Call Routing

    Process customer inquiries satisfactorily with intelligent call allocation.

    What is call routing?

    Routing and corresponding routing criteria are used to assign incoming calls via an ACD system in a call center to specific employees or groups for processing and thus control the call flow according to current requirements. The graphic representation of the routing is the routing plan. The routing plan can be used to set up complex, multi-level forwarding for different scenarios and conditions. In addition, call centers can also define the ring duration, the start of an announcement or the option to leave a voice message. With modern ACD solutions, the current routing plan can be easily defined and changed or adapted at any time.

    Routing criteria

    The criteria for routing are varied, the most common being the longest idle principle, in which calls are assigned across all locations to the person who has been free the longest. Other possible criteria include

    • Daytime/business hours routing: different destinations depending on the time of day, day of the week, etc.

    • Origin routing: Destination matching the origin of the call

    • Percentage routing: Distribution of processing between different locations or between in-house call center and service provider

    • VIP routing: Different destinations and prioritization for gold customers or new customers

    • Preferred Agent /Group: Assignment to the usual, responsible (specialist) agent

    • Last Agent/Group: Assignment to the last agent

    • Skill-based routing: Assignment depending on the suitability/skills of the agent, e.g. for foreign languages or specific requests

    IVR supports routing

    Caller pre-qualification via IVR (Interactive Voice Response) is suitable for optimizing routing. It enables callers' concerns to be recorded more precisely and assigned correctly, for example by querying customer characteristics such as customer or process number before the call. This leads to better processing efficiency and an improved customer experience overall. Through prioritization and intelligent routing, calls can be directed to the right contact person, which optimizes resource utilization and reduces waiting times. Using a solution like the FOUR IVR saves time and money on implementation and maintenance and contributes positively to your company's communication efficiency.

    Sentiment-based routing

    In addition, AI-based processes such as sentiment-based routing complement and expand the rule-based routing criteria. On the phone, for example, a bot uses an open question at the beginning of the call ("What can we do for you?") to recognize the mood and intent of the caller – such as questions or complaints about an order, credit for a return or a report of a power outage – and routes the caller accordingly. Depending on the request, this can be to an employee or, in the case of simple, repetitive tasks, to a self-service or bot. AI-based sentiment-based routing thus increases the first resolution rate. The highlight: the solution is developed and trained specifically for each customer and the respective use case – and then continues to learn!

    Tip: This form of intent recognition also works for incoming emails. The software recognizes the intent of emails based on certain terms and keywords and distributes them to the right employees.

    Omnichannel routing

    Modern ACD systems such as the VIER Multichannel ACD are able to assign not only calls, but all contact requests – whether calls, emails, chat requests or WhatsApp messages – automatically and across all locations. All channels used can also be prioritized against each other, so that emails from gold customers, for example, interrupt call processing.
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