
priority or are enqueued in different ones of a plurality of work
item queues that correspond to a different priority. Likewise, each
agent's skills are prioritized according to his or her level of
expertise in that skill, and either agents are enqueued in
individual ones of agent queues 212a-n in their order of expertise
level or are enqueued in different ones of a plurality of agent
queues 212a-n that correspond to a skill and each one of which
corresponds to a different expertise level. Included among the
control programs in the server 110 is a work item vector 216.
Contacts incoming to the contact center are assigned by work item
vector 216 to different work item queues 208a-n based upon a number
of predetermined criteria, including customer identity, customer
needs, contact center needs, current work item center queue
lengths, customer value, and the agent skill that is required for
the proper handling of the contact. Agents who are available for
handling contacts are assigned to agent queues 212a-n based upon
the skills that they possess. An agent may have multiple skills,
and hence may be assigned to multiple agent queues 212a-n
simultaneously. Furthermore, an agent may have different levels of
skill expertise (e.g., skill levels 1-N in one configuration or
merely primary skills and secondary skills in another
configuration), and hence may be assigned to different agent queues
212a-n at different expertise levels. Call vectoring, one type of
work item routing, is described in DEFINITY Communications System
Generic 3 Call Vectoring/Expert Agent Selection (EAS) Guide,
AT&T publication no. 555-230-520 (Issue 3, Nov. 1993).
Skills-based ACD is described in further detail in U.S. Pat. Nos.
6,173,053 and 5,206,903.
[0036] Referring to FIG. 1, the gateway 158 can be Avaya Inc.'s,
G700.TM., G600.TM., or MCC/SCC.TM. media gateway and may be
implemented as hardware such as via an adjunct processor (as shown)
or as a chip in the server. The first telecommunication devices
134-1, . . . 134-N are packet-switched and can include, for
example, IP hardphones such as the Avaya Inc.'s, 4600 Series IP
Phones.TM., IP softphones such as Avaya Inc.'s, IP Softphone.TM.,
Personal Digital Assistants or PDAs, Personal Computers or PCs,
laptops, packet-based H.320 video phones and conferencing units,
packet-based voice messaging and response units, and packet-based
traditional computer telephony adjuncts.
[0037] The second telecommunication devices 138-1, . . . 138-M are
circuit-switched. Each of the telecommunication devices 138-1, . .
. 138-M corresponds to one of a set of internal extensions Ext1, .
. . ExtM, respectively. These extensions are referred to herein as
"internal" in that they are extensions within the premises that are
directly serviced by the switch. More particularly, these
extensions correspond to conventional telecommunication device
endpoints serviced by the switch/server, and the switch/server can
direct incoming contacts to and receive outgoing contacts from
these extensions in a conventional manner. The second
telecommunication devices can include, for example, wired and
wireless telephones, PDAs, H.320 video phones and conferencing
units, voice messaging and response units, and traditional computer
telephony adjuncts.
[0038] It should be noted that the invention does not require any
particular type of information transport medium between switch or
server and first and second telecommunication devices, i.e., the
invention may be implemented with any desired type of transport
medium as well as combinations of different types of transport
medium.
[0039] The packet-switched network 162 can be any data and/or
distributed processing network, such as the Internet. The network
162 typically includes proxies (not shown), registrars (not shown),
and routers (not shown) for managing packet flows.
[0040] The packet-switched network 162 is in communication with an
external first telecommunication device 174 via a gateway 178, and
the circuit-switched network 154 with an external second
telecommunication device 180. These telecommunication devices are
referred to as "external" in that they are not directly supported
as telecommunication device endpoints by the switch or server. The
telecommunication devices 174 and 180 are an example of devices
more generally referred to herein as "external endpoints."
[0041] In a preferred configuration, the server 110, network 162,
and first telecommunication devices 134 are Session Initiation
Protocol or SIP compatible and can include interfaces for various
other protocols such as the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
or LDAP, H.248, H.323, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol or SMTP,
IMAP4, ISDN, El/T1, and analog line or trunk.
[0042] It should be emphasized that the configuration of the
switch, server, user telecommunication devices, and other elements
as shown in FIG. 1 is for purposes of illustration only and should
not be construed as limiting the invention to any particular
arrangement of elements.
[0043] As will be appreciated, the central server 110 is notified
via LAN 142 of an incoming contact by the telecommunications
component (e.g., switch 130, fax server, email server, web server,
and/or other server) receiving the incoming contact. The incoming
contact is held by the receiving telecommunications component until
the server 110 forwards instructions to the component to forward or
route the contact to a specific contact center resource, such as
the IVR unit 122, the voice mail server 118, and/or first or second
telecommunication device 134, 138 associated with a selected agent.
The server 110 distributes and connects these contacts to
telecommunication devices of available agents based on the
predetermined criteria noted above. When the central server 110
forwards a voice contact (or first work item) to an agent, the
central server 110 also forwards customer-related information from
databases 114 to the agent's computer work station for viewing
(such as by a pop-up display) to permit the agent to better serve
the customer. Depending on the contact center configuration, the
central server may forward a list of work items to an available
agent to preview before forwarding the contact itself and the data
associated therewith to the agent. The agents process the contacts
or work items sent to them by the central server 110. This
embodiment is particularly suited for a Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) environment in which customers are permitted to
use any media to contact a business. In a CRM environment, both
real-time and non-real-time contacts must be handled and
distributed with equal efficiency and effectiveness.
[0044] According to the invention, included among the programs
executing on the server 110 are an agent and work item selector 220
and routing agent 232. The selector 220 and routing agent 232 are
stored either in the main memory or in a peripheral memory (e.g.,
disk, CD ROM, etc.) or some other computer-readable medium of the
center 100. The selector 220 and agent 232 collectively effect an
assignment between available contacts and available agents in a way
that tends to maximize contact center efficiency for the current
contact center state. The selector 220 uses predefined criteria in
selecting an appropriate agent to service the contact. The routing
agent 232 assists the work item vector 216 in routing the contacts
to the appropriate queue 208 and/or the selector 220 in routing a
contact to a most desirable agent in the queue 212. The routing
agent 232, in particular, obtains, for each of a plurality of
contact center goals or objectives, status information, or
information respecting whether or not a corresponding goal is being
met or unmet and/or a level to which the corresponding goal is
being met or unmet. For example, exemplary goal levels can be
expressed as actual, average or median wait times in each queue
208, actual, average, or median agent staffing levels in each queue
212, actual, average, or median revenue (whether gross or net)
realized by a designated set of agents (such as the agents in an
agent skill queue) per serviced contact, a customer satisfaction
level for a set of designated agents determined during or after
servicing of each customer's contact, actual, average, or median
time for the agents in a set of designated agents to service
contacts, and number of contacts to be serviced by a set of
designated agents during a selected time period. This information,
along with other statistics is typically gathered by the CMS
228.
[0045] The agent and customer profiles are typically maintained and
updated by a profile generator (not shown). Upon the completion of
handling a contact, the generator collects selected metrics for the
contact. These metrics include the skill involved in servicing the
contact, the identifier of the servicing agent, the contact
duration, the transaction or contact type (e.g., catalog sale,
information request, complaint, etc.), the time-of-day, the result
(e.g., the type of sale, the number of units sold, revenue
generated, service ticket closure or escalation, the information
provided, etc.), a self-rating of the servicing agent respecting
the agent's proficiency in handling the contact, the rating of the
customer of the agent's proficiency in handling the contact, the
rating of another party, such as the agent's supervisor or another
observer, of how the contact was serviced, whether the agent
requested assistance, and whether the agent's training was
completed, and stores the information in the database 114, such as
CMS 228. The metrics over a selected period of time are typically
stored under each agent's profile. Each agent profile typically
includes metrics associated with a plurality of contacts serviced
by the agent for each agent skill, and each customer profile
includes metrics associated with a plurality of contacts by the
customer.
[0046] The metrics typically relate to a broad variety of agent
proficiency aspects, which can vary by agent skill type (or work
item type) for multi-skilled agents. Exemplary proficiency aspects
include agent effectiveness (e.g., X % of contacts serviced by
agent have a favorable outcome for the customer and/or contact
center), agent revenue generating proficiency (e.g., $Y generated
by the agent per serviced contact), agent customer satisfaction
level (e.g., Z % of contacts serviced by agent received a
satisfactory customer satisfaction level rating), the agent speed
(e.g., average contact service time for agent is W minutes/contact,
U % of contacts are serviced within V minutes), agent efficiency
(e.g., T % of contacts serviced by agent are one-and-done),
experience (e.g., number of months/years agent has serviced
contacts), ability to cross-sell (e.g., S % of contacts serviced by
agent result in additional revenue due to cross-selling), personal
agent satisfaction (e.g., the agent most prefers serving work items
of skill X rather than work items of skill Y), and occupancy (e.g.,
select the agent who has worked less over a specified period to
service a work item). Although only one exemplary metric has been
provided for each proficiency aspect, it is to be understood that
each aspect can be a composite of multiple different metrics. For
example, the effectiveness of an agent can be a function of the
percent of contacts having a successful outcome, the average value
realized for each contact, and the average customer feedback score.
Stated another way, it is possible for one proficiency aspect to be
a function, at least in part, of another proficiency aspect.
[0047] The agent 232 dynamically and automatically provides the
most relevant proficiency aspect (or metric) to the selector 220 as
conditions change within the contact center. As used herein, a
"condition" in a contact center is defined as the realization
status of a goal and/or the level of satisfaction or
dissatisfaction of a goal. In connection with this function, the
contact center maintains one or more goal satisfaction tables
mapping the goal status against the desired set of agent
proficiency aspects to be employed in work item routing. As will be
appreciated, many goals are inconsistent or conflicting, and the
tables permit the agent 232 to select routing criteria and/or
algorithm that addresses a particular goal or set of goals
considered most important in view of the particular facts
surrounding the performance of the contact center at the time of
agent selection.
[0048] FIG. 3 is an example of goal satisfaction table 300. The
horizontal axis 304 provides the status of a selected goal while
the vertical axis 308 provides the suitable agent proficiency
metric for a unique set of contact center conditions. For example,
the first agent proficiency aspect is to be used in work item
routing when each of the first, second, . . . Nth goals are met.
The second agent proficiency aspect is to be used in work item
routing when each of the first and second goals have been met but
the Nth goal is unmet. The Mth agent proficiency aspect is to be
used in work item routing when each of the first, second, . . . Nth
goals are unmet. Stated more simply, when there is a shortage of
work the agent 232 could select the available agent having the
highest metric for agent effectiveness. When there is surplus of
work the agent 232 could select the contact for servicing by the
available agent that requires the agent skill having the highest
metric for agent efficiency. Although the table 300 is depicted as
being two-dimensional, one of ordinary skill in the art will
readily appreciate that it can have more than two dimensions,
depending on the application. As will be further appreciated, the
table is not required to be binary. It can reflect the varying
degrees to which a selected goal is being met or not being met
(i.e., the first goal has a status of being only X % satisfied)
and/or the trend or rate at which the goal is changing (i.e., the
first or second mathematical derivative of the function describing
the time variation in the goal). As will be further appreciated,
not only can there be a different goal satisfaction table for a
grouping of agents depending on the time-of-day or day-of-week
(e.g., the agent queue 212a has a first goal satisfaction table for
the business week and a second goal satisfaction table for the
weekend to reflect changes in customer expectations/behavior) but
also each agent queue 212, or enterprise department or business
segment, can have a different goal satisfaction table (e.g., a
sales department versus a service or customer help department).
[0049] The term "stored list" or "table" should be understood to
include any ordered set of information or data stored in memory or
other storage device accessible to the switch and/or server. The
invention does not require that the information be stored in any
particular length or format, e.g., a tabular format, a closed- or
open-set, and numerous suitable storage formats will be readily
apparent to those skilled in the art.
[0050] The selector 220 selects a suitable agent to service a work
item at the head of a queue 208 based, at least in part, on the
controlling agent proficiency aspect (or set of proficiency
aspects) received from the agent 232. For example, when several
agents are currently available or will be available within a
selected period of time to service the work item the selector 220
selects the agent from among the group that has the highest metric
score for the controlling agent proficiency aspect (or the highest
metric scores for the set of proficiency aspects). In another
example, when two work items are at the head of different queues
208 and an agent that is currently available or will be available
within a selected period of time is in each of the two agent queues
212 servicing the respective work item queues 208 (or the agent is
multi-skilled and is therefore in the two relevant agent queues
212), the work item routed to the agent is the work item that
requires the agent proficiency aspect for which the agent has the
highest metric or score.
[0051] The collective operation of the agent 232 and selector 220
will now be described with reference to FIG. 4.
[0052] In step 400, a contact arrives at the head of a work item
queue 208 having skill X.
[0053] In step 404, the agent 232 determines the status of the
various contact center goals. Typically, the agent 232 obtains this
information from CMS 228.
[0054] In step 408, the agent 232 maps the statuses of the various
goals to the goal satisfaction table 300 to select a pertinent
controlling agent proficiency aspect or set of controlling agent
proficiency aspects. "Mapping" refers broadly to include any
technique for determining if a given set of contact center goal
statuses has a corresponding entry on a stored list. The agent 232
then provides the set of aspects to the selector 220.
[0055] In step 412, the selector 220 retrieves the profile(s) 416
of each currently available agent in the skill X agent queue 212
servicing the skill X work item queue 208. The profile(s) are
typically obtained from the database 114.
[0056] In step 420, the selector 220, based on the controlling set
of aspects and each agent's respective scores on each of the
aspects, selects the appropriate agent to service the work
item.
[0057] In step 424, the selector 220 delivers the work item to the
selected agent.
[0058] The agent 232 then returns to step 400 to repeat the
foregoing steps for the next work item reaching the head of the
skill X work item queue 208.
[0059] Another embodiment of the invention will now be discussed.
In this embodiment, a multi-skilled agent becomes available to
service one of a plurality of different types of available work
items (each of which he is skilled to service), and the agent 232,
based on the condition of the contact center, selects the
appropriate skill of the plurality of agent skills to use in
selecting the appropriate work item. Stated simply, the specific
skill selection criteria depends on the current statuses, outcomes,
and/or levels of realization of the various contact center
goals.
[0060] FIG. 8 depicts a goal satisfaction table 800 for use by the
agent 232 in this embodiment. The horizontal axis 804 maps the
status of each goal against the agent skill on the vertical axis
808. In other words, when the first, second, . . . Nth goals are
met the first agent skill is selected as the basis for selecting
the appropriate work item from among the queued plurality of
different types of work items. Of the queued plurality of work item
types, the selected work item is generally the most consistent with
the selected skill.
[0061] The collective operation of the agent 232 and selector 220
will now be described with reference to FIG. 7.
[0062] In step 700, a multi-skilled agent becomes available for
servicing a queued work item, and there are a plurality of queued
work items, typically at the heads of different queues, that he or
she is skilled to service.
[0063] In step 704, the agent 232 determines the status of the
various contact center goals. Typically, the agent 232 obtains this
information from CMS 228.
[0064] In step 708, the agent 232 maps the statuses of the various
goals to the goal satisfaction table 800 to select a pertinent
skill or set of skills of the available agent to use in selecting
which of the available work items the agent will service. For
example, when there are a few work items in the queues and the
goals are met the selector 220 selects the agent skill in which the
agent is most effective. Conversely when there is a high volume of
work items in the queues and one or more of the goals are not met,
the skill is selected for which the agent is faster compared to his
or her peers.
[0065] In step 712, the selector 220, based on the selected skill
or set of skills selects the work item for assignment to the
agent.
[0066] In step 716, the assigned work item is delivered to the
agent for servicing.
[0067] The agent 232 then returns to step 700 to await the next
agent becoming available.
[0068] Another embodiment of the invention will now be discussed.
In this embodiment, the agent 232 selects the appropriate queue 208
(or class of service) for an incoming contact based on the
condition of the contact center. In other words, the specific
selection criteria (e.g., set of qualifiers) and/or queue selection
algorithm used to select the appropriate work item queue 208 for a
given contact depends on the current statuses, outcomes, and/or
levels of realization of the various contact center goals.
[0069] FIG. 5 depicts a goal satisfaction table 500 for use by the
agent 232 in this embodiment. The horizontal axis 504 maps the
status of each goal against the qualifier (or set of qualifiers) on
the vertical axis 508. In other words, when the first, second, . .
. Nth goals are met the contact is assigned the first qualifier (or
first set of qualifiers). As used herein, a qualifier refers to an
attribute assigned to a contact that determines, at least in part,
to which work item queue 208 the corresponding contact is forwarded
(or to which class of service the contact is assigned). Examples of
qualifiers include contactor attributes (identity, language,
socioeconomic status, value to the contact center, and business
history with the enterprise operating the contact center), contact
attributes (e.g., communication channel or media), and contactor
needs (e.g., type or nature of contact, and purpose of contact).
When the first and second goals are met but the Nth goal is unmet,
the contact is assigned the second qualifier. When all of the goals
are unmet, the contact is assigned the Mth qualifier. For example,
when all of the goals (for the contact center and/or gold queue)
are being satisfied, a contact from a gold customer is assigned a
gold qualifier and sent to the gold queue. When the contact center
(and/or the gold queue) is experiencing an extremely high volume of
incoming contacts, the contact from the gold customer is assigned a
silver qualifier and sent to the silver queue ordinarily reserved
for contacts from silver customers.
[0070] The collective operation of the agent 232 and selector 220
will now be described with reference to FIG. 6.
[0071] In step 600, an incoming contact arrives at the contact
center.
[0072] In step 604, the agent 232 determines the status of the
various contact center goals. Typically, the agent 232 obtains this
information from CMS 228.
[0073] In step 608, the agent 232 maps the statuses of the various
goals to the goal satisfaction table 300 to select a pertinent set
of qualifier(s) for the contact. The agent 232 then provides the
controlling qualifier(s) and/or queue selection algorithm to the
work item vector 216.
[0074] In step 612, the work item vector 216 applies rules to the
set of contact qualifier(s) received from the agent 232 and any
other contact qualifier already assigned to the contact to select a
desired skill queue 208 to service the contact. The rules may be
those currently used in the art or rules configured specifically
for the contact center application.
[0075] In step 616, the work item vector 216 delivers the contact
to the selected queue 208 known techniques. Typically, a pointer to
the contact is positioned in the appropriate queue position queue
data structure.
[0076] The agent 232 then returns to step 600 to await the next
incoming contact.
[0077] A number of variations and modifications of the invention
can be used. It would be possible to provide for some features of
the invention without providing others.
[0078] For example, the server and/or switch can be a
software-controlled system including a processing unit (CPU),
microprocessor, or other type of digital data processor executing
software or an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) as
well as various portions or combinations of such elements. The
memory may be a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory
(ROM), or combinations of these and other types of electronic
memory devices.
[0079] The present invention, in various embodiments, includes
components, methods, processes, systems and/or apparatus
substantially as depicted and described herein, including various
embodiments, subcombinations, and subsets thereof. Those of skill
in the art will understand how to make and use the present
invention after understanding the present disclosure. The present
invention, in various embodiments, includes providing devices and
processes in the absence of items not depicted and/or described
herein or in various embodiments hereof, including in the absence
of such items as may have been used in previous devices or
processes, e.g., for improving performance, achieving ease and\or
reducing cost of implementation.
[0080] The foregoing discussion of the invention has been presented
for purposes of illustration and description. The foregoing is not
intended to limit the invention to the form or forms disclosed
herein. In the foregoing Detailed Description for example, various
features of the invention are grouped together in one or more
embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This
method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an
intention that the claimed invention requires more features than
are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following
claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of
a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims
are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each
claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment of the
invention.
[0081] Moreover though the description of the invention has
included description of one or more embodiments and certain
variations and modifications, other variations and modifications
are within the scope of the invention, e.g., as may be within the
skill and knowledge of those in the art, after understanding the
present disclosure. It is intended to obtain rights which include
alternative embodiments to the extent permitted, including
alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions,
ranges or steps to those claimed, whether or not such alternate,
interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges or
steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publicly
dedicate any patentable subject matter.
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