Activities assignment optimization for multi-skill contact center
View Patent ↗A system and method for setting agent cross skill enablement levels in a contact center. In one embodiment, a series of simulations is performed to determine optimum cross skill enablement levels for various circumstances, e.g., the number of agents, the proficiency of each agent at each of a number of skills, and the rates of incoming interaction requests requiring each of various skills. A lookup table is created which is subsequently used, during configuration of the contact center prior to operation, or in real time during operation, to adjust agent cross skill enablement levels.
1. A system, comprising:
a processor; and
a memory, wherein the memory has stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
select a first number of agents, from an available group of agents associated with a first skill, the first number of agents being fewer than all agents in the available group of agents;
run a first simulation, based on a routing strategy, of routing a plurality of interactions warranting the first skill;
determine a first contact center performance level based on the first simulation;
select a second number of agents, from the available group of agents associated with the first skill, the second number of agents being fewer than all agents in the available group of agents;
run a second simulation, based on the routing strategy, of routing the interactions warranting the first skill;
determine a second contact center performance level based on the second simulation;
compare the first contact center performance level and the second contact center performance level;
select the first number agents or the second number of agents based on the comparing; and
enable the selected number of agents for handling real interactions warranting the first skill.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first contact center performance level is defined by a metric and the second contact center performance level is defined by the metric.
3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the metric is an average speed of answer (ASA).
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the memory further has stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to store the selected number of agents in a lookup table.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the running of the first simulation comprises:
assuming that the agents in the available group of agents have the first skill as a secondary skill and a second skill as a primary skill, and
running the first simulation for an assumption about a number of agents having the first skill as a primary skill.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the running of the first simulation comprises using an assumption that incoming interaction requests arrive in at random points in time, the random points in time being characterized by a Poisson distribution.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the running of the first simulation comprises using an assumption that agent handling times for interactions take random values, the random values being characterized by an exponential distribution.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the routing strategy routes interaction requests associated with the first skill to an earliest-available agent of:
a first group of agents associated with the first skill as a primary skill and associated with a second skill as a secondary skill, and
a second group of agents associated with the second skill as a primary skill and associated with the first skill as a secondary skill, and
the routing strategy routes interaction requests associated with the second skill to an earliest-available agent of:
the second group of agents, and
the first group of agents.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the routing strategy routes interaction requests associated with the first skill to:
an agent in a first group of agents associated with the first skill as a primary skill and associated with a second skill as a secondary skill when an agent in the first group of agents becomes available within a time interval, and
the first-available agent in:
the first group of agents, or
a second group of agents associated with the second skill as a primary skill and associated with the first skill as a secondary skill,
when an agent in the first group of agents does not become available within the time interval, and
the routing strategy routes interaction requests associated with the second skill to:
an agent in the second group of agents when an agent in the second group of agents becomes available within the time interval, and
the first-available agent in:
the second group of agents, or
the first group of agents,
when an agent in the second group of agents does not become available within the time interval.
10. A method, comprising:
selecting a first number of agents, from an available group of agents associated with a first skill, the first number of agents being fewer than all agents in the available group of agents;
running a first simulation, based on a routing strategy, of routing a plurality of interactions warranting the first skill;
determining a first contact center performance level based on the first simulation;
selecting a second number of agents, from the available group of agents associated with the first skill, the second number of agents being fewer than all agents in the available group of agents;
running a second simulation, based on the routing strategy, of routing the interactions warranting the first skill;
determining a second contact center performance level based on the second simulation;
comparing the first contact center performance level and the second contact center performance level;
selecting the first number agents or the second number of agents based on the comparing; and
enabling the selected number of agents for handling real interactions warranting the first skill.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first contact center performance level is defined by a metric and the second contact center performance level is defined by the metric.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the metric is an average speed of answer (ASA).
13. The method of claim 10 , comprising storing the selected number of agents in a lookup table.
14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the running of the first simulation comprises:
assuming that the agents in the available group of agents have the first skill as a secondary skill and a second skill as a primary skill, and
running the first simulation for an assumption about a number of agents having the first skill as a primary skill.
15. The method of claim 10 , wherein the running of the first simulation comprises using an assumption that incoming interaction requests arrive in at random points in time, the random points in time being characterized by a Poisson distribution.
16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the running of the first simulation comprises using an assumption that agent handling times for interactions take random values, the random values being characterized by an exponential distribution.
17. The method of claim 10 , wherein the routing strategy routes interaction requests associated with the first skill to an earliest-available agent of:
a first group of agents associated with the first skill as a primary skill and associated with a second skill as a secondary skill, and
a second group of agents associated with the second skill as a primary skill and associated with the first skill as a secondary skill, and
the routing strategy routes interaction requests associated with the second skill to an earliest-available agent of:
the second group of agents, and
the first group of agents.
18. The method of claim 10 , wherein the routing strategy routes interaction requests associated with the first skill to:
an agent in a first group of agents associated with the first skill as a primary skill and associated with a second skill as a secondary skill when an agent in the first group of agents becomes available within a time interval, and
the first-available agent in:
the first group of agents, or
a second group of agents associated with the second skill as a primary skill and associated with the first skill as a secondary skill,
when an agent in the first group of agents does not become available within the time interval, and
the routing strategy routes interaction requests associated with the second skill to:
an agent in the second group of agents when an agent in the second group of agents becomes available within the time interval, and
the first-available agent in:
the second group of agents, or
the first group of agents,
when an agent in the second group of agents does not become available within the time interval.