System and method for providing ongoing call center call assistance with the aid of a digital computer
A system and method for providing ongoing call center call assistance with the aid of a digital computer is provided. A call is received from a caller by an automatic call distributor in a call center and the caller is connected by the automatic call distributor to an agent of the call center. The agent's speech during the call is monitored by an intervention processor included in the call center. The intervention processor determines speech characteristics of the agent during the call, obtains predetermined speech characteristics for the agent, compares the predetermined speech characteristics to the speech characteristics determined during the call, and detects the agent being in need of assistance based on the comparison. The automatic call distributor determines a subject matter of the call and the intervention processor identifies an expert whose expertise matches the subject matter. The intervention processor patches the expert into the call.
1. A system for providing ongoing call center call assistance with the aid of a digital computer, comprising steps of:
a receipt module to receive a call from a caller;
a connection module to connect the caller to an agent of the call center;
a monitoring module to monitor the agent's speech during the call;
a determination module to determine characteristics of the agent's speech during the call;
a characteristic module to obtain predetermined speech characteristics for the agent;
a comparison module to compare the speech characteristics determined during the call to the predetermined speech characteristics for the agent;
a detection module to detect the agent being in need of assistance based on the comparison;
a subject matter module to determine a subject matter of the call;
an expert module to identify one of plurality of experts whose expertise matches the subject matter of the call; and
a connection module to patch the expert into the call; and
at least one processor to execute the modules.
2. A system according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one of:
a speech recognition module to perform speech recognition on the monitored call;
a word module to identify one or more characteristic words associated with the subject matter based on the performed speech recognition, wherein the subject matter is identified based on the identified words.
3. A system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a notification module to, prior to patching the expert into the conversation, notifying the expert regarding the expert being dispatched into the conversation.
4. A system according to claim 1 , wherein the call is conducted via a phone line and the expert is patched into the call using the same phone line.
5. A system according to claim 4 , wherein the predetermined speech characteristics and the speech characteristics determined during the call comprise one or more of a speed, loudness, intensity of an overtone, and a length of a pause the agent's speech.
6. A system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a script module to interact caller based on a plurality of scripts;
a response module to receive a plurality of responses from the caller during the interaction,
wherein the subject matter of the call is determined based on the responses.
7. A system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a recording module to record the call and to continuously store the recording in a database, wherein the monitoring comprises analyzing the stored recording.
8. A system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an expert selection criteria module to obtain a plurality of expert selection criteria;
an information module to obtain information regarding the caller;
a weight module to weigh the expert selection criteria based on the caller information; and
a selection module to select the expert using on the weighed criteria.
9. A system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an agent selection criteria module to obtain selection criteria;
an agent selection module to select the agent using the criteria; and
an expert selection module to select the expert by the intervention processor using the agent selection criteria.
10. A system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an update module to update the subject matter of the call based on the monitoring.
11. A method for providing ongoing call center call assistance with the aid of a digital computer, comprising steps of:
receiving by an automatic call distributor in a call center a call from a caller and connecting by the automatic call distributor the caller to an agent of the call center;
monitoring by an intervention processor comprised in the call center the agent's speech during the call;
determining by the intervention processor characteristics of the agent's speech during the call;
obtaining by the intervention processor predetermined speech characteristics for the agent;
comparing by the intervention processor the speech characteristics determined during the call to the predetermined speech characteristics for the agent;
detecting by the intervention processor the agent being in need of assistance based on the comparison;
determining by the automatic call distributor a subject matter of the call;
identifying by the intervention processor one of plurality of experts whose expertise matches the subject matter of the call; and
patching by the intervention processor the expert into the call.
12. A method according to claim 11 , further comprising at least one of:
performing by the automatic call distributor speech recognition on the monitored call;
identifying by the automatic call distributor one or more characteristic words associated with the subject matter based on the performed speech recognition, wherein the subject matter is identified based on the identified words.
13. A method according to claim 11 , further comprising:
prior to patching the expert into the conversation, notifying the expert regarding the expert being dispatched into the conversation.
14. A method according to claim 11 , wherein the call is conducted via a phone line and the expert is patched into the call using the same phone line.
15. A method according to claim 14 , wherein the predetermined speech characteristics and the speech characteristics determined during the call comprise one or more of a speed, loudness, intensity of an overtone, and a length of a pause the agent's speech.
16. A method according to claim 11 , further comprising:
interacting by the automatic call distributor with the caller based on a plurality of scripts;
receiving by the automatic call distributor a plurality of responses from the caller during the interaction,
wherein the subject matter of the call is determined based on the responses.
17. A method according to claim 11 , further comprising:
recording by the automatic call distributor the call and continuously storing by the automatic call distributor the recording in a database, wherein the intervention processor is interconnected to the database and the monitoring comprises analyzing the stored recording.
18. A method according to claim 11 , further comprising:
obtaining by the intervention processor a plurality of expert selection criteria;
obtaining by the intervention processor information regarding the caller;
weighing by the intervention processor the expert selection criteria based on the caller information; and
selecting the expert using on the weighed criteria.
19. A method according to claim 11 , further comprising:
obtaining by the automated call distributor agent selection criteria;
selecting by the automatic call distributor the agent using the criteria; and
selecting the expert by the intervention processor using the agent selection criteria.
20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing code for executing on a computer system to perform the method steps according to claim 11 .