What is ACD?
Everything you need to know about automatic call distribution
What is ACD?
Everything you need to know about automatic call distribution
What is ACD?
Everything you need to know about automatic call distribution
What is ACD?
Everything you need to know about automatic call distribution
If you work in a call center, you know that long wait times and transfers can drive away your customers. Automatic call distribution helps call center agents manage high call volumes, prioritize important calls, and deliver faster, personalized customer service.
Let’s explore what automatic call distribution is, how it works, and how you can use distribution methods to improve your call center efficiency and customer experiences.
Feel free to skip ahead:
Automatic call distribution (ACD) is a virtual phone system feature that facilitates automated call routing capabilities.
With an ACD system, businesses can distribute calls to agents and departments based on a set of predetermined rules and criteria. The ACD may route calls based on agent skill, business hours, IVR menu inputs, and a bunch of other rules as per the individual structure and needs of the business.
For example, a caller ringing to make a purchase might be routed to the most experienced sales employee. A VIP caller ringing with a technical difficulty might be routed to the next available support agent. Basically, ACD systems ensure that callers are directed to the most appropriate agent or team.
In addition to increasing positive agent-customer interactions, ACD systems have other benefits, including reducing customer waiting times and helping agents to manage high call volumes.
The main purpose of automatic call distribution systems is to route incoming calls to the right agent or department. But how does it do this?
ACD can be broken down into three different steps. These steps are:
An ACD’s work begins as soon as a caller dials the business’s phone number. Let’s take a look at the three steps above in a little more detail.
Once a call is received by the system, the caller will be greeted by an IVR. Let’s take a moment to discuss what an IVR is before proceeding.
The terms IVR and ACD are sometimes used interchangeably, but they’re two very different components of a virtual phone system.
Interactive voice response (IVR) is a technology that exists within the ACD system. It’s often described as a virtual receptionist because it not only greets the caller but it also interacts with them via a prerecorded menu. An example of an IVR script would be something like: “Press one for sales. Press two for customer support.”
The main job of the IVR system is to identify the purpose of every incoming call by collecting relevant customer information. To do this, the IVR system presents the caller with a series of menu options that callers can interact with using voice responses or touch-tone keypad inputs.
Using this information, ACD systems can more intelligently route calls to the right agent.
Here’s a table that sums up the differences between the two technologies.
The terms IVR and ACD are sometimes used interchangeably, but they’re two very different components of a virtual phone system.
Interactive voice response (IVR) is a technology that exists within the ACD system. It’s often described as a virtual receptionist because it not only greets the caller but it also interacts with them via a prerecorded menu. An example of an IVR script would be something like: “Press one for sales. Press two for customer support.”
The main job of the IVR system is to identify the purpose of every incoming call by collecting relevant customer information. To do this, the IVR system presents the caller with a series of menu options that callers can interact with using voice responses or touch-tone keypad inputs.
Using this information, ACD systems can more intelligently route calls to the right agent.
Here’s a table that sums up the differences between the two technologies.
The terms IVR and ACD are sometimes used interchangeably, but they’re two very different components of a virtual phone system.
Interactive voice response (IVR) is a technology that exists within the ACD system. It’s often described as a virtual receptionist because it not only greets the caller but it also interacts with them via a prerecorded menu. An example of an IVR script would be something like: “Press one for sales. Press two for customer support.”
The main job of the IVR system is to identify the purpose of every incoming call by collecting relevant customer information. To do this, the IVR system presents the caller with a series of menu options that callers can interact with using voice responses or touch-tone keypad inputs.
Using this information, ACD systems can more intelligently route calls to the right agent.
Here’s a table that sums up the differences between the two technologies.
The terms IVR and ACD are sometimes used interchangeably, but they’re two very different components of a virtual phone system.
Interactive voice response (IVR) is a technology that exists within the ACD system. It’s often described as a virtual receptionist because it not only greets the caller but it also interacts with them via a prerecorded menu. An example of an IVR script would be something like: “Press one for sales. Press two for customer support.”
The main job of the IVR system is to identify the purpose of every incoming call by collecting relevant customer information. To do this, the IVR system presents the caller with a series of menu options that callers can interact with using voice responses or touch-tone keypad inputs.
Using this information, ACD systems can more intelligently route calls to the right agent.
Here’s a table that sums up the differences between the two technologies.
| Automatic Call Distribution | Interactive Voice Response | |
| Primary Function | Queuing and routing inbound calls to the most appropriate place. | Gathering customer data to assist the routing process, using dual-tone multi-frequency signaling (DTMF) and voice recognition technology to interact with customers. |
| Data source | Call center metrics (e.g., call volumes and time-to-response), as well as employee skills, department, agent idle-time, etc. | Customer data (e.g., caller ID and location), as well as call intent. |
| Self-service options | None. | IVR systems can perform tasks like self-service billing and real-time information location. |
| Automatic Call Distribution | Interactive Voice Response | |
| Primary Function | Queuing and routing inbound calls to the most appropriate place. | Gathering customer data to assist the routing process, using dual-tone multi-frequency signaling (DTMF) and voice recognition technology to interact with customers. |
| Data source | Call center metrics (e.g., call volumes and time-to-response), as well as employee skills, department, agent idle-time, etc. | Customer data (e.g., caller ID and location), as well as call intent. |
| Self-service options | None. | IVR systems can perform tasks like self-service billing and real-time information location. |
| Automatic Call Distribution | Interactive Voice Response | |
| Primary Function | Queuing and routing inbound calls to the most appropriate place. | Gathering customer data to assist the routing process, using dual-tone multi-frequency signaling (DTMF) and voice recognition technology to interact with customers. |
| Data source | Call center metrics (e.g., call volumes and time-to-response), as well as employee skills, department, agent idle-time, etc. | Customer data (e.g., caller ID and location), as well as call intent. |
| Self-service options | None. | IVR systems can perform tasks like self-service billing and real-time information location. |
| Automatic Call Distribution | Interactive Voice Response | |
| Primary Function | Queuing and routing inbound calls to the most appropriate place. | Gathering customer data to assist the routing process, using dual-tone multi-frequency signaling (DTMF) and voice recognition technology to interact with customers. |
| Data source | Call center metrics (e.g., call volumes and time-to-response), as well as employee skills, department, agent idle-time, etc. | Customer data (e.g., caller ID and location), as well as call intent. |
| Self-service options | None. | IVR systems can perform tasks like self-service billing and real-time information location. |
The IVR can be used to interact with the caller through a set of options and menus to establish the call’s purpose. At this stage, caller ID and screening technologies may also assist in gathering any geographical, language, or identification information that will assist contact center agents in delivering better, personalized customer service.
The more caller information that your IVR can gather, the better your ACD system will be at routing calls to the right place.
After gathering the relevant information, ACD systems place calls in a call queue. Where a call is placed in a queue is dependent on a number of real-time factors, including:
You can program your ACD to queue calls based on your business needs. For example, if you’re short-staffed, you can prioritize callers based on the most urgent queries.
Finally, the ACD system will route the call to the most appropriate agent or department as per your pre-configured routing rules. The ACD routing algorithm might be based on a number of different factors, including:
ACD technology has become an essential business phone feature for small and large businesses alike. One of the best things about ACD is that it presents a variety of distribution methods, allowing you to configure it to suit the unique needs of your business.
With so many call routing strategies out there, creating routing rules that service your unique business and customer needs might take some trial and error. Let’s take a look at some of the most commonly-used call distribution methods in contact centers.
This routing method delivers incoming phone calls to agents based on predefined orders.
All incoming calls are initially sent to the first agent in the order (let’s call them agent one). If agent one is busy, the call will be sent to agent two, and if agent two is busy, the call would then be sent to agent three, and so on.
Fixed order routing is often used to distribute calls based on agent performance and experience, with the most experienced handlers higher up in the queue.
Time-based routing distributes calls depending on agent availability. If a specific agent is unavailable, the incoming call will be directed to the next available agent.
Time-based routing is an optimal solution for businesses with many remote employees working across different time zones. It ensures that agents aren’t disturbed during off-hours. If there’s no other agent available to take an incoming call, ACD systems can send the call to voicemail or initiate automatic callbacks.
If you’re looking to decrease customer wait times, simultaneous call distribution is the perfect routing method.
Here, incoming calls are sent to every agent in a ring group. All of the agents’ phones will ring at the same time, and the agent who answers first takes the call. In addition to improving your time-to-answer and customer wait times, simultaneous routing helps to decrease the number of calls that go to voicemail.
Also known as idle agent routing, this type of distribution sends incoming calls to the agent with the least amount of talk time. This method is used to distribute call volumes fairly between agents, ensuring that agents with lower average handling times receive as much talk time as those with higher average handling times.
Another way to equalize workloads between agents is with rotary call distribution. Here, incoming calls are answered by agents on a turn-by-turn basis. The first call will be sent to agent one, the second call will be sent to agent two, and so on until every agent in the queue has taken a call. At this point, the cycle returns to agent one and repeats.
Also known as weighted routing, skills-based routing distributes calls to agents and departments based on their individual skill set in relation to the specific needs of the incoming call.
For example, skills-based routing ensures that a caller experiencing a technical difficulty would be directed to an agent in the IT department rather than, say, the accounting department.
A Spanish-speaking caller could be directed to a multilingual agent. The great thing about skills-based routing is that it can be determined by whatever metrics are most important to your call center, from language proficiency and expertise to handling or response time.
In this fast-paced world of instant connectivity, customer expectations have changed. Callers don’t like long waits, siloed service, or blind transfers. They expect personalized customer service from experienced, engaged agents without being subjected to repetitive hold music.
ACD has become a foundational feature of contact centers for a very good reason - it’s designed to elevate customer experiences. Here are just a few ways that ACD improve your contact center.
Automated routing reduces customer frustration by reducing the time they spend stuck on hold. With customers growing more used to immediate customer service, decreasing wait times is essential to minimize customer irritation.
Not only do customers get connected quickly without having to endure multiple transfers, but they also get routed to the most qualified agent for their needs. This should ensure prompt call resolution and higher customer satisfaction.
Manual routing is a laborious task, as is having to handle repetitive queries and annoyed customers. With smart routing automation and the ability to handle some of the more tedious inquiries, ACD and IVR systems promote better workforce management.
Employees can distribute calls more fairly and in alignment with their specific skill sets while employing integrations for more productive, streamlined workflows.
By increasing employee satisfaction, you cultivate a more engaged, proactive workforce and, in turn, facilitate the delivery of positive agent-customer interactions and experiences.
With powerful computer telephony integration capabilities, ACD systems are the foundation of business process optimization and are essential for the delivery of personalized, omnichannel customer service across telephone, web, SMS, and social media channels.
ACD integrates with your essential call center software like CRM and CTI, allowing you to access immediate, up-to-date customer information from one centralized app - no tedious app switching required.
As the business climate continues to embrace automation, more industries are implementing ACD tools into their business phone systems. But for call centers and contact centers, ACD is more than just a luxury.
The main purpose of a call center is to efficiently handle inbound calls and deliver exceptional customer experiences over the phone. For businesses with high call volumes, geographically-dispersed teams, and lots of different departments, meeting these goals can be difficult without an effective call routing strategy in place.
However, advanced ACD tools come equipped with more than just skills-based routing capabilities. Call monitoring and call recording functions, powerful integrations, and enhanced analytics provide you with the visibility and flexibility you need to optimize internal processes and tap into the unique communication needs of your customers.
Want to know more about how automatic call distribution systems can help your business? Looking for a contact center solution with in-built ACD functions? Maybe 8x8 is the provider for you - speak with a specialist today!