Abstract
Call centres rely heavily on the self-service paradigm through the use of an automated IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system. The service time delivered by the IVR is a major component of the overall QoS (Quality of Service) delivered by the call centre. We analyse the structure and service times of IVR systems through a case study of five call centres in the telecommunications sector. The service trees of the call centres under survey are reconstructed by complete exploration and analysed through a set of metrics. The present design of service trees leads to service times typically larger than those spent waiting for a human agent and to excessively long announcements, with a negative impact on the overall QoS. Imbalances in the popularity of the services offered by the IVR can be exploited to reduce remarkably the average service time, by properly matching the most popular services with the shortest service times.
Highlights
Call centres are an established way of managing the relationship with customers. Though determining their number is a difficult task, a recently reported estimate is of about 300000 all over the world, with continuous growth [1], since it can be envisaged that companies and institutions alike will choose call centres as a primary means of CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
A typical call centre is set up to provide a number of services to customers, which may vary in type from providing simple information to gathering and dealing with complaints to more complex transactions
In today’s call centres the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is becoming increasingly important: the usage of IVRs accounted for 38% of all calls handled in 2000, with a growing trend to over 70% in 2005 [7], and is typically higher in some contexts, e.g., in call centres for financial services, where the percentage of self-served calls through IVR was 65% already in 1999 [8]
Summary
Call centres are an established way of managing the relationship with customers. Though determining their number is a difficult task, a recently reported estimate is of about 300000 all over the world, with continuous growth [1], since it can be envisaged that companies and institutions alike will choose call centres as a primary means of CRM (Customer Relationship Management). If the interaction with the customers takes place through automated systems rather than by human agents alone, we cannot focus just on the time spent waiting for the agents In this case, many answers are provided directly by the IVR, and so the time spent within the IVR becomes relevant for the overall service quality. After calling the call centre number, the user is typically presented first with a welcome menu through the device named IVR This device uses a synthesized voice to drive the user through a sequence of service menus (each offering a set of options), which may culminate in final service delivery by the IVR unit itself (self-service) or in passing the call to a human agent. They haven't been drawn in order not to make the diagram dull
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