The Business Case for Skill-Based Routing
1 Jan, 2004
By: Lyn KramerSkill-based routing is one of the hottest topics being debated in contact centers today. The role of the ACD (Automated Call Distributor) has always been pivotal to every call center. However, as call centers have taken on an increasingly more significant role, improved approaches are required to handle the complexity of multi-channel access. To remain competitive, most businesses now offer a broad array of service delivery options, including a choice of channels. Skill-based routing is designed to improve efficiency by having the right staff at the right time with the right skills. But, is this approach right for your center? This article outlines several questions to consider in answering that question.
Why All the Fuss?
With conventional ACDs, agents are assigned to groups, which are presented with calls on a first-in/first-out or priority queuing basis. In contrast, skill-based routing assigns agents based on their “skills”. A key difference is that the agent’s individual level of skill can be rated, so that the highest-value customers can be directed to the most-skilled agents. The potential benefits of properly deployed skills-based routing translate into significant results. Customer satisfaction can be improved, cost per call reduced, and productivity increased. These results are achieved by:
- Increasing first call resolution
- Improving once and done handling
- Reducing transfers and handoffs
- Shortening contact times with improved contact quality
- Decreasing customer callbacks
To determine if skill-based routing is right for your center, consider the four-step approach outlined here:
Step 1: Understand Why Customers Contact the Center
Skill-based routing requires a precise understanding of the reasons that customers contact the center. This knowledge is a fundamental starting point for two reasons. First, it is needed to set up effective skill-based routing plans. Second, understanding why customers call defines the agent skill sets required to handle those contacts. This step is fundamental to being able to forecast the right staff at the right time with the right skills.
One essential action is to categorize calls into families of contact types. Typically, call/contact tracking systems are a good starting point. Classifying customer contacts into a hierarchy of like contact types based on complexity, navigation, content and data access enables the enterprise to develop and plan its routing and training strategy. This data is also used to forecast shifts in both contact types and channel use, caused by seasonal shifts or customer utilization preferences.
This data will ultimately be used for the purposes of defining routing plans as well as agent training/certification requirements and skill assignments.
Step 2: Identify Staff Skills & Resources to Meet Demand
The next step is to convert the customer contact hierarchy into specific skill requirements and staffing projections. Each contact “family” relates to a number of individual contact types. Each of the contact types can be analyzed for volume and required skills, providing agent skill-proficiency requirements along with forecasted contact volumes. This data can then be factored into the center’s forecasting and scheduling process so that sufficient staff can be identified and trained for peaks. It is important to understand this volume by skill so that the center is not overstaffed.
Step 3: Define the Business & Technology Requirements
The third step is to define the business and technology requirements and options. There is no shortage of options on the market today for skill-based routing in a multi-channel environment. Numerous offerings are available from a host of well-recognized, best-of-breed vendors for both stand-alone and bundled functionality. The more important aspect of this step is to define the business requirements, analyze the functionality needed, and evaluate the costs, benefits, and trade-offs of those that best meet the business needs.
In conventional ACD configurations, agents are assigned to groups or queues and typically receive calls on a first-in/first-out or priority basis. In contrast, skill-based routing assigns agents based on a level of individual “skill”. With skill-based routing, call priorities can be assigned so that higher-skilled agents are available and assigned to higher-value customers.
Another consideration is web-based contacts. When volume is relatively low, a small, dedicated team can often handle the email, chat and other web-based contacts. As the volume of web-based contacts grow, centers are rethinking this strategy. Skill-based routing may be an option. One approach is to “blend skills”, training a certain number of agents to become proficient in both phone and web-based contact handling. Using skill-based routing with multi-channel ACD functionality, higher-value customers are assured of getting to the most proficient agents, regardless of channel.
A part of defining the business requirements includes analyzing the technical interfaces with the workforce management forecasting/scheduling technology, CRM/customer database access, and CTI.
Step 4: Conduct the Gap Analysis & Model the Options
The last step begins with a gap analysis to compare the current and future environments—the as is with the to be—including business processes and supporting technology. Although the benefits of an enterprisewide skill-based routing strategy can be numerous, there are risks. Various routing and skill factors can be modeled to simulate the new environment and provide answers to two critical questions: First, will priority customers actually experience improved service levels as planned? Second, will the enterprise realize significant improvement in overall efficiency? Answering these questions effectively will go a long way in providing the necessary input to the overall assessment process.
Summary
As call centers move toward multi-channel contact centers, improved approaches to handling customer access across all channels efficiently is causing many enterprises to review the advantages of skill-based routing to ensure that the right staff is available at the right time with the right skills.
The potential benefits can be significant and are worth a look: improved operating profitability by increasing customer satisfaction, reducing the cost per call and increasing productivity.
