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Technology overview

Contact center technology is probably the most complex component of the model. There are numerous technologies and alternatives that make your decision a long and intensive process.This tutorial will examine some of the key technology components including: Technology architecture planning; Voice switching infrastructure; Contact routing tools; Computer Telephony Integration; Interactive Voice Response; Email management; CRM and Data Mining; and RFP and vendor selection. The Planning and Design Toolkit investigates other technology hardware and applications that are more complex that we will cover in this introductory tutorial.

Technology guide: A new book titled Call Center Technology Demystified by Lori Bocklund and Dave Bengston of Vanguard Communications provides a detailed presentation of call center technology. We recommend this book for an in-depth understanding of call center technology. For more information about this book go to www.vanguard.net.

Technology architecture planning

In developing your contact center strategy you wrote your business requirements. You then developed processes to support your contact center. Now it is time to plan the technology architecture for your center. A technology architecture plan:

• Creates a unified technology approach understood by all business and technology staff.
• Uncovers any technology roadblocks before implementation takes place.
• Provides a clear roadmap for technology implementation by defining prioritization and key milestones.
• Identifies each technology element and media that will be supported by the contact center.

Key planning assumption

Before technology plans are developed, one key question needs to be answered: is this the first center, or an addition to an existing network of centers? Depending on the answer, there are differences in the overall approach.

• first call center in the organization - project requires more planning and decision-making on the front end and will likely take more time - allows greater flexibility in technology application deployment since you are starting with few technology constraints
• addition to existing network of centers within the organization - an architecture is in place and you can leverage existing technology and vendors - experienced resources are available within the organization to draw on

Planning approach

There are two key steps in developing the plan: 1) preparation and 2) high-level design.

Preparation - This process entails gathering resources and building knowledge. The steps include:

1. Technology Plan - Define the objectives and overall timeline. Define parameters of project (e.g., scope, budget, timeline). The contact center strategy is a key input to the plan.
2. Assumptions - Define key assumptions with all team members (e.g., what existing technology platforms or vendors will be leveraged; will you use leading edge technologies or tried and true approaches; will you operate as a standalone center, or integrated with other centers). Define what carries the most weight in the project (e.g., costs, customer service improvements, efficiency gains, reliability, manageability).
3. Education - Understand what is available and possible through researching technologies, attending conferences and visiting best in class contact centers.

Develop a High Level Design - Once the preparation work is done, the team will design the technology architecture. Note that some of these steps may not fully apply to organizations that have existing call centers. For instance, part of the architectural strategy may consist of duplicating what works in other centers and applying new components.

1. Identify Design Principles - These are the principles that guide you in evaluating and choosing technology (e.g., buy versus build applications). Your business and technology assumptions will help to define design principles.
2. Develop the Technology Architecture- Develop a technology framework within the context of your requirements, assumptions, and design principles. This will define key technology elements, their basic architecture and interfaces, and the core functions they will provide.
3. Develop an Implementation Plan - This is a high level plan that includes: 1) what you intend to do, 2) how you are going to do it and 3) how long it will take. It includes major milestones, prioritization and plans for phasing in technology elements. It identifies critical success factors (e.g., additional support resources, training) for the project.

Voice switching infrastructure

The foundation of a call center is the telephone system. The key functions of this switching technology are:

• providing the connection point for the local and long distance telephone lines to the company
• routing of calls, whether incoming or outgoing
• providing telephone stations at each desktop

Contact routing tools

Contact routing tools route calls or other media types to specific customer service representatives (CSRs), based on certain criteria (e.g., time of day, skill set of the CSRs, caller account information). There are several levels of sophistication in contact routing tools. These are usually based on your customer contact strategy (e.g., customer segmentation), routing strategy (i.e., how contacts and various media are to be handled), and technology available.

Computer Telephony Integration

Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) describes the functional integration of various computer and telephone system elements that enables voice and data networks to work together and share information. Use of CTI in a call center:

• lowers operating costs (calls and time per call)
• improves effectiveness and productivity of CSRs
• provides a more customer centric experience
• enables more detailed and accurate reporting capabilities
• enhances functionality of existing systems
• provides advanced contact routing, queuing and handling capabilities

Interactive Voice Response

Interactive Voice Response or IVR (also called Voice Response Unit or VRU) is used by contact centers to route callers to the correct CSRs and to provide self-service. Using an IVR, a caller can reach an extension, obtain information and perform transactions without assistance from a CSR. The easy access, choice, control and privacy provided by IVRs make them a useful tool for many callers.

When callers use the IVR, your organization saves money. Even if a caller just enters an account number or reviews some information and "bails out" to speak with a person for more details, they have shaved seconds or minutes off of your talk time. Offering useful and user friendly applications that allow callers to complete transactions will save you even more money.

Email management

Next to voice calls, emails are likely to constitute the highest volume of customer contacts into your organization. The last five years have seen exponential growth in email volume and consequently technologies to handle it more efficiently. This section explains the basic functionality of Email Response Management Systems (ERMS). These systems are generally available in two configurations.

1. Purchase it as an add-on module from a switching vendor (e.g., PBX, ACD) or from a CTI middleware vendor.
2. Purchase a standalone third party product that integrates with selective contact center systems.

CRM and Data Mining

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is more than just software. It is the philosophy and process of managing a customer's relationship with an organization across all departments (e.g., marketing, sales, customer service). It takes into account customer history, the depth and breadth of their relationship with the organization, as well as other factors. Two software components support this process in the contact center: CRM and Data Mining applications.

RFP and vendor selection

Now it is time to get serious about selecting a vendor for the technology elements that your contact center requires. It is crucial that you establish a core team of people from across the organization to participate in the vendor selection process. The first step is to expand your business requirements into functional requirements that will be the core of your Request for Proposal (RFP). Functional requirements add depth to the business requirements, providing applications and capabilities required from the technical solutions being considered.

1. Automatic call distributors and/or dialers: All call centers need a system to process calls and other interaction types like email and chat, as necessary. Automatic call distributors (ACDs) and/or dialers are core call center systems; all other applications are intended to complement and improve the performance of these two underlying systems. Inbound call centers use an ACD to manage the flow of incoming calls and to route them to the most appropriate agent. Meanwhile, outbound call centers require a dialer to place and complete calls.

2. A CRM application/call center servicing application is the second most important technology in call centers. Agents use the servicing application to respond to customers with an understanding of their relationship and value to the enterprise. Call center agents also use the servicing application to document customer issues or requests and steps that were taken to address those issues. This creates a record of interactions that can be accessed the next time the customer reaches out for help.

3. Campaign management system: Outbound call center organizations require a campaign management system (CMS) to let the dialer know whom to contact, or to produce a list of phone numbers or email contacts. A more sophisticated CMS will allow agents to record how each customer has responded to a given campaign.

4. Call recording systems: All sales contact centers and many customer service environments – inbound or outbound – require recording systems to capture all interactions so that they can be replayed if there is a question about an interaction. Some organizations just capture calls; others capture both the call and related screens used to service the customer. The most sophisticated recording systems capture all interaction types, not just calls.

Figure 1

5. Interactive voice response systems/speech recognition systems are self-service tools that automate the handling of incoming customer calls. Advanced interactive voice response (IVR) systems use speech recognition technology to allow customers to interact with the IVR by speaking instead of pushing buttons on their phones. IVR/speech recognition systems can help companies keep their costs down and often automate the handling of 40 to 85 percent of all incoming customer inquiries in industries, such as retail banking, credit card, brokerage, insurance, health care and utilities. Some enterprises also claim that IVR/speech recognition improves service quality, since an automated system can be available when live agents are not on duty. An increasing number of outbound call centers – particularly those doing collections and sales -- are using IVR systems to increase their effectiveness and productivity.

6. Workforce management software is used to forecast the volume of calls (or other interaction types, like emails and chat sessions). Workforce management (WFM) software can help call center managers schedule the optimal number of agents to meet projected needs, taking into account agent breaks, training classes, planned vacations and unplanned sickness. WFM software can automate the process of determining the number of agents that must be hired to ensure that customer transactions are handled at a specified service level. WFM is considered essential for inbound call centers with 100 or more agents or smaller centers that are complex, operating multiple sites and/or handling a variety of interaction types. Recently, outbound call centers have also started to use WFM.

7. Quality management applications are used to measure how well call center agents adhere to internal policies and procedures. These applications are increasingly considered mission-critical for inbound call centers, as they give management insight into call center performance. Quality management (QM) applications are starting to be used in outbound call centers and will eventually become as valuable in those environments as they are in inbound centers.

8. Computer telephony integration (CTI) connects the ACD to the servicing or CMS application. At the most basic level, it delivers a "screen pop," bringing up the customer's account on the agent desktop when it delivers a call. This saves the agent from wasting time looking up customer information and it saves the customer the aggravation of having to provide redundant identification or account numbers. CTI is a major productivity tool for many call centers.

9 and 10. While they are not actually call center systems, it's essential to mention the two primary mechanisms used to transport call center interactions, Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) and Internet Protocol (IP). TDM is the traditional way of moving calls, and IP has recently replaced TDM as the primary mechanism for transporting call center transactions. IP has two primary advantages; it is agnostic about what it moves (calls, emails, chats, faxes) and it can be carried over the less costly, standard telecom data network rather than the old-fashioned voice network designed for analog signalscommunications.

The systems described above are considered essential and are found in the vast majority of call centers with more than 250 agents. However, there are many other call center solutions – some old and some relatively new – that also add great value to enterprises and their customers. They may not be essential, but they often have a rapid and quantifiable return on investment (ROI), which means they should be seriously considered by call center managers. These applications include the following:

• Call center agent coaching
• Call center agent scripting
• Call center performance management software
• Customer surveying software
• Email response management software
• Knowledge management tools (only for certain types of environments)
• Speech analytics software
• Web self-service software

Call centers are complex operating environments that depend on a wide variety of sophisticated technology to process transactions. While call center technology is essential, it's really the agents who leave a lasting impression on customers and they are the key to retaining clients and enhancing relationships.