Skills routing models have been nominated as effectively improving customer service, achieving higher first call resolution as well as better use of agent resources. Here we provide the low-down on skills based routing models and it’s not as scary as you might think. 

What are the requirements for a skills based routing model?

A skills based routing model should be based on known information about your incoming calls.  Details assigned to a specific inbound number or details either entered or chosen by the caller all amount to information that can be used in a skills based routeing model.

For example, if a customer chooses to speak to customer service via an IVR, the call would be routed to a customer service agent.  If that customer also entered their customer ID in the IVR, triggering a customer data lookup in the customer information database, the returned data could also be used for the routing of the call. For example, the caller might choose to speak with an agent and also be a Japanese speaking customer (deduced from the customer data), so the call should be offered to an operator with both skills.

How do you build such a thing?

A Skills Based Routing model can be as simple or as complex as is required.  It can be as easy as assigning an agent to an agent group, or can go so far as having a scoresheet for agents against particular skills.  

Knowing the details about the call groups or scores allows skills to be assigned to specific operators which in turn allows them to take a specific set of incoming calls.

Let’s look at an example of a more complex Skills Based Routing model :

Each Skill is scored for each agent out of 10, with 0 being the lowest and 10 the highest skill level.

Skills are assigned to inbound queues.  When a caller enters some information into an IVR, the queue into which that caller should be placed is determined.  Each queue can have one or more skills assigned to it, with these skills being weighted by importance.  When a call is received for one of these queues, the available agent skill levels are queried and the weight of the inbound queue skill requirements are multiplied by each other.  The available operator who comes out with the highest score will receive the call.

Continuing our Japanese speaking customer example, the table below shows that when a call is received into the queue, agent 102 will receive that call because the weight of the skills required multiplied by that agent’s skill levels scores the highest for that agent.

Can anyone do it or do you have to be a technical person?

Typically, to set up Skills Based Routing takes an individual that knows about the calls that will be received.  Once the correct tools are provided, the Skill Based Routing for calls should be set up and maintained by the Call Centre Manager or one of their peers.

Where lookups of data from other systems or more complex Skills Based Routing systems are required, it will take someone technical to build and maintain the model.

How easy are they alter once up?

Once the logic is set up and provided the same logic continues to be used for the Skills Based Routing, maintaining the model should be straight forward and a process that can be managed by a supervisor or manager.

What are some of the things to watch out for?

Some companies try to make the model more complex than is required.  This leads to confusion about why one call might be answered before another.  If a complex model is applied where not required there will most likely be a negative impact on the answering of calls.

What is the best way to implement?

Keep it simple.  A Skills Based Routing model should be applied only to the complexity that it is required.  Unless there is a pressing need for complex models, restrict the model to groups, group priorities and call weighting.

By The IPscape Tech Team

The technical boys at IPscape are Darren Younger and David O'Leary. The boys run the IPscape technical group including managing the development, operations and telecommunication teams.