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Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) basics
This capability is important in areas where the public network scommunication servers do
not provide disconnect supervision. Without this capability, short-duration calls that queue
to a split/skill and are answered by an ACD agent or other answering position are counted
as ACD calls, even if the calling party hangs up before the call is answered. This type of
call is called a phantom or ghost call.
Move agent while staffed
A staffed agent can be moved between splits or changing the skill assignments for staffed
agents. If the agent has any call on the telephone or is in ACW, then the move cannot take
place immediately, but is pending the agent telephone going idle (all calls have been
terminated), or the agent changing out of the ACW mode.
CMS provides two real-time database items in the agent data, MOVEPENDING and
PENDINGSPLIT, that can be accessed by using custom reports to provide information
about whether agent have moves pending and, if so, the split or skill to which they are
being moved. Note that in the case that the agent's skills are being changed and the
change adds more than one skill, the PENDINGSPLIT item will show the first skill that is
being added. It is also possible for MOVEPENDING to be set, but for PENDINGSAPLIT to
be blank (or 0). This can happen, for example, when the link to the communication server
comes up and a move is pending for an agent. CMS will be notified by the communication
server that the move is pending, but PENDINGSPLIT will not be set.
Expanded agent capabilities (Category A only)
Expanded Agent Capabilities allow EAS agents to have up to 20 skills assigned. Each skill
may be assigned a level from 1 to 16, where Reserve 1 and Reserve 2 are the highest
levels and 16 is the lowest. (The numeric level replaces the skill type p or s used in earlier
G3 EAS releases.) Agents may have a call handling preference based either on the skill
level, meaning that the agent will serve calls waiting for his or her highest level skill before
serving calls waiting for any lower level skills; or based on greatest need, meaning that the
agent will serve the highest-priority, oldest call waiting for any of his or her skills, or percent
allocation, based on the percent distribution of calls among the agent's skills.
The expanded agent capabilities feature also allows the specification of the skill to be used
for the agent's direct calls. This also allows specification of the level for the direct agent
skill, which, in conjunction with the agent's call handling preference, may affect the order in
which a direct agent call is delivered to an agent. That is, direct agent calls need to be
delivered for all skill ACD calls. A concept introduced in R3V5 CMS, that of the top skill,
can be useful in EAS implementations that use skill level call handling preference for
agents. An agent's first administered, highest level skill is the agent's top skill, since it is for
this skill that the agent is most likely to handle calls. This is the skill that can count on the
agent.
Database items track the number of top agents in skills, as well as the time top agents
spent available and in AUX.
50 Communication Manager Guide to ACD Call Centers
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