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ASAI can significantly improve the operations in a call center. This feature provides the following benefits:
Caller-dependent and region-dependent treatment for incoming calls is possible in routing and voice response applications. In addition, the direct agent calling feature that is available with these applications allows calls to be delivered to specific agents while maintaining accurate split measurements. These capabilities help to ensure that calls are quickly and reliably directed to the call center resource that is best suited to handle them. This minimizes the number of transfers that a caller experiences and allows callers to be serviced in a rapid, consistent, and personalized fashion.
In data screen delivery applications, information associated with a given call is available to each agent who receives the call. This eliminates the need for callers to repeat information to each agent. For example, a caller may be directed initially to a Avaya IR system telephony channel where the caller is prompted through an automated voice response application. At some point the caller may request to be transferred to a live agent to discuss a topic in more detail. With the Avaya IR system's ASAI feature, the identity of the caller and additional information collected from the caller by the voice-response application can be saved and presented in a data screen to the live agent receiving the transferred call. This eliminates the need for the caller to repeat information already collected when calls are transferred multiple times or are transferred between live agents. Thus, call holding time is reduced.
The coresidency of voice response and switch-to-host gateway applications with the ASAI feature eliminates the need for multiple boxes with multiple interfaces to the host computer, thereby simplifying host application development. Access to ASAI capabilities using IVR Designer minimizes the effort required to implement the Avaya IR system's piece of the overall Avaya IR system/host application. In addition, the use of DNIS in voice response applications to enable telephony channel sharing means that the same number of Avaya IR system channels can service more calls.
Because the host screen application is ready to provide or accept information at the same time that the agent begins to speak with the caller, the use of data screen delivery applications reduces the time needed to service calls. Because calls are shorter, network charges are lower. The same number of agents can handle an increase in call volume since per-call service time is reduced. Also, certain calls can be eliminated entirely via the use of routing applications, for example, call screening for the identification of fraudulent calls.
Specific agent tasks might change when you add an ASAI application such as data screen delivery to the call center. You should determine what agent training is needed before the new service begins. Agents should be trained on what new information will appear on their data terminal screens and how to use that information to interact with calling customers. Before implementing a data screen delivery application with the entire agent population, conduct a trial to compare old call center operations with the new call center operations using a data screen delivery application. Be sure to explain the benefits of the application so that agents can take advantage of them.
If data screen delivery is performed for agent-to-agent transfers, carefully read the information on Agent-to-Agent Transfers. Agents must be trained to perform transfers properly so that the desired call events are passed to the host application. More specifically, for blind transfers, agents must transfer calls as follows:
In consult transfer scenarios, the agent may wait to talk to the second agent before completing the transfer. However, the agent must make sure that the original call is on transfer hold before completing the transfer. A call is said to be on transfer hold when the call is placed on hold by pressing the Transfer button. This is as opposed to regular hold where the call is placed on hold by pressing the Hold button.
For example, the agent may decide to return to the original caller before completing the transfer (for example, to say, "Please wait while I transfer you to Bill who can handle your question"). The agent must be sure to place the original call on transfer hold (not regular hold) before completing the transfer. If the agent used regular hold, the agent would be unable to return to the original caller.
Use the following procedure for consult transfer situations where the screening agent wants to go back and talk to the original caller before completing the transfer. In this procedure, Agent 1 is the screening agent who receives the original call from the calling customer. Agent 2 is the specialized agent who receives the transferred call. Although this procedure may seem cumbersome initially, it is the most natural set of steps to take in consult transfer scenarios where the screening agent wants to announce the transfer to the original caller after having talked to the specialized agent. This procedure also ensures that the Avaya IR system can properly identify the original call when the two calls are merged. If agents do not follow this procedure, inaccurate call events are reported to the host application.
