Purchasing a new product or service can be intimidating, especially when it's your first time and you aren't accustomed to the talk of the trade. Take car buying for example: if you're anything like me, you nod, smile, and discreetly start Googling when the salesperson talks about DCTs and MFI-Cs. This process is uncomfortable and often leaves you with more questions than answers.
Nearly every industry has their version of a secret language, and Contact Centers are no exception.
To help you translate and talk the talk, we've compiled a list of some of the most common abbreviations and terms used in the Contact Center world. Whether you're in the market for Contact Center services, are starting a new job at a Contact Center, or simply want to learn the language, this glossary of terms is a great reference tool.
ACR (Abandon Call Rate)
This rate represents the percentage of calls abandoned by the caller before they actually get an answer.
AHT (Average Handle Time)
Average handle time is a really important indicator of the quality of customer service. It is a metric for the average duration of a single interaction, often measured from the customer's initiation of the call including any hold time, talk time, and related tasks that follow the interaction.
ACD (Automatic Call Distributor)
Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) is a system that redirects all incoming calls to the center to suitable and available agents. Of course, this system is able to manage many calls at once.
Average Speed of Answer
Average Speed of Answer or ASA is the average amount of time needed for calls to be answered in the contact center.
Contact Center Services: Dedicated
Is a dedicated division in which contact center agents are specially trained to handle a single client. The advantage of a dedicated division is that calls will be answered by a specialist verses a generalist, and metrics like average handle time and abandon call rates can be tightly controlled.
Contact Center Services: Shared
Is a division where agents are trained on multiple, often hundreds, of different client accounts. Agents in this division are considered generalists. Because metrics like average handle time and abandon call rates are more difficult to control in a this division, shared contact center solutions are often the most cost efficient.
Call Recording
Many professional contact centers use call recordings to check the quality of their employees performance. Callers are usually informed if the call will be recorded before the conversation starts.
Call Rounding
Call rounding is the unit of measure for billing purposes. Agent minutes are rates charged for agent work time and are billed in 30 seconds increments i.e. for a call that is less than 30 seconds the billing will be billed at a minimum of 30 seconds. If a call is 35 seconds it will be rounded to 60 seconds and so on.
DID (Direct Inward Dialing)
Direct Inward Dialing is a unique telephone number given to the client to dial to forward their lines to a contact center to answer. Once assigned to the account the DID is dedicated and reserved for the clients use.
FCR (First Call Resolution)
FCR or First Call Resolution is an indicator for the efficiency of one agent regarding their first interaction with a customer. In an ideal world, all problems should be resolved after the first call to the call center.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
A technology that allows a computer to interact with humans through the use of voice and tones input via keypad. IVRs can be programmed to allow the caller to press zero and be transferred to a live agent at any time.
How Telelink Can Help
For over 50 years, Telelink has been providing customer support solutions that exceed industry standards and customer expectations. Our focus on operational excellence is demonstrated by over 30 awards, 150 dedicated employees, and over 400 customers throughout North America.
Keep your front-office running smoothly and your customers satisfied with award-winning 24/7 Telephone Answering and Inbound Customer Service solutions from Telelink.