Call Center Software

In-house Call Center vs. Outsourcing

Outsourcing means you are going to hire a call center to manage this part of your business. They will in turn, utilize their employees or hire specific personal to handle the calls. The physical facilities and equipment, and probably the software will already be in place. If you plan to outsource, the only decision you need to make in reference to software, is if the software they have or will provide is what you need for your business. Some call centers will customize or build programs if you need a specific functionally that their package doesn’t include. 

In-house, means that you will be starting your own call center. A few years ago this meant you would be providing a large ‘brick and mortar’ space, filling it with employees, telephone and computer equipment, and running an actual center. It still can mean that. If this is what you plan to do, one of your main questions about the call center software will be if it will work with your telephone system and your computer system. You will want the interface and resulting functionality and reports to be seamless.

Seamless is a term that simply means you don’t want to have to do a lot of technical patching. You want to make sure it works without any “holes” or things like dropped calls and calls handled without showing up on the reports.

In-house, can also mean you plan to run a remote or off-premise call center. This means that all or a portion of your call center is staffed by employees who work from their homes and utilize their personal computers, or one provided by the company. They may utilize their own telephone, or you may be installing a separate line just for your business.

When you are researching call center software, the first question is if the software only handles call centers that are centrally located with everyone in one place, or if it will only work if your employees are working remotely. If you plan to ever have a combination of the two, make sure the software can handle both on and off-site options.

Inbound vs. Outbound

Is your call center an Inbound Center, meaning it takes Inbound calls via a local or toll-free, 800-type service? Or is it an Outbound Center, whereby your employees are placing the calls? Rarely is the type of center split equally. You may have an Inbound Center that places a percentage of the calls– outgoing, or vice versa, but most of your calling will be one or the other. Software and services will be targeted toward the focus of the center which will be either Inbound, or Outbound.

Automated Call Distribution or ACD

If the call center is Inbound, do you plan on utilizing ACD or Automated Call Distribution? The basic function of this technology is to answer the call via a recording and allow the user to make choices and be routed to the department or person who can help them. Calls are generally routed on a first come, first serve basis. But they can be routed intelligently by the use of identifiers, like the telephone number the client is calling from, to give priority service and ‘bump’ the call to the front of the line.

ACDs can be standalone call center software, or this service can be incorporated as part of a package. The system can be offered by a long distance telephone company as part of their network services, or it can be a software or hardware solution on-premise. 

Other routing options can include the option for bi-lingual service – press one for English, two for Spanish…or the calls can be routed by time of day to different centers if you have one on the East coast and one in the West. Your ACD may also have an IVR or Interactive Voice Response, option. This allows you to route the call based on words said, versus pressed numerical response.

ACDs can be used to offer solutions to a customer’s problem without them talking to a live body. You can offer an option that has a recorded address, for instance. Or one that gives hours open, or even walks them through general questions and answers.

As you can see, there are so many options and different terms to learn and we haven’t really started.