Call Center Terms to Know
Most industries have buzz words, technical terms and other jargon that sound completely ridiculous to the typical layperson. The call center industry is no different. Most people can probably figure out the well-known terms such as call routing, abandoned call and average talk time, but when it comes to some acronyms and more perplexing words, it’s best to have a refresher to always come back to.
Automatic Call Distributor
Also referred to as automatic call distribution or ACD, this term describes a specialized phone system that handles incoming calls. ACD answers the call and confers with its database before routing it to the most appropriate call center representative.
Call Center Schedule Adherence
This is a metric used to determine whether call center representatives are working the amount of time they have been required to do so. In easier terms to state, this practice makes sure set schedules are being adhered to.
Customer Experience Management
Sometimes known by the acronym CEM, customer experience management refers to a set of procedures adopted by a company to monitor the interactions between a customer and its call center representatives. Customers make or break a company, so it’s best to know how they are treated on a consistent basis – that’s where CEM comes into play.
Customer Relationship Management
Different from CEM but somewhat similar to ACD, customer relationship management (CRM) helps to identify a customer’s needs before routing the call appropriately. CRM improves customer interactions and customizes contacts, sales approaches and automation to provide optimized service for a variety of customers.
Expected Wait Time
This one is somewhat obvious, but still important to note. Expected wait time, or EWT, refers to the expected time customers are told they will have to wait before speaking to a representative. The smaller the EWT the better, but any experienced call center representative will tell you that’s not always possible.
First Call Resolution
Referred to sometimes as FCR, first call resolution deals with a way to identify a customer’s issue and solve it the first time they contact the call center. This is one of the most important terms for a call center and has a high emphasis placed on it in the industry.
Voice Response Unit
Also known as VRU, voice response unit is a piece of interactive technology utilized often by call centers. It allows customers to communicate with computers by voice or dual-tone multifrequency.
Workforce Management
Known by the acronym WFM, workforce management is defined as an integrated set of processes call centers use to optimize the productivity of its representatives. Some of those processes include forecasting call spikes, determining and providing schedules, and adherence for a workforce in future events.
Wrap Time
Often times a customer hanging up the phone doesn’t signal the end of the call. It may represent the physical end to it, but there is still work to be done. Wrap time refers to the time taken by a call center representative to complete any transactions or work for a close.
