Contact centers keep evolving in response to market needs. An IT support company, for example, can rely on a mix of email and phone calls to resolve the support needs of a very small number of customers. But as the number of customers and frequency of support needs rises, so does the need for more specialized equipment and systems. An Automatic Call Distributor or ACD is one such specialized system. This blog takes a look at how ACD systems add value to any contact center, especially in terms of performance and efficiency. Read on to find out more.
Understanding an Automatic Call Distributor System
An ACD receives an incoming call, applies certain predetermined filters, and routes it ahead to the most appropriate direction. The ACD is primarily designed to handle and route incoming calls, hence it is extremely useful for inbound contact centers. It offers useful features such as interactive voice response (IVR), Voice supports as computer telephony integration (CTI), and can boost efficiency in inbound contact centers by routing incoming calls to the best possible agents.
How Can an ACD Add Value?
An automatic call distribution system can add the most value to inbound contact center solutions. These systems are built to handle and sort large incoming call volumes far more efficiently than a human operator. Therefore, with an ACD system, contact centers tend to have fewer call overflows. Companies can even use it in different ways to handle or process incoming calls outside of business hours. And with shorter wait times, caller satisfaction and the overall caller experience also improve, since there is less friction with calls efficiently routed to the right people.
How Do ACD Systems Work?
The modern ACD is a complex system. But it uses a simple 3-part approach to manage and sort incoming calls. Here’s how ACD systems work in three easy steps:
Correctly Identifying Callers
ACD systems assign an identity to a caller to router the call more effectively. To do so, it uses caller ID, automatic number identification, and dialed number identification services. These services allow the ACD to gather as much information as possible about a caller. This information is then paired with the IVR menu, allowing the ACD to decide the most efficient place to route the call to.
Automatically Sorting Call Queues
Once the callers have been correctly identified, the ACD uses a queueing system to sort the calls into waiting lists. The ACD also handles the order of the queue in addition to routing callers into it. Factors like caller wait time, status, query type, etc. all contribute to the ACD creating efficient queues. It can even identify and prioritize VIP callers, further enabling a great caller experience. This is particularly effective for omnichannel contact centers when dealing with customers coming in from additional channels like websites or social media pages.
Efficiently Routing Calls
The ACD can be configured against certain distribution rules. When in place, these rules help the ACD further route incoming calls. For example, based on the region, timezone, and agent availability distribution rules, the ACD could choose to route the call to a remote customer service workforce outside of business hours. Or, based on the expertise required for a technical support query, the ACD could choose to hold the call in the queue before routing it to the most skilled agents, instead of simply routing it to any available agent.
The Different Types of ACD Systems
There are many types of ACD systems. Each has distinct business use cases in offshore and onshore call centers. Depending on the specific needs of a business, it can choose between the following types:
- Fixed order ACDs that route calls to agents in a pre-determined order
- Idle agent ACDs that route calls to agents with fewer calls or longer idle times
- Rotary ACDs that equally distribute calls based on the next agent in line
- Simultaneous ACDs cause all lines to ring simultaneously and connect with the first one to answer
- Weighted ACDs that assign calls based on pre-determined agent scores
- Time-based ACDs that only manage, sort, and route calls to an agent during business hours
- Data-based ACDs that route calls to the best-equipped agents backed by customer rating data
The Key Benefits of ACD
To sum up, ACD systems work well for both in-office and remote contact center operations. They can help with better workforce management within the contact center, boost overall agent productivity, and even improve customer experiences on calls. The gains from an ACD system are both meaningful and measurable, helping businesses drive success in customer service.
People Also Ask
What is an automatic call distributor?
An ACD or automatic call distributor is a system to help contact centers manage how incoming calls are sorted and routed to the right agents.
Which is the best automatic call distributor call center?
There are several types and configurations of ACD systems. But the “best” depends on the specifics of a contact center’s needs, such as incoming call volume, agent staff size, business regions, and so forth.