Techniques for behavioral pairing in a dispatch center system
Techniques for behavioral pairing in a dispatch center system are disclosed. In one particular embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a method for behavioral pairing in a dispatch center system comprising determining, by at least one computer processor communicatively coupled to and configured to operate in the dispatch center system, a dispatch request for a customer; determining, by the at least one computer processor, a plurality of field agents available to service the customer's dispatch request; determining, by the at least one computer processor, a model of preferred field agent-customer pairings based at least in part on historical field agent-customer interaction outcome data; selecting, by the at least one computer processor, one of the plurality of field agents based on the model; and outputting, by the at least one computer processor, the selection to facilitate dispatching the selected field agent to the customer.
1. A method for behavioral pairing in a dispatch center system comprising:
processing, by at least one dispatch center communicatively coupled to and configured to support behavioral pairing operations in the dispatch center system, a dispatch request for a customer based upon a customer request received at the dispatch center, wherein the dispatch center is configured to route the dispatch request to at least one queueing or switching component in the dispatch center system;
determining, by the at least one dispatch center, a plurality of field agents available to service the customer's dispatch request based upon the plurality of field agents assigned to the dispatch center;
generating, by at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module communicatively coupled to and configured to perform behavioral pairing operations in the dispatch center system, a model of preferred field agent-customer pairings based at least in part on historical field agent-customer interaction outcome data, wherein the model is determined further based upon information regarding the dispatch request and the plurality of field agents that is received from the dispatch center at the dispatch behavioral pairing module, wherein the model is used to increase the overall performance of the dispatch center system by causing the at least one queueing or switching component to more efficiently operate while targeting a balanced utilization of field agents;
selecting, by the at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module, one of the plurality of field agents based on the model; and
outputting, by the at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module, the selection to facilitate routing the dispatch request to the at least one queueing or switching component in the dispatch center system and dispatching the selected field agent to the customer.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dispatch request comprises at least one requested dispatch time, and wherein determining the plurality of field agents available to service the customer's dispatch request is constrained based on the at least one requested dispatch time.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising selecting, by the at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module, at least one suggested dispatch time, wherein the selected field agent is available during the at least one suggested dispatch time.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising scheduling, by the at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module, the dispatching of the selected field agent to the customer.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
recording, by the at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module, results for a first plurality of field-agent customer interactions paired using a behavioral pairing strategy;
recording, by the at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module, results for a second plurality of field-agent customer interactions paired using a FIFO pairing strategy; and
outputting, by the at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module, a measure of a performance gain between the behavioral pairing strategy and the FIFO pairing strategy based on the recorded results for the first and second pluralities of field-agent customer interactions.
6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising updating, by the at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module, the model based at least in part on one or more of: the results for the first plurality of field-agent customer interactions, the results for the second plurality of field-agent customer interactions, and the measure of the performance gain.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the model is based on a diagonal behavioral pairing strategy, wherein field agents and customers having percentile rankings with closest midpoints comprise the preferred field agent-customer pairings.
8. A system for behavioral pairing in a dispatch center system comprising:
at least one dispatch center communicatively coupled to and configured to support behavioral pairing operations in the dispatch center system, wherein the at least one dispatch center is further configured to:
process a dispatch request for a customer based upon a customer request received at the dispatch center, wherein the dispatch center routes the dispatch request to at least one queueing or switching component in the dispatch center system; and
determine a plurality of field agents available to service the customer's dispatch request based upon the plurality of field agents assigned to the dispatch center;
at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module communicatively coupled to and configured to perform behavioral pairing operations in the dispatch center system, wherein the at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module is further configured to:
generate a model of preferred field agent-customer pairings based at least in part on historical field agent-customer interaction outcome data, wherein the model is determined further based upon information regarding the dispatch request and the plurality of field agents that is received from the dispatch center at the dispatch behavioral pairing module, wherein the model is used to increase the overall performance of the dispatch center system by causing the at least one queueing or switching component to more efficiently operate while targeting a balanced utilization of field agents;
select one of the plurality of field agents based on the model; and
output the selection to facilitate routing the dispatch request to the at least one queueing or switching component in the dispatch center system and dispatching the selected field agent to the customer.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the dispatch request comprises at least one requested dispatch time, and wherein determining the plurality of field agents available to service the customer's dispatch request is constrained based on the at least one requested dispatch time.
10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module is further configured to select at least one suggested dispatch time, wherein the selected field agent is available during the at least one suggested dispatch time.
11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module is further configured to schedule the dispatching of the selected field agent to the customer.
12. The system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module is further configured to:
record results for a first plurality of field-agent customer interactions paired using a behavioral pairing strategy;
record results for a second plurality of field-agent customer interactions paired using a FIFO pairing strategy; and
output a measure of a performance gain between the behavioral pairing strategy and the FIFO pairing strategy based on the recorded results for the first and second pluralities of field-agent customer interactions.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module is further configured to update the model based at least in part on one or more of: the results for the first plurality of field-agent customer interactions, the results for the second plurality of field-agent customer interactions, and the measure of the performance gain.
14. The system of claim 8 , wherein the model is based on a diagonal behavioral pairing strategy, wherein field agents and customers having percentile rankings with closest midpoints comprise the preferred field agent-customer pairings.
15. An article of manufacture for behavioral pairing in a dispatch center system comprising:
at least one non-transitory processor readable medium; and
instructions stored on the at least one medium;
wherein the instructions are configured to be readable from the at least one medium by at least one computer processor in at least one dispatch center communicatively coupled to and configured to perform behavioral pairing operations in the dispatch center system and thereby cause the at least one dispatch center to operate so as to:
process a dispatch request for a customer based upon a customer request received at the dispatch center, wherein the dispatch center routes the dispatch request to at least one queueing or switching component in the dispatch center system; and
determine a plurality of field agents available to service the customer's dispatch request based upon the plurality of field agents assigned to the dispatch center;
wherein the instructions are further configured to be readable from the at least one medium by at least one computer processor in at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module communicatively coupled to and configured to perform behavioral pairing operations in the dispatch center system and thereby cause the at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module to operate so as to:
generate a model of preferred field agent-customer pairings based at least in part on historical field agent-customer interaction outcome data, wherein the model is determined further based upon information regarding the dispatch request and the plurality of field agents that is received from the dispatch center at the dispatch behavioral pairing module, wherein the model is used to increase the overall performance of the dispatch center system by causing the at least one queueing or switching component to more efficiently operate while targeting a balanced utilization of field agents;
select one of the plurality of field agents based on the model; and
output the selection to facilitate routing the dispatch request to the at least one queueing or switching component in the dispatch center system and dispatching the selected field agent to the customer.
16. The article of manufacture of claim 15 , wherein the dispatch request comprises at least one requested dispatch time, and wherein determining the plurality of field agents available to service the customer's dispatch request is constrained based on the at least one requested dispatch time.
17. The article of manufacture of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module to operate so as to select at least one suggested dispatch time, wherein the selected field agent is available during the at least one suggested dispatch time.
18. The article of manufacture of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module to schedule the dispatching of the selected field agent to the customer.
19. The article of manufacture of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module to operate so as to:
record results for a first plurality of field-agent customer interactions paired using a behavioral pairing strategy;
record results for a second plurality of field-agent customer interactions paired using a FIFO pairing strategy; and
output a measure of a performance gain between the behavioral pairing strategy and the FIFO pairing strategy based on the recorded results for the first and second pluralities of field-agent customer interactions.
20. The article of manufacture of claim 19 , wherein the instructions further cause the at least one dispatch behavioral pairing module to operate so as to update the model based at least in part on one or more of: the results for the first plurality of field-agent customer interactions, the results for the second plurality of field-agent customer interactions, and the measure of the performance gain.
21. The article of manufacture of claim 15 , wherein the model is based on a diagonal behavioral pairing strategy, wherein field agents and customers having percentile rankings with closest midpoints comprise the preferred field agent-customer pairings.