EP1754363A1 - Client portfolio-based call center architecture - Google Patents

Client portfolio-based call center architecture

Info

Publication number
EP1754363A1
EP1754363A1 EP05775324A EP05775324A EP1754363A1 EP 1754363 A1 EP1754363 A1 EP 1754363A1 EP 05775324 A EP05775324 A EP 05775324A EP 05775324 A EP05775324 A EP 05775324A EP 1754363 A1 EP1754363 A1 EP 1754363A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
call
call center
center architecture
architecture according
incoming
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP05775324A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Oualid Jouini
Yves Dallery
Frédéric AURIOL
Olivier Belma
Fabrice Chauvet
Rabie Nait-Abdallah
Thierry Prat
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Bouygues Telecom SA
Original Assignee
Bouygues Telecom SA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Bouygues Telecom SA filed Critical Bouygues Telecom SA
Publication of EP1754363A1 publication Critical patent/EP1754363A1/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
    • H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
    • H04M3/50—Centralised arrangements for answering calls; Centralised arrangements for recording messages for absent or busy subscribers ; Centralised arrangements for recording messages
    • H04M3/51—Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention, e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing
    • H04M3/523—Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention, e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing with call distribution or queueing
    • H04M3/5232—Call distribution algorithms
    • H04M3/5233—Operator skill based call distribution
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
    • H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
    • H04M3/50—Centralised arrangements for answering calls; Centralised arrangements for recording messages for absent or busy subscribers ; Centralised arrangements for recording messages
    • H04M3/51—Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention, e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing
    • H04M3/523—Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention, e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing with call distribution or queueing
    • H04M3/5232—Call distribution algorithms
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
    • H04M3/22—Arrangements for supervision, monitoring or testing
    • H04M3/36—Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
    • H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
    • H04M3/50—Centralised arrangements for answering calls; Centralised arrangements for recording messages for absent or busy subscribers ; Centralised arrangements for recording messages
    • H04M3/51—Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention, e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing
    • H04M3/523—Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention, e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing with call distribution or queueing
    • H04M3/5232—Call distribution algorithms
    • H04M3/5235—Dependent on call type or called number [DNIS]

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the technical field of equipment and architectures of call centers.
  • the present invention relates more particularly to a call center architecture where customers are organized in portfolios, that is to say that a team of operators is specifically dedicated to a set of customers.
  • Queue-based systems are found in many industries. This is usually a system of one or more servers to respond to randomly arriving customers. If, at the arrival of a client, no server is available, it waits in a queue before being served. Several examples in different fields can illustrate this type of system.
  • Examples include vehicles waiting at tolls on a highway, customers waiting at a ticket counter, data packets waiting to be processed in a computer network, or customers calling a call center. waiting for a customer advisor to answer them.
  • FIG. 1 The general architecture of such a call center is illustrated in Figure 1.
  • the customer calls first arrive on a CTI (Computer Telephony Integration). From the information provided by the ACD (Automatic CaIl Dispatcher) of each site, a routing mechanism makes it possible to decide which site to send the call to when it arrives. Once the call routed, and if no customer advisor can respond immediately, it is put on hold in a queue.
  • CTI Computer Telephony Integration
  • ACD Automatic CaIl Dispatcher
  • the technical problem solved by the present invention is in the field call centers segmented into portfolios. Indeed, in order to better serve customers, the customer base is divided into groups called portfolios. Each portfolio has a dedicated team of advisors.
  • the homogeneous portfolios in this case, the composition of the portfolios is identical, the objective sought by the subdivision into portfolios is to empower each team of advisors by entrusting a portfolio of clients.
  • the architecture commonly used to set up portfolio management in a call center is shown in Figure 2.
  • This type of architecture is called proprietary portfolio management. Indeed, each team of advisors is dedicated exclusively to a portfolio and each client of a portfolio can only be answered by the team assigned to it.
  • This architecture has the advantage of being simple to set up.
  • the other center management mode is the consolidated architecture as in Figure 3. In such an architecture, the customer park is not divided into portfolios. Each call can be answered by all counselors and each counselor can answer all calls.
  • the exclusive portfolio architecture leads to an increase in the average waiting time compared to the consolidated architecture. Indeed, as shown in Figure 4, a client can wait to be answered by a team where no one is available while there may be counselors available in other teams. This also means that at a constant average wait time, the consolidated architecture requires fewer advisors than a portfolio architecture.
  • the present invention intends to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art by proposing an alternative architecture responding to the reasons for setting up the architecture by exclusive portfolio management, while guaranteeing average waiting times comparable to those obtained in consolidated architecture. .
  • the information and communication system architecture of the invention aims to improve the technical performance of call centers while retaining reasonable technical means for routing, storage and processing of incoming calls.
  • the present invention relates, in its most general sense, to a call center architecture comprising at least one CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) equipment and at least one ACD equipment.
  • CTI Computer Telephony Integration
  • ACD Automatic CaIl Dispatcher
  • each of said (at least) ACD being associated with at least one group of call receiving stations, characterized in that said CTI comprises technical means for selection and routing in order to route an incoming call to a pre-determined group of call receiving stations according to parameters of said incoming call;
  • the architecture being further characterized in that it comprises technical means enabling, when a particular event occurs, not to route an incoming call to the predetermined group of call reception stations but to another group from call receivers or to all groups of call receivers.
  • At least one of said parameters of said incoming call corresponds to an identifier of the sender of the call.
  • one of said parameters of said incoming call corresponds to an element of a request from the sender of the call.
  • the architecture according to the invention comprises technical means for the management of priorities in the processing of incoming calls.
  • an incoming call is routed to a particular call reception station independently of the group of call reception stations to which this particular station belongs.
  • said particular event corresponds to a technical difficulty in identifying the sender of the incoming call.
  • said particular event corresponds to the detection that the incoming call is sent from a fixed telecommunications station and not from a mobile telecommunications station.
  • said particular event is deliberately triggered randomly on a proportion, fixed or time-adjustable, of incoming calls received at said CTI.
  • said proportion is fixed and between one-tenth and one-fifth (ie between 10% and 20%).
  • said particular event corresponds to an overflow of at least one group of call reception station.
  • said overflow is determined by the exceeding of a predetermined threshold by the waiting time, real or estimated, of the incoming call before it is processed by a call reception station.
  • the estimation of the waiting time is carried out by means of a method taking into account priority rules.
  • said overflow is determined by the exceeding of a threshold predetermined by the number N of calls waiting.
  • FIG. 1 represents a global call center architecture
  • FIG. 2 represents a call center architecture in exclusive portfolio management
  • FIG. 3 represents a consolidated call center architecture
  • FIG. 4 illustrates the phenomenon of deterioration of waiting time in an exclusive portfolio management
  • FIG. 5 represents a portfolio management architecture according to the invention
  • FIG. 6 represents a call center architecture according to the invention with random algorithm management
  • FIG. 7 represents a call center architecture according to the invention with management by overflow algorithm.
  • calls from all the portfolios arrive at the ITC level.
  • an algorithm makes it possible to decide, for each incoming call, whether it is handled by the team dedicated to it or whether it can be handled by any team.
  • this architecture can also be implemented in a decentralized way. In this case, we decide on the place of arrival of the call if it is treated by the team dedicated to it or if it can be treated by any team.
  • portfolio flows have a separate queue for each team and non-portfolio calls are placed in a common queue with lower priority than the portfolio flow queues corresponding to an additional ACD. associated with this non-portfolio flow called ACD-HP (ACD- Excluding Portfolio).
  • ACD-HP ACD- Excluding Portfolio
  • the principle of this architecture is therefore to exploit the non-portfolio flow in order to reduce the availability of advisors and thus improve the average waiting time.
  • the algorithm within the ITC is then set to obtain the proportion p of non-portfolio calls as a function of the average waiting time that is to be guaranteed. Moreover, it is shown that it is not necessary to have a very important proportion p to guarantee an average waiting time close to that of the consolidated configuration. In practice, p can be between 10% and 20%.
  • the algorithms set up to determine which calls are placed outside the portfolio can be of different natures. Here are three possible embodiments that can possibly be combined within the ITC:
  • the first algorithm that can be used is a random algorithm as in FIG. 6. According to this implementation mode, each time a call arrives, it is assigned to its team (portfolio flow) with a probability (1-p). and is allocated to the non-portfolio flow with a probability p.
  • the algorithm assigns calls to the non-portfolio flow according to a previously specified characteristic. For example, you may want to put out of the wallet all calls from a fixed number or all non-identifiable calls for which it is not possible to determine the number and thus assign the call to a wallet. It may also be decided not to exclude from a wallet calls that correspond to customer reminders. According to this algorithm, p will then represent the proportion of calls having the characteristics retained among all the calls received.

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  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Marketing (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Telephonic Communication Services (AREA)

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of call center equipment and architecture. More particularly, the invention concerns a call center architecture comprising at least a Computer Telephony Integration equipment, at least and Automatic Call Dispatcher equipment, each of said (at least) ACD being associated with at least one group or call reception stations. The invention is characterized in that said CTI comprises technical selecting and routing means for routing an incoming call to a predetermined group of call reception stations based on said incoming call parameters; the architecture being further characterized in that it comprises technical means, upon occurrence of a particular event, enabling an incoming call not to be routed to the predetermined group of call reception stations but to another group of call reception stations or to all the groups of call reception stations.

Description

ARCHITECTURE DE CENTRE D'APPELS PAR PORTEFEUILLES ARCHITECTURE OF CALL CENTER BY PORTFOLIO
DE CLIENTSCLIENTS
La présente invention se rapporte au domaine technique des équipements et architectures de centres d'appels.The present invention relates to the technical field of equipment and architectures of call centers.
La présente invention se rapporte plus particulièrement à une architecture de centre d'appels où les clients sont organisés en portefeuilles, c'est-à-dire qu'une équipe d'opérateurs est spécialement dédiée à un ensemble de clients.The present invention relates more particularly to a call center architecture where customers are organized in portfolios, that is to say that a team of operators is specifically dedicated to a set of customers.
Les systèmes basés sur les files d'attente se retrouvent dans de nombreux secteurs d'activité. Il s'agit, de manière générale, d'un système constitué d'un ou plusieurs serveurs destinés à répondre à des clients qui arrivent de manière aléatoire. Si, à l'arrivée d'un client, aucun serveur n'est disponible, il attend dans une file d'attente avant d'être servi. Plusieurs exemples dans différents domaines peuvent illustrer ce type de système.Queue-based systems are found in many industries. This is usually a system of one or more servers to respond to randomly arriving customers. If, at the arrival of a client, no server is available, it waits in a queue before being served. Several examples in different fields can illustrate this type of system.
On peut citer à titre d'exemple, des véhicules qui attendent à un péage sur une autoroute, des clients en attente devant un guichet, des paquets de données en attente de traitement dans un réseau informatique ou encore des clients appelant un centre d'appels qui attendent qu'un conseiller de clientèle leur réponde.Examples include vehicles waiting at tolls on a highway, customers waiting at a ticket counter, data packets waiting to be processed in a computer network, or customers calling a call center. waiting for a customer advisor to answer them.
L'architecture générale d'un tel centre d'appels est illustrée figure 1. Les appels clients arrivent d'abord sur un CTI (Computer Telephony Intégration). À partir des informations fournies par l'ACD (Automatic CaIl Dispatcher) de chaque site, un mécanisme de routage permet de décider vers quel site envoyer l'appel à son arrivée. Une fois l'appel routé, et si aucun conseiller de clientèle ne peut répondre dans l'immédiat, il est mis en attente dans une file.The general architecture of such a call center is illustrated in Figure 1. The customer calls first arrive on a CTI (Computer Telephony Integration). From the information provided by the ACD (Automatic CaIl Dispatcher) of each site, a routing mechanism makes it possible to decide which site to send the call to when it arrives. Once the call routed, and if no customer advisor can respond immediately, it is put on hold in a queue.
Dans le domaine de la gestion des centres d'appels, l'art antérieur connaît déjà par exemple le brevet américain US 6 650 748 (Avaya) permettant une gestion originale des files d'attente et des temps d'attente grâce à l'ADC et au CTI.In the field of call center management, the prior art already knows, for example, US Pat. No. 6,650,748 (Avaya) allowing original management of queues and waiting times thanks to the ADC. and the CTI.
L'art antérieur connaît également, par la demande de brevet PCT, enregistrée sous le numéro PCT/FR2004/050043, de Bouygues Telecom, une solution particulièrement innovante pour l'estimation du temps d'attente moyen dans un centre d'appels. Cette demande de brevet PCT concerne un procédé pour l'estimation du temps d'attente dans un centre d'appels avec prise en compte de règles de priorité, caractérisé en ce qu'il comprend les étapes suivantes :The prior art is also known from the PCT patent application, registered under the number PCT / FR2004 / 050043, from Bouygues Telecom, a particularly innovative solution for estimating the average waiting time in a call center. This PCT patent application relates to a method for estimating waiting time in a call center with taking into account priority rules, characterized in that it comprises the following steps:
• à l'arrivée d'un appel, évaluer le nombre d'appels déjà en attente ou en service qui doivent d'abord être servis (Nattmte + 1)• when a call arrives, evaluate the number of calls already waiting or in service that must first be served (N attmte + 1)
• estimer le taux de service τservlce • estimate service rate τ servlce
• estimer le taux de priorité τprioritê • estimate the rate of τ priority priority
• évaluer la durée d'attente DA = (Nattente + l)/( ^service ^priorité/ où τserviae désigne le nombre d'appels que l'ensemble des conseillers de clientèle du centre d'appels peuvent servir par unité de temps ; τpriorité désigne le taux d'arrivée par unité de temps des appels qui seront servis en priorité.• evaluate the wait time DA = (N wait + l) / (^ service ^ priority / where τ serviae is the number of calls that all call center customer advisers can serve per unit of time τ priority is the arrival rate per time unit of calls that will be served in priority.
On connaît également dans l'état de la technique, par la demande de brevet français FR 03/50965 de Bouygues l'Also known in the state of the art, by the French patent application FR 03/50965 Bouygues the
Telecom, une solution pour estimation avec intervalle de confiance du temps d'attente en vue de l'annoncer au client. Cette demande de brevet français de Bouygues Telecom concerne un procédé pour l'estimation avec intervalle de confiance du temps d'attente dans un centre d'appels avec prise en compte de règles de priorité, caractérisé en ce qu'il comprend les étapes suivantes :Telecom, a solution for estimation with a confidence interval of waiting time in order to announce it to the customer. This French patent application of Bouygues Telecom relates to a method for the estimation with confidence interval of waiting time in a call center with taking into account priority rules, characterized in that it comprises the following steps:
(a) à l'arrivée d'un appel, évaluer le nombre d'appels déjà en attente ou en service qui doivent d'abord être servis (Nattente + 1)(a) when a call arrives, evaluate the number of calls already on hold or in service that must first be served (N wait + 1)
(b) estimer le taux de service τservice (b) estimate service rate τ service
(c) estimer le taux de priorité τpriocité (c) estimate the priority τ priority rate
(d) évaluer la durée d'attente moyenne DAmoy (d) assessing the average waiting time DA moy
( e ) évaluer la variance du temps d ' attente Var = (Nattente + I ) * ( τservlce + τprloritê) /( τservice -(e) evaluate the variance of the waiting time Var = (N wait + I) * (τ servlce + τ prloritê ) / (τ service -
"^priorité/ " ^ priority /
(f) évaluer l'intervalle de confiance Iconf = Var1/2 * Φ(l-π)(f) evaluate the confidence interval I conf = Var 1/2 * Φ (l-π)
(g) évaluer le temps à annoncer Temps annoncé = DAmoy + Iconf où tservice désigne le nombre d'appels que l'ensemble des conseillers de clientèle du centre d'appels peuvent servir par unité de temps ; tprioritê désigne le taux d'arrivée par unité de temps des appels qui seront servis en priorité ; Nattente désigne le nombre d'appels en attente au moment de l'arrivée de l'appel ; Var désigne la variance du temps d'attente ; π désigne le degré de fiabilité que l'on souhaite garantir lors de l'annonce du temps d'attente ; Φ(l-π) désigne le quantile à 1-π de la loi de probabilité du temps d'attente des appels centrée et réduite.(g) assess the time to announce Time announced DA = avg + I conf t service means that the number of calls that all customer consultants call center can be used per unit of time; t priority is the arrival rate per time unit of calls that will be served in priority; N Standby refers to the number of calls waiting at the time of the call's arrival; Var is the variance of the waiting time; π denotes the degree of reliability that one wishes to guarantee when announcing the waiting time; Φ (l-π) denotes the quantile at 1-π of the probability law of the call waiting time centered and reduced.
Plus particulièrement, la problématique technique résolue par la présente invention s'inscrit dans le domaine des centres d'appels segmentés en portefeuilles. En effet, afin de mieux servir les clients, le parc de clients est divisé en groupes appelés portefeuilles. A chaque portefeuille, une équipe de conseillers est spécialement dédiée.More particularly, the technical problem solved by the present invention is in the field call centers segmented into portfolios. Indeed, in order to better serve customers, the customer base is divided into groups called portfolios. Each portfolio has a dedicated team of advisors.
On distingue par exemple deux motifs de division en portefeuilles :For example, there are two divisional patterns in portfolios:
- Les portefeuilles segmentés par typologie d'appels ou de clients : le but de cette segmentation est de traiter différemment les clients selon leur typologie ou leur motif d'appel. En effet, les questions des clients ne requièrent pas toutes le même niveau de technicité et il peut être intéressant d'afficher les questions les plus délicates ou les questions les plus importantes aux conseillers les plus expérimentés.- Portfolios segmented by type of call or customer: the purpose of this segmentation is to treat customers differently according to their typology or their reason for calling. Not all customer questions require the same level of sophistication and it may be interesting to post the most sensitive questions or the most important questions to the most experienced advisors.
- Les portefeuilles homogènes : dans ce cas, la composition des portefeuilles est identique, l'objectif recherché par la subdivision en portefeuilles étant de responsabiliser chaque équipe de conseillers en lui confiant un portefeuille de clients.- The homogeneous portfolios: in this case, the composition of the portfolios is identical, the objective sought by the subdivision into portfolios is to empower each team of advisors by entrusting a portfolio of clients.
L'architecture couramment utilisée pour mettre en place une gestion par portefeuilles dans un centre d'appels est représentée figure 2. Ce type d'architecture est appelé gestion par portefeuilles exclusive. En effet, chaque équipe de conseillers est dédiée exclusivement à un portefeuille et chaque client d'un portefeuille ne peut être répondu que par l'équipe qui lui est affectée. Cette architecture présente l'avantage d'être simple à mettre en place. L'autre mode de gestion de centre est l'architecture consolidée comme sur la figure 3. Dans une telle architecture, le parc client n'est pas divisé en portefeuilles. Chaque appel peut être traité par tous les conseillers et chaque conseiller peut répondre à tous les appels.The architecture commonly used to set up portfolio management in a call center is shown in Figure 2. This type of architecture is called proprietary portfolio management. Indeed, each team of advisors is dedicated exclusively to a portfolio and each client of a portfolio can only be answered by the team assigned to it. This architecture has the advantage of being simple to set up. The other center management mode is the consolidated architecture as in Figure 3. In such an architecture, the customer park is not divided into portfolios. Each call can be answered by all counselors and each counselor can answer all calls.
On comprend facilement que l'architecture en portefeuilles exclusive induit une augmentation du temps d'attente moyen par rapport à l'architecture consolidée. En effet, comme cela est représenté figure 4, un client peut attendre d'être répondu par une équipe où personne n'est disponible alors qu'il peut y avoir des conseillers disponibles dans d'autres équipes. Ceci signifie également qu'à temps d'attente moyen constant, l'architecture consolidée nécessite moins de conseillers qu'une architecture par portefeuilles.It is easy to understand that the exclusive portfolio architecture leads to an increase in the average waiting time compared to the consolidated architecture. Indeed, as shown in Figure 4, a client can wait to be answered by a team where no one is available while there may be counselors available in other teams. This also means that at a constant average wait time, the consolidated architecture requires fewer advisors than a portfolio architecture.
La présente invention entend remédier aux inconvénients de l'art antérieur en proposant une architecture alternative répondant aux motifs de mise en place de l'architecture par gestion en portefeuilles exclusive, tout en garantissant des temps d'attente moyens comparables à ceux obtenus en architecture consolidée. L'architecture de système d'information et de communication selon l'invention vise à améliorer les performances techniques des centres d'appels tout en conservant des moyens techniques raisonnables en matière de routage, de stockage et de traitements des appels entrants.The present invention intends to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art by proposing an alternative architecture responding to the reasons for setting up the architecture by exclusive portfolio management, while guaranteeing average waiting times comparable to those obtained in consolidated architecture. . The information and communication system architecture of the invention aims to improve the technical performance of call centers while retaining reasonable technical means for routing, storage and processing of incoming calls.
À cet effet, la présente invention concerne, dans son acception la plus générale, une architecture de centre d'appels comprenant au moins un équipement CTI (Computer Telephony Intégration) et au moins un équipement ACD (Automatic CaIl Dispatcher), chacun dudit (au moins) ACD étant associé à au moins un groupe de postes de réception d'appels, caractérisée en ce que ledit CTI comprend des moyens techniques pour la sélection et le routage afin de router un appel entrant vers un groupe pré-déterminé de postes de réception d'appels en fonction de paramètres dudit appel entrant ; l'architecture étant en outre caractérisée en ce qu'elle comporte des moyens techniques permettant, lorsqu'un événement particulier survient, de ne pas router un appel entrant vers le groupe pré-déterminé de postes de réception d'appels mais vers un autre groupe de postes de réception d'appels ou bien vers l'ensemble des groupes de postes de réception d'appels.To this end, the present invention relates, in its most general sense, to a call center architecture comprising at least one CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) equipment and at least one ACD equipment. (Automatic CaIl Dispatcher), each of said (at least) ACD being associated with at least one group of call receiving stations, characterized in that said CTI comprises technical means for selection and routing in order to route an incoming call to a pre-determined group of call receiving stations according to parameters of said incoming call; the architecture being further characterized in that it comprises technical means enabling, when a particular event occurs, not to route an incoming call to the predetermined group of call reception stations but to another group from call receivers or to all groups of call receivers.
Avantageusement, au moins un desdits paramètres dudit appel entrant correspond à un identifiant de l'émetteur de l'appel.Advantageously, at least one of said parameters of said incoming call corresponds to an identifier of the sender of the call.
Selon un mode de mise en œuvre, un desdits paramètres dudit appel entrant correspond à un élément d'une requête de l'émetteur de l'appel.According to one embodiment, one of said parameters of said incoming call corresponds to an element of a request from the sender of the call.
De préférence, l'architecture selon l'invention comporte des moyens techniques pour la gestion de priorités dans le traitement d'appels entrants.Preferably, the architecture according to the invention comprises technical means for the management of priorities in the processing of incoming calls.
Selon une variante particulière, un appel entrant est routé vers un poste particulier de réception d'appels indépendamment du groupe de postes de réception d'appels auquel ce poste particulier appartient.According to one particular variant, an incoming call is routed to a particular call reception station independently of the group of call reception stations to which this particular station belongs.
Selon un mode de réalisation, ledit événement particulier correspond à une difficulté technique dans l'identification de l'émetteur de l'appel entrant.According to one embodiment, said particular event corresponds to a technical difficulty in identifying the sender of the incoming call.
Selon un autre mode de réalisation, ledit événement particulier correspond à la détection du fait que l'appel entrant est émis d'un poste de télécommunications fixes et non d'un poste de télécommunications mobiles. Selon un mode de réalisation particulier, ledit événement particulier est déclenché volontairement de façon aléatoire sur une proportion, fixe ou modulable dans le temps, des appels entrants reçus au niveau dudit CTI. Selon une variante particulière, ladite proportion est fixe et comprise entre un dixième et un cinquième (soit entre 10% et 20%) .According to another embodiment, said particular event corresponds to the detection that the incoming call is sent from a fixed telecommunications station and not from a mobile telecommunications station. According to a particular embodiment, said particular event is deliberately triggered randomly on a proportion, fixed or time-adjustable, of incoming calls received at said CTI. According to a particular variant, said proportion is fixed and between one-tenth and one-fifth (ie between 10% and 20%).
Selon un mode de mise en œuvre, ledit événement particulier correspond à un débordement d'au moins un groupe de poste de réception d'appels.According to one embodiment, said particular event corresponds to an overflow of at least one group of call reception station.
Selon un autre mode de mise en œuvre, ledit débordement est déterminé par le dépassement d'un seuil prédéterminé par le temps d'attente, réel ou estimé, de l'appel entrant avant son traitement par un poste de réception d'appels.According to another implementation mode, said overflow is determined by the exceeding of a predetermined threshold by the waiting time, real or estimated, of the incoming call before it is processed by a call reception station.
De préférence, l'estimation du temps d'attente est réalisée au moyen d'un procédé prenant en compte des règles de priorité.Preferably, the estimation of the waiting time is carried out by means of a method taking into account priority rules.
Selon un autre mode de mise en œuvre, ledit débordement est déterminé par le dépassement d'un seuil prédéterminé par le nombre N d'appels en attente.According to another implementation mode, said overflow is determined by the exceeding of a threshold predetermined by the number N of calls waiting.
On comprendra mieux l'invention à l'aide de la description, faite ci-après à titre purement explicatif, d'un mode de réalisation de l'invention, en référence aux figures annexées où :The invention will be better understood by means of the description, given below purely for explanatory purposes, of one embodiment of the invention, with reference to the appended figures in which:
- la figure 1 représente une architecture globale de centre d'appels ;FIG. 1 represents a global call center architecture;
- la figure 2 représente une architecture de centre d'appels en gestion par portefeuilles exclusive ;- Figure 2 represents a call center architecture in exclusive portfolio management;
- la figure 3 représente une architecture de centre d'appels consolidée ; -la figure 4 illustre le phénomène de dégradation du temps d'attente dans une gestion par portefeuilles exclusive ;FIG. 3 represents a consolidated call center architecture; FIG. 4 illustrates the phenomenon of deterioration of waiting time in an exclusive portfolio management;
- la figure 5 représente une architecture de gestion par portefeuilles selon l'invention ;FIG. 5 represents a portfolio management architecture according to the invention;
- la figure 6 représente une architecture de centre d'appels selon l'invention avec gestion par algorithme aléatoire ;FIG. 6 represents a call center architecture according to the invention with random algorithm management;
- la figure 7 représente une architecture de centre d'appels selon l'invention avec gestion par algorithme en débordement.FIG. 7 represents a call center architecture according to the invention with management by overflow algorithm.
Selon l'invention, et comme illustré figure 5, les appels de tous les portefeuilles arrivent au niveau du CTI. Au sein du CTI, un algorithme permet de décider, pour chaque appel qui arrive, s'il est traité par l'équipe qui lui est dédiée ou s'il peut être traité par n'importe quelle équipe.According to the invention, and as illustrated in FIG. 5, calls from all the portfolios arrive at the ITC level. Within the CTI, an algorithm makes it possible to decide, for each incoming call, whether it is handled by the team dedicated to it or whether it can be handled by any team.
Dans le premier cas, les appels constituent ce que l'on appellera un « flux portefeuille », et dans le second cas, on parlera de flux « hors portefeuille ».In the first case, the calls constitute what will be called a "portfolio flow", and in the second case, we will speak of "non-portfolio" flows.
Notons que cette architecture peut également être implémentée de façon décentralisée. Dans ce cas, on décide sur le lieu d'arrivée de l'appel si celui-ci est traité par l'équipe qui lui est dédiée ou s'il peut être traité par n'importe quelle équipe.Note that this architecture can also be implemented in a decentralized way. In this case, we decide on the place of arrival of the call if it is treated by the team dedicated to it or if it can be treated by any team.
Comme illustré figure 5, les flux portefeuille ont une file d'attente distincte pour chaque équipe et les appels hors portefeuille sont mis dans une file d'attente commune moins prioritaire que les files des flux portefeuille correspondant à un ACD supplémentaire et associé à ce flux hors portefeuille appelé ACD-HP (ACD- Hors Portefeuille). Cette notion de priorité signifie qu'un conseiller de clientèle ne peut répondre a un appel hors portefeuille que s'il est disponible et la file de son portefeuille est vide.As shown in Figure 5, portfolio flows have a separate queue for each team and non-portfolio calls are placed in a common queue with lower priority than the portfolio flow queues corresponding to an additional ACD. associated with this non-portfolio flow called ACD-HP (ACD- Excluding Portfolio). This notion of priority means that a client advisor can only respond to an out-of-wall call if it is available and the queue in his portfolio is empty.
Le principe de cette architecture consiste donc à exploiter le flux hors portefeuille afin de réduire la disponibilité des conseillers et donc d'améliorer le temps d'attente moyen.The principle of this architecture is therefore to exploit the non-portfolio flow in order to reduce the availability of advisors and thus improve the average waiting time.
Plus précisément, soit p la proportion d'appels traités hors portefeuille parmi tous les appels reçus.More specifically, let p be the proportion of out-of-wallet calls out of all calls received.
Si P=O, tous les appels sont traités en portefeuilles : c'est la configuration en gestion par portefeuilles exclusive. Le temps d'attente est alors élevé.If P = O, all calls are handled in portfolios: this is the exclusive portfolio management configuration. The waiting time is high.
En augmentant p, le temps d'attente diminue jusqu'à atteindre un minimum pour p=100%, ce qui correspond à l'architecture consolidée où tous les appels peuvent être traités par n'importe quelle équipe.By increasing p, the waiting time decreases to a minimum of p = 100%, which corresponds to the consolidated architecture where all calls can be handled by any team.
L'algorithme au sein du CTI est alors paramétré afin d'obtenir la proportion p d'appels hors portefeuille en fonction du temps d'attente moyen que l'on souhaite garantir. On montre d'ailleurs qu'il n'est pas nécessaire d'avoir une proportion p très importante pour garantir un temps moyen d'attente proche de celui de la configuration consolidée. En pratique, p peut être compris entre 10% et 20%. Les algorithmes mis en place pour déterminer quels appels sont mis hors portefeuille peuvent être de différentes natures. Voici trois modes de réalisation possibles qui peuvent être éventuellement combinés au sein du CTI :The algorithm within the ITC is then set to obtain the proportion p of non-portfolio calls as a function of the average waiting time that is to be guaranteed. Moreover, it is shown that it is not necessary to have a very important proportion p to guarantee an average waiting time close to that of the consolidated configuration. In practice, p can be between 10% and 20%. The algorithms set up to determine which calls are placed outside the portfolio can be of different natures. Here are three possible embodiments that can possibly be combined within the ITC:
Le premier algorithme utilisable est un algorithme aléatoire comme sur la figure 6. Selon ce mode de mise en oeuvre, à chaque arrivée d'un appel, celui-ci est affecté à son équipe (flux portefeuille) avec une probabilité (1-p) et est affecté au flux hors portefeuille avec une probabilité p.The first algorithm that can be used is a random algorithm as in FIG. 6. According to this implementation mode, each time a call arrives, it is assigned to its team (portfolio flow) with a probability (1-p). and is allocated to the non-portfolio flow with a probability p.
Selon un second mode de mise en œuvre, l'algorithme affecte les appels au flux hors portefeuille en fonction d'une caractéristique préalablement spécifiée. Par exemple, on peut vouloir mettre hors portefeuille tous les appels provenant d'un numéro fixe ou alors tous les appels non- identifiables pour lesquels il n'est pas possible de déterminer le numéro d'appel et donc d'affecter l'appel à un portefeuille. On pourra également décider de ne pas exclure d'un portefeuille des appels qui correspondent à des rappels de clients. Selon cet algorithme, p représentera alors la proportion d'appels présentant les caractéristiques retenues parmi tous les appels reçus.According to a second implementation mode, the algorithm assigns calls to the non-portfolio flow according to a previously specified characteristic. For example, you may want to put out of the wallet all calls from a fixed number or all non-identifiable calls for which it is not possible to determine the number and thus assign the call to a wallet. It may also be decided not to exclude from a wallet calls that correspond to customer reminders. According to this algorithm, p will then represent the proportion of calls having the characteristics retained among all the calls received.
Enfin, selon un troisième mode de mise en œuvre, il est possible de mettre en place un algorithme en débordement comme illustré figure 7. Dans ce cas, un appel est mis en flux hors portefeuille si le nombre d'appels déjà en attente au niveau de son équipe dépasse un seuil préalablement fixé, ou bien si le temps d'attente pour être servi par l'équipe dépasse un seuil préalablement fixé. L'invention est décrite dans ce qui précède à titre d'exemple. Il est entendu que l'homme du métier est à même de réaliser différentes variantes de l'invention sans pour autant sortir du cadre du brevet. Finally, according to a third mode of implementation, it is possible to set up an overflow algorithm as illustrated in FIG. 7. In this case, a call is put in flow out of wallet if the number of calls already waiting at the level his team exceeds a previously fixed threshold, or if the waiting time to be served by the team exceeds a previously fixed threshold. The invention is described in the foregoing by way of example. It is understood that the skilled person is able to realize different variants of the invention without departing from the scope of the patent.

Claims

REVENDICATIONS
1. Architecture de centre d'appels comprenant au moins un équipement CTI (Computer Telephony Intégration) et au moins un équipement ACD (Automatic CaIl Dispatcher), chacun dudit (au moins) ACD étant associé à au moins un groupe de postes de réception d'appels, caractérisée en ce que ledit CTI comprend des moyens techniques pour la sélection et le routage afin de router un appel entrant vers un groupe pré-déterminé de postes de réception d'appels en fonction de paramètres dudit appel entrant ; l'architecture étant en outre caractérisée en ce qu'elle comporte des moyens techniques permettant, lorsqu'un événement particulier survient, de ne pas router un appel entrant vers le groupe pré-déterminé de postes de réception d'appels mais vers un autre groupe de postes de réception d'appels ou bien vers l'ensemble des groupes de postes de réception d'appels.A call center architecture comprising at least one CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) equipment and at least one ACD (Automatic CaIl Dispatcher) equipment, each of said (at least) ACDs being associated with at least one group of reception stations. calls, characterized in that said CTI comprises technical means for selection and routing for routing an incoming call to a pre-determined group of call receiving stations according to parameters of said incoming call; the architecture being further characterized in that it comprises technical means enabling, when a particular event occurs, not to route an incoming call to the predetermined group of call reception stations but to another group from call receivers or to all groups of call receivers.
2. Architecture de centre d'appels selon la revendication 1, caractérisée en ce qu'au moins un desdits paramètres dudit appel entrant correspond à un identifiant de l'émetteur de l'appel.2. Call center architecture according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one of said parameters of said incoming call corresponds to an identifier of the issuer of the call.
3. Architecture de centre d'appels selon la revendication 1 ou 2, caractérisée en ce qu'au moins un desdits paramètres dudit appel entrant correspond à un élément d'une requête de l'émetteur de l'appel.3. Call center architecture according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least one of said parameters of said incoming call corresponds to an element of a request of the issuer of the call.
4. Architecture de centre d'appels selon la revendication 1, 2 ou 3, caractérisée en ce qu'elle comporte des moyens techniques pour la gestion de priorités dans le traitement d'appels entrants. 4. Call center architecture according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that it comprises technical means for priority management in the processing of incoming calls.
5. Architecture de centre d'appels selon l'une au moins des revendications 1 à 4, caractérisée en ce qu'un appel entrant est routé vers un poste particulier de réception d'appels indépendamment du groupe de postes de réception d'appels auquel ce poste particulier appartient.5. Call center architecture according to at least one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that an incoming call is routed to a particular call receiving station independently of the group of call receiving stations to which this particular post belongs.
6. Architecture de centre d'appels selon l'une au moins des revendications précédentes, caractérisée en ce que ledit événement particulier correspond à une difficulté technique dans l'identification de l'émetteur de l'appel entrant.6. Call center architecture according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said particular event corresponds to a technical difficulty in identifying the issuer of the incoming call.
7. Architecture de centre d'appels selon l'une au moins des revendications 1 à 5, caractérisée en ce que ledit événement particulier correspond à la détection du fait que l'appel entrant est émis d'un poste de télécommunications fixes et non d'un poste de télécommunications mobiles.7. Call center architecture according to at least one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said particular event corresponds to the detection that the incoming call is sent from a fixed telecommunications station and not from a mobile telecommunications station.
8. Architecture de centre d'appels selon l'une au moins des revendications 1 à 5, caractérisée en ce que ledit événement particulier est déclenché volontairement de façon aléatoire sur une proportion, fixe ou modulable dans le temps, des appels entrants reçus au niveau dudit CTI.8. Call center architecture according to at least one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said particular event is deliberately triggered randomly on a proportion, fixed or adjustable over time, incoming calls received at the level of said ITC.
9. Architecture de centre d'appels selon la revendication 8, caractérisée en ce que ladite proportion est fixe et comprise entre un dixième et un cinquième (soit entre 10% et 20%) .9. Call center architecture according to claim 8, characterized in that said proportion is fixed and between one tenth and one fifth (or between 10% and 20%).
10. Architecture de centre d'appels selon l'une au moins des revendications précédentes, caractérisée en ce que ledit événement particulier correspond à un débordement d'au moins un groupe de postes de réception d'appels. 10. Call center architecture according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said particular event corresponds to an overflow of at least one group of call receiving stations.
11. Architecture de centre d'appels selon la revendication 10, caractérisée en ce que ledit débordement est déterminé par le dépassement d'un seuil prédéterminé par le temps d'attente, réel ou estimé, de l'appel entrant avant son traitement par un poste de réception d'appels.11. Call center architecture according to claim 10, characterized in that said overflow is determined by the exceeding of a predetermined threshold by the waiting time, real or estimated, of the incoming call before its processing by a call reception station.
12. Architecture de centre d'appels selon la revendication 11, caractérisée en ce que l'estimation du temps d'attente est réalisée au moyen d'un procédé prenant en compte des règles de priorité.12. Call center architecture according to claim 11, characterized in that the estimate of the waiting time is carried out by means of a method taking into account priority rules.
13. Architecture de centre d'appels selon la revendication 9, caractérisée en ce que ledit débordement est déterminé par le dépassement d'un seuil prédéterminé par le nombre N d'appels en attente. 13. Call center architecture according to claim 9, characterized in that said overflow is determined by the exceeding of a threshold predetermined by the number N of calls waiting.
EP05775324A 2004-06-08 2005-06-08 Client portfolio-based call center architecture Withdrawn EP1754363A1 (en)

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FR0406187A FR2871322B1 (en) 2004-06-08 2004-06-08 CALL CENTER ARCHITECTURE BY CLIENT PORTFOLIO
PCT/FR2005/001410 WO2006003306A1 (en) 2004-06-08 2005-06-08 Client portfolio-based call center architecture

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