In the world of the call center, there are many ways to get things done.  The Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) systems work well, but there are times when the call is transferred back and forth as the question or problem is relayed to different agents time and time again.  This is time consuming and frustrating for both the agents and the customer who may get angry enough to hang up, potentially costing repeat business.  Customers call a company for one of several reasons: they call to place an order or they call to complain about or ask questions about an order.  No matter why they call, they do so expecting to get a customer service representative.  If your company cannot provide good follow-up care after a sale has been completed, it is likely that your company will have serious growth issues that could eventually lead to the demise of the business.

Skills Based Routing (SBR) takes the automatic call distribution system and changes it to a more streamlined, cost- and time-effective model that will not only be better for the call center employees but for the customers that they are going to be serving throughout the day.  The simplest example of this routing is with language: at the start of a call, the customer is asked in which language they would like to continue in.  If the customer chooses English, he may be routed to a general queue to wait for an agent,  if he chooses another language, typically Spanish, then he will be sent for assistance to an agent who speaks Spanish.  The SBR model can be even more specific, with similar routing based on the exact needs of the customer paired with the appropriate agents.  If the caller has called previously, the system will attempt to route them to the agent they spoke to previously, if applicable.

There are a number of added features with SBR as well as some benefits to be considered, the most important of which is the potential for happier customers.  The idea behind development of the SBR system is to keep the caller from  numerous department to department or agent to agent transfers, repeating their question/problem/concern countless times and inevitably creating a frustrated customer.  It should also lower costs to the call center overall by decreasing  resolution/call times, and in turn increase productivity. 

The Skill Based Routing system can determine:

• how long a caller should be held before rerouting the call back to the general queue,
• how to match each caller with the right agent, including language as described above and more technical skills and  
• can recognize when to route calls to remote call centers or to at-home agents if they match the skill set as determined by the company’s needs 
• can also allow for the inclusion of messaging to the agent. 

Adding the Skill Based Routing system to an existing ACD can make it more cost effective as well by keeping customers from enduring long waits and frequent transfers that increase call times overall.  In addition, it will increase the productivity of the entire call center by streamlining the call directly to the proper handling agent.