Analysis of Call Routing Rules for Improving Call Centre Operations in Nigeria

This article is in the context of a call centre whose agents possess a heterogeneous skillset. The significant challenge for such a call centre would be skills based call routing: to match an inbound customer call to a call centre agent possessing the relevant skillset. This article will present an alternative to the usual Interactive Voice Recording (IVR) menu based approach to skill based call routing. This article will also make use of a multi-label classification techniques to predict the purpose of the customer call in advance and route it to the appropriate call centre agent without the customer's intervention. This hassle-free call routing technique produces efficient interactions and helps enhance customer experience, resulting in higher customer satisfaction and better cross-sell opportunities.

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Server-switching policy for call routing in a multiskill inbound call centre

International Journal of Services Technology and Management ◽

10.1504/ijstm.2008.016809 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 14

Author(s):

Chandra Sen Mazumdar ◽

N.R. Srinivasa Raghavan

Keyword(s):

Call Centre ◽

Call Routing

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Design vs practice

International Journal of Operations & Production Management ◽

10.1108/ijopm-11-2013-0487 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 36 (4) ◽

pp. 408-428 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Benjamin Ellway

Keyword(s):

Service System ◽

Mutual Influence ◽

Interactive Voice Response ◽

Single Case ◽

Future Research ◽

Call Centre ◽

Content Type ◽

Usability Problems ◽

Call Routing

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how customer involvement in call routing affects the internal operations of the call centre service system by examining customer usability problems with the interactive voice response (IVR) system and the practices of agents used to redirect incorrectly routed calls. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative case study combined direct observation of live calls through sit-bys with agents and semi-structured interviews conducted with coaches and managers within 13 separate teams across all four functional areas of a call centre operation. Findings – Customer use of the IVR system involved effort, capability, and arrival forms of customer-induced variability, which produced incorrect call inputs into the call centre. Shared norms and attitudes concerning knowledge, IT use, and responsibility for different call types within teams were associated with redirecting practices which lead to the problematic rerouting of calls. Problems with call routing and rerouting negatively affected operational efficiency and undermined customer satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – The paper is based upon a single case study so further research is required to examine how problems identified are manifest in call centre operations of different size and complexity. The qualitative approach develops rich insights but these findings would benefit from a quantitative focus in the future. Practical implications – The customer experience of IVR systems should be continually monitored to identify usability problems and ensure effective design, while call centre management should attempt to increase teams’ awareness of and ability to successfully redirect incorrectly routed calls. Originality/value – The paper conceptualises the mutual influence of macro-level service system design and the micro-level behaviour of customers and agents upon each other. In practice, formal design decisions such as input uncertainty, decoupling, and interdependence patterns are continually reproduced or modified. Shared attitudes and norms of teams and their behavioural influence upon agents’ call handling practices are identified as a cause of coordination problems in call centres service systems. Internal rerouting by agents is also identified as a crucial operational process and important area for future research.

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Work Stress and Organisational Citizenship Behaviours (OCBs) in Call Centers Employees

International Journal of Indian Psychology ◽

10.25215/0301.167 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sunita ◽

Urvashi Singh ◽

Shalini Singh ◽

Rajnee Sharma

Keyword(s):

Negative Impact ◽

Call Centers ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Married Couples ◽

Call Centre ◽

Simple Correlation ◽

Nuclear Families ◽

Set Up ◽

Stress At Work ◽

The Relationship

The present study was conducted to examine the relationship between organisational stress and organisational citizenship behaviours (OCBs) in employees of call centers. The study also further explored as how stress at work set-up has negative impact on OCBs. A sample of 250 employees working in call centre of Gurgaon belonging to an age group of 25-30 years were selected on availability basis. All were working married couples living in nuclear families. Job stress survey (Spielberger & Vagg, 1999) and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (Bateman & Organ, 1983) were administered. Data was analysed by using simple correlation and multiple regression. Results showed the negative relationship between organisational stress and OCBs. Results of regression analysis also exhibited the negative impact of stress on OCBs. The implications for the employees are discussed.

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Private branch exchanges for connection to public switched telephone networks run by certain public telecommunication operators. Simple call-routing mode (SCRM).

10.3403/00154795 ◽

1986 ◽

Keyword(s):

Telephone Networks ◽

Call Routing ◽

Telecommunication Operators

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Call centre periphery. Teleservices and economic development in rural Scotland. / Centres d'appel et développement économique en Ecosse rurale.

Géocarrefour ◽

10.3406/geoca.2000.2457 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 75 (1) ◽

pp. 79-86 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Andrew E. Gillespie ◽

Ranald Richardson

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Call Centre ◽

Développement Économique

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Call Centre

Interpretation of Commercial Contracts in European Private Law ◽

10.1017/9781839700859.012 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 287-310

Keyword(s):

Call Centre

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Assessing the impact of a combined nutrition counselling and cash transfer intervention on women’s empowerment in rural Bangladesh: a randomised control trial protocol

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044263 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. e044263

Author(s):

Elizabeth K Kirkwood ◽

Michael John Dibley ◽

John Frederick Hoddinott ◽

Tanvir Huda ◽

Tracey Lea Laba ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Data ◽

Women's Empowerment ◽

Cash Transfer ◽

Women’S Empowerment ◽

Randomised Control Trial ◽

Call Centre ◽

Rural Bangladesh ◽

Nutrition Counselling ◽

The Impact ◽

Unconditional Cash Transfer

IntroductionThere is growing interest in assessing the impact of health interventions, particularly when women are the focus of the intervention, on women’s empowerment. Globally, research has shown that interventions targeting nutrition, health and economic development can affect women’s empowerment. Evidence suggests that women’s empowerment is also an underlying determinant of nutrition outcomes. Depending on the focus of the intervention, different domains of women’s empowerment will be influenced, for example, an increase in nutritional knowledge, or greater control over income and access to resources.ObjectiveThis study evaluates the impact of the Shonjibon Cash and Counselling (SCC) Trial that combines nutrition counselling and an unconditional cash transfer, delivered on a mobile platform, on women’s empowerment in rural Bangladesh.Methods and analysisWe will use a mixed-methods approach, combining statistical analysis of quantitative data from 2840 women in a cluster randomised controlled trial examining the impact of nutrition behaviour change communications (BCCs) and cash transfers on child undernutrition. Pregnant participants will be given a smartphone with a customised app, delivering nutrition BCC messages, and will receive nutrition counselling via a call centre and an unconditional cash transfer. This study is a component of the SCC Trial and will measure women’s empowerment using a composite indicator based on the Project-Level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index, with quantitative data collection at baseline and endline. Thematic analysis of qualitative data, collected through longitudinal interviews with women, husbands and mothers-in-law, will elicit a local understanding of women’s empowerment and the linkages between the intervention and women’s empowerment outcomes. This paper describes the study protocol to evaluate women’s empowerment in a nutrition-specific and sensitive intervention using internationally validated, innovative tools and will help fill the evidence gap on pathways of impact, highlighting areas to target for future programming.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval has been obtained from the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (Ref. PR 17106) and The University of Sydney (Ref: 2019/840). Findings from this study will be shared in Bangladesh with dissemination sessions in-country and internationally at conferences, and will be published in peer-reviewed journals.

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