What is call management?

What is call management software and how does it work?

Call management software is a tool that routes inbound calls to individuals who are best suited to answer specific calls. This is also known as skills-based routing. Call management software can also route calls based on factors like the time of day or the availability of employees.

Call management software routes inbound and outbound calls typically according to a set of defined parameters. How the system routes the call itself depends on the system. For example, calls can be routed in the following ways:

• Based on the original number the customer dialed.
• To automatically connect specific customers based on their phone numbers.
• Using customer data to decide how to route the call.
• Using an automated voice that prompts the caller to input commands.

So, for example, when a customer initially calls, they might be met with an automated voice that determines specified parameters by asking them to answer questions via voice command or by number key input. Their call is then routed to the right department using that information.

The importance of good call management

A poor call management process can be disastrous for an organization. When a customer calls a call center, if they speak to an agent who doesn't have the skills, access to systems or general knowledge to answer their question, they're transferred to someone else. Other times, the customer will hang up and call again.

In the worst-case scenario, the customer doesn't even call back, which could possibly end their relationship with the organization.

Good call management ensures that all calls receive proper attention in a timely manner and that each call is directed to the right department. It should also improve efficiency, customer experience, data management and team member performance if implemented correctly.

Types of routing in call management software

Call management software can route calls in many ways. Some tools require customer effort, and some require integration into an organization's systems.

The simplest type of routing that call management software performs is sending a phone call to all individuals who are available to answer the call -- also known as a hunt group. It can also send the call to the agent who has been available in the queue for the longest amount of time.

But with skills-based routing, a call can be sent to the agent best able to handle a specific phone call using the following techniques:

Routing calls by DNIS number

The phone number that a customer calls is also known as a dialed number identification service (DNIS) number. An organization might have different phone numbers for different products or services.

Call management software can see what DNIS number a call is coming from and send that call to the queue or individual most knowledgeable about the specific product or service that the number supports.

Routing calls by ANI

The phone number that a customer calls from is also known as an automatic number identification (ANI) number.

Call management software can access a database to see if it contains the ANI number. If so, the call management system then follows specific rules to send the call to a particular queue or individual to best handle the inquiry.

An example would be when the call management software accesses a database and determines a customer is past due on a bill. The software can then follow routing rules to send the call to an individual who is trained to obtain payment from the customer.

Routing calls as directed by the caller

When a caller reaches an organization, they might be greeted with an automated message that asks them to press or say a specific number for different departments. Once the caller does this, the call management system routes the call to the appropriate queue or individual.

Routing calls as a result of a customer identifier

When a caller reaches an organization, they might be greeted with an introductory message and asked for a piece of identifying information, such as an account number or phone number. If the system finds a match for a specific identifier in the database, the call can be routed in one of the following ways:

• If a customer's account is past due, the call can be routed to someone who is trained to collect payment from the customer.
• If a customer called previously, the call can be routed to the same agent who answered this person's previous call.
• If a customer is in a particular place in the lifecycle of a product -- such as having an obsolete wireless phone -- the call can be routed to someone who can help with an upgrade.
• If a customer speaks Spanish or French, the call can be routed to someone who speaks that language.

If an organization plans to route calls based on a customer identifier, the call management software must be able to integrate with specific databases.

Automatic call distributor-based routing

In ACD routing, the longest waiting call is routed to the first available advisor. If the relevant advisor isn't available, then the call is moved to a queue.

Priority-based routing

High-priority customers are routed to specific agents or departments using an ACD system. Customers are also queued based on caller priority. This is useful in environments with customer loyalty programs with tiered customer bases.

Round-robin routing

This type of routing evenly distributes calls to agents in a predetermined order. This ensures that everyone handles a balanced number of calls. Round-robin routing should be used when all agents have similar skill sets.

Common call management features

The following features are common among call management systems:

Call presentation

Once the call management system determines how to route a call, it's forwarded to an agent to be answered.

The following are the most common ways calls can be presented to agents:

• A call can ring at multiple workstations at the same time until someone answers it.
• A call can ring at an individual workstation until the agent answers the call or a preset amount of time passes. If no one answers, the call rings at another agent's workstation.
• A call can be automatically presented to an agent by being dropped into the agent's headset.

Reporting

Call management systems provide real-time and after-the-fact reporting that can be used to measure both the performance of the call center and the performance of the queue or agent.

On the real-time dashboard, some examples of data that appears include the following:

• Number of agents on the phone.
• Status of agents.
• Number of calls in the queue.

In after-the-fact reporting, some examples of data that appears include the following:

• Number of calls offered.
• Number of calls answered.
• Service level.
• Average handle time.

Call recording

Call management systems can usually record the audio part of phone calls -- although some systems also support screen recording.

This feature enables an efficient quality monitoring process where customer service managers can listen to and analyze recorded calls. Managers can then provide feedback to agents on how to improve performance.

In some industries -- such as financial services under the Dodd-Frank Act -- call recording is required in the event a call must be reviewed to respond to legal and regulatory issues.

Call tracking

Call management systems often include call-tracking features that are used to monitor and analyze call activity. These often track different metrics such as call duration, source and caller details. Other tracking features include campaign effectiveness tracking, which evaluates the level of success of marketing campaigns by tracking the number of calls generated.

Call queues

These place callers in a line until an agent is available. Queues are used to manage large amounts of incoming call traffic. Queues can be organized based on several different factors, and a wait time might also be provided to the callers.

Benefits of call management systems

The biggest benefit of a call management system is that it supports the attainment of first-contact resolution by routing customer calls to agents who have the best skills to resolve the issue during their first interaction.

Other benefits of call center management systems include the following:

• The capture of important data, such as call volume statistics. These statistics include calls offered, calls handled, calls abandoned, service levels and average handle time. This type of data is important for analyzing the workload of the call center and projecting future staffing requirements.
• Call management can reduce the number of abandoned calls, as they help ensure callers connect to an agent quickly, or, if not, are placed in a queue.
• Automated routing and queuing can reduce the number of manual tasks agents must perform, increasing agent efficiency.
• Call management software can often integrate with a wide range of other tools, like customer relationship management (CRM) and helpdesk tools, increasing its flexibility.

Call management in a contact center as opposed to a traditional call center

Implementation of a call management system differs depending on if it's used in a contact center versus if it's used in a traditional call center.

While both call management and contact centers offer customer support, one of the main differences in implementation is in the communication channels they're designed to handle. Traditional call centers, for example, are designed to specifically handle voice calls. They use more basic call management features, like ACDs or interactive voice response systems.

Contact centers, on the other hand, can handle other communication channels such as through phone, email, SMS and social media. Contact center-based call management typically includes more advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence chatbots, CRM integration and analytics features. Contact centers offer a more integrated and flexible approach to customer service. Both call centers and contact centers, however, can be outsourced to a third party.

Considerations before choosing call management software

There are several items to consider prior to choosing call management software, including the following:

Cloud vs. on-premises

An initial decision that organizations must make is whether to acquire a cloud-based or on-premises system. Many organizations are moving toward cloud systems due to lower upfront costs, easier scalability and access to newer technologies and capabilities. This analysis differs from company to company and requires input from many departments -- such as the contact center, IT and finance -- to make the appropriate decision.

Channels of communication to be supported

The contact center must understand the current state and long-term vision of the communication channels it wants to support.

If there's a need to support channels beyond voice -- such as email and chat -- and the contact center wants to use a call management platform to support those channels, it would be wise to select a system that can support an omnichannel environment.

Implementing a call management system

Before implementing a call management system, organizations should first assess business processes and needs, choose the right call management software, plan the implementation, and then begin configuring and setting up the system. This includes processes such as customizing the system, setting routing parameters and migrating data between systems.

Implementing a call management system is also a combination of science and art.

A call management system routes calls in a specific manner to maximize specific outcomes -- such as increasing customer satisfaction when the customer speaks with the same agent.

While this sounds like an optimal process, some call routing decisions can have adverse results that aren't as easily measured. Two examples include the following:

• If an organization sets up routing to a specific agent -- such as the same agent the caller previously spoke with -- it needs to be careful that the caller doesn't wait in the queue for an extended period of time before speaking with the agent.
• If an organization sets up routing to drive calls to the highest quality agents, it should be careful not to burn out those agents.

Call management software vendors

There are many call management software providers. Each vendor provides basic call routing. The challenge is deciding which additional capabilities and features are required for both the current and future state of the contact center. As the capabilities increase, so, too, does the price.

The following is a sampling of call management software listed in alphabetical order:

• 8x8.
• Aircall.
• Five9.
• Genesys.
• Nextiva.
• Nice CXone.
• RingCentral Contact Center.
• Talkdesk.
• Zendesk Talk.
• Zoho Voice.

Contact centers are much more flexible when compared to traditional call centers. Learn about the different types of contact centers.